Apr 6, 2011 @ 11:19 pm
Thai nicknames
Thai nicknames fascinate me and almost every Thai I know has a nickname. This discovery was made during my teacher training when all the students wrote their names on pieces of paper for the foreign teacher. That marked the first time I came across names like Joke, Tee, Nam, Bum, Dim, Noi, etc.
Curious as to why the Thai’s have nicknames, I asked a few and discovered the reasons and even more interestingly, I uncovered the meaning behind their nicknames.
Some of the nicknames have no resemblance to the formal name. For instance if a person is called Aekawat, his nickname could be something unrelated from the original. He could be called Joke as a friend of mine is called.
The Thai formal names are extremely beautiful sounding and I was told more often than not, they carry a profound meaning. Example, the name Somjate which is Sanskrit in origin can be broken down to mean achievement (Som) and Jate to mean goals.
However, there are some names that are too complicated to remember and pronounce. Try this- Kittipong Jarenlarbsugying, Thodsapnon Apiwattanasavee, Worapoj Mutthanukulwong, and Kwancharnok Kaewleamjarut. (It’s even harder to type out). It is for this reason, a simpler version is offered in the form of a nickname. So Kwancharnok answers to Sin, Worapoj Mutthanukulwong to Wor and so forth.
The nicknames which are usually one syllabled are used in the workplace, at home, in school and also in the university where I work. My students have the most interesting names which never fail to put a smile on my face. To remember their names I usually ask them the meaning of their names and this way also helps me to increase my vocabulary. I learnt that Wean means ring, Rung is rainbow and so forth.
Thai nicknames are derived from food such as Ple (apple) and Som (orange), numbers such as Nueng (1), See (4) are also used while there are also nicknames derived from size such as Noi (little), Yai (big), Lek (small). Then there are the colour based ones such as Keow (green), and Dum (black), animal based names such as Nok (bird), Kai (chicken), Chang (elephant) are equally fascinating but the ones I find the easiest to remember are names that are coined out of the blue without any meaning such as Qybzy, Qybza, Arradin, and Gorry.
My personal favourites from my students are Pond, Fluke, Pure, Chom, Guitar, Joker, Amp, News, Arm, Nap, Few, and Benz.
I also discovered that a person can have more than one nickname and the second one is usually given by friends. The names are usually connected to something in the person’s life. My student Marisa is called Chikoon (from the disease Chikunkuniya) but also known as Tuty amongst her friends.
Aware that Thai names are quite a tongue twister for most foreigners, they usually introduce themselves using their nicknames even in some formal situations. I was also told that even between Thai’s it is acceptable to introduce oneself using the given nickname.
Having said that, I am always looking forward to discovering the meaning of peoples names and anticipate coming across more interesting nicknames during my stay here in Phuket.
