"saying No" !! to Thais.....

[Johnnywastaken]

...Just curious... but saying No to Thais in general...do they automatically lose face..?
I mean besides saying no... to the kid who is trying to sell you roses in front of a girl.... but when we say No to a vendor or anyone because the price in our eyes is unfair.... Do they lose face...? Or only in the presense of other Thais...?

[Spitfire]

In that situation the kid has probably been told by their 'handler' (who will be lurking around within view of the restaurant) to be persistent, more so to foreigners than Thai guys, as you may just even buy a rose just make the little scrote go away. Kids are used as a emotional attack to get you to part with money more easily.

The sellers have little face to lose really, despite their delusions on it, as they are mostly hovering around the bottom-ish rung of the social ladder anyhow, callous to say I know, but probably accurate and how the Thais view it......so no, don't think face has anything to do with it.

With this stuff you just have to be firm and do the stuck record stuff till they piss-off. They don't linger at a Thai guys table for the same amount of time. You're a tourist in their eyes, even if you live here, that's why you are singled out.....remember 1000 baht notes magically appear everyday in our wallets from nowhere.

As far as saying "No" to Thais in general goes, they have no problems saying it to each other on numerous subjects.

[migrant]

When approached by vendors, whether the kids with roses,the noisy frog sellers, or others, I always smile, say "Miow khrap" and turn away. Maybe I'm scary looking ( I swear I always smile) but they move on, never had a problem.

To answer regarding face, I don't think so, like Spitfire says, they say it to themselves often enough!

[Lung Per]

On my next T-shirt I will have printed in Thai:

I'm NOT an ATM
I'm NOT Buying Anything
Paid Police Yesterday, Not Pay Today
Don't Want Tailor-made Clothes
Smile if you are Female Under 25.

And then again, perhaps not such a good idea after all.........but the temptation is there.

[kendo]

over the years the one armed lady's flower gang has got bigger and bigger, they are a pain in the arse some times they will knowing come upto you more than once in an evening.

I feel a bit sorry for the little hill tribe people that sale those wooden frogs tho, they dont make much money, when my little girl is big enough of corse i will buy her one

Kendo.

[STEVE G]

When approached by vendors, whether the kids with roses,the noisy frog sellers, or others, I always smile, say "Miow khrap" and turn away. Maybe I'm scary looking ( I swear I always smile) but they move on, never had a problem.

That's the way I've always done it and it works for me; give them a smile and a welcome and then say no and go straight back to what you were doing before they arrived.

[PeteC]

↑ In those cases they know you're not a tourist and will move on. Few fortnight tourists know any Thai at all and mai ow krup from a foreigner probably signals to them that you're an expat, or at least know the ropes. Pete

[Pleng]

When approached by vendors, whether the kids with roses,the noisy frog sellers, or others, I always smile, say "Miow khrap" and turn away. Maybe I'm scary looking ( I swear I always smile) but they move on, never had a problem.

That's the way I've always done it and it works for me; give them a smile and a welcome and then say no and go straight back to what you were doing before they arrived.

Used to work for me a few years ago. These days they seem to persist a bit more and I need to follow it up with a more stern 'Mai Aow!' followed by a 'mai aow jing jing'. Eventually they move on.

[KateB]

When approached by vendors, whether the kids with roses,the noisy frog sellers, or others, I always smile, say "Miow khrap" and turn away. Maybe I'm scary looking ( I swear I always smile) but they move on, never had a problem.

That's the way I've always done it and it works for me; give them a smile and a welcome and then say no and go straight back to what you were doing before they arrived.

Used to work for me a few years ago. These days they seem to persist a bit more and I need to follow it up with a more stern 'Mai Aow!' followed by a 'mai aow jing jing'. Eventually they move on.

Hi - what do 'Miow', 'Mai Aow', and 'Mai aow jing jing' mean exactly? And where are they on the 'politeness scale'?
I have not had much of a problem with sellers in Hua Hin - a smile and a no thanks has worked ok - but I'd appreciate knowing how to say it in Thai (I've got the kha bit, and can count and order beers/some food in Thai but that's it so far - bit sad )...... Thanks

[johnnymac]

I've been struggling with Thai for years but am no expert KateB but here's goes:

Mai Aow (Kha/Khrap) - I don't want it (thank you)
Mai Aow Jing Jing - I really don't want it
Miow (sounds like a cat) - local dialect means same as Mai Aow

Good luck!

[GLCQuantum]

I've been struggling with Thai for years but am no expert KateB but here's goes:

1.Mai Aow (Kha/Khrap) - I don't want it (thank you)
2.Mai Aow Jing Jing - I really don't want it
3.Miow (sounds like a cat) - local dialect means same as Mai Aow

You are correct that no#3 is the same as no#1 but incorrect on the differences. Nothing to do with local dialect but simply how we translate the words we hear into English. Though I am basically fluent now (no skill of my own just lucky I was introduced to the language when I was 11 and, bar a few years, heard it quite frequently ever since) when I start trying to transliterate the words, my examples aren't the ones you find from your little Thai books...

eg. 'Khaow Phat' for me will be written 'Cow Pat'.

Further example... Decipher the following sentence.

Ma wan Phom Ja bai tiaow gap puan leow fen mai hy bai. Phom ghot jing jing dare fen ben kon jai lawn mak. Mai dong mee ban haa dee gwaa. Yuu baan man mai keuy mee baan haa. Samut Phom ok bai tiaow wan nan welaa gap baan talot gan mak.

Just re-reading the above doesn't sound right but I know how I want it to sound. Maybe it could be a fun thread to start - 'Decipher the Following into English'

[GLCQuantum]

Would be nice to be able to read or write the language but I'm just too damn occupied (lazy) all the time.

[johnnymac]

Know what you mean about trying to write down Thai phonetically GLC - not easy.

My kids have just come over from the uk - 10 and 5 - and are learning Thai now so I'm trying to join in with reading and writing - they're already showing up their old dad!

Gonna be a long haul

[GLCQuantum]

What school are they in may I ask.

[johnnymac]

Yam Sa-ard. Looked at Somtawin but didn't want to commit them to a purely English education.

Seems quite a good mix so far.