It can be surprisingly useful, even fun, to know Thai swear words and profanities as a foreigner in Thailand. You will hear them spoken in everyday conversations, arguments, and jokes, much like English swear words are used. Listed below are some of the most common Thai swear words, expletives, insults, and phrases, along with their meanings and English equivalents. Hopefully, they will never be directed towards you.
The Use of Ai and Ee in Thai Swear Words
Prefixing swear words with ai and ee transforms the words into direct insults. Ai is used when insulting men, and ee is used to insult women. For example, kwai is buffalo, but when you say ai kwai to a man or ee kwai to a woman, it becomes “you buffalo,” meaning stupid.
Similarly, when ai or ee is prefixed to a person’s name, it’s demeaning. The exception being when it’s used playfully among close friends.
Thai Swear Words and Profanities
Ai hia / ee hia: You monitor lizard, very insulting, equivalent to calling someone b*****d or c**t. Why the monitor? If you search around, the common consensus is that historically, Thais believe the monitor to be both a disgusting scavenger and a bad omen. Thailandnationalparks.com also notes that a deep dislike of the monitor stems back to times when most Thais kept small animals such as chickens, which were frequently preyed upon by monitor lizards.
Ai kuay: Pronounced kooway, it means you dick, or you prick, and like ai hia, it’s highly offensive.
Yehd: No guide to swearing in Thailand would be complete without the Thai equivalent of the world’s favorite swear word. So, yes, yehd means “f**k.” Although its usage can be extremely vulgar and insulting, you’ll most commonly hear terms like yehd and yehd ped (f**k a duck), used to express surprise, disappointment, and disbelief, just like you’d shout “f**k” in English when you stub your toe or have to cancel your flight to Thailand.
Hee: A Thai slang word for vagina. When spoken as ai hee or ee hee, it’s the equivalent of “you c**t” in English.
Ee dok: A shortened form of ee dok thong, with dok thong meaning golden flower. Thai‑Language.com defines dok thong as an extremely vulgar insult that means a promiscuous woman, harlot, or slut. It’s said to be based on the character Suwannmalee (Golden Flower) in the famous Thai poem Phra Aphai Mani. Over time, ee dok thong was shortened to ee dok, which is equivalent to calling a woman a “slut” or “bitch” in English.
Ai kwai / ee kwai: You buffalo. Used to call someone stupid or an idiot. Why buffalo? It’s a familiar animal in Thailand and is viewed as dim-witted. You might say that in this case, it’s the proverbial donkey.
Ai sat / ee sat: You animal, very insulting, but not as strong as ai hia.
Mueng: A derogatory Thai word for “you.” Common in insults and arguments, though sometimes used playfully among close friends. Equivalent to a hostile “you” in English.
Ai ngo / ee ngo: You’re stupid, with “ngo” actually meaning and translating to stupid.
Baa: If you call someone baa, it might be because they either did something reckless or foolish, behaved really strangely, or you are implying they are crazy or not right in the head. If you call them ai baa or ee baa, that’s more offensive, equivalent to terms like you crazy bastard or you’re f*****g crazy.
Farang kee nok: The meaning of farang is not offensive on its own; it’s simply the word Thais use to refer to white Westerners. When it’s followed by kee (meaning shit) and nok (meaning bird), though, it typically means a worthless and/or low-quality foreigner. Not to be confused with “farang khi-niao,” where “khi-niao” means stingy or frugal.
Ham san man: Ham is Thai slang for penis, san means short. It sounds very similar to “handsome man” and is sometimes playfully called out instead of that by Thai bar girls in nightlife destinations like Pattaya.
Dahk ling: The most common meaning is “monkey catcher,” where ling means monkey, and dahk means catcher. Alternatively, dahk is an Issan (Northeast Thailand) word meaning rectum, and when “dahk ling” is spoken or called out by bar girls instead of darling, it’s a play on words and actually means “monkey arse.”
Hub paak: Shut your mouth, opposed to the more polite “mai tong pood,” meaning don’t speak, or no need to say.
Arai wa: My understanding is that “arai” means what, and “arai na” is a polite way to say what. Arai wa is an impolite way of saying what, which is ok when spoken among friends or in a friendly context. However, when spoken in disbelief, angrily, or confrontationally, it can mean anything from “what the heck” to “what the f*ck.”
Ting tong: You would typically call someone ting tong if they are acting silly, if they’re a bit weird, strange, a scatterbrain, or even eccentric—like The Glitterman, who used to bicycle the streets of bygone Pattaya.
Ba ba bo bo: The most common definition of ba ba bo bo suggests it’s behavior or speech that is nonsensical, ridiculous, or absurd. That would seem to fit somewhere between ting tong and baa. Depending on tone and context, any of the terms can be used either playfully or critically.
Som nam na: It translates roughly as “befitting your face,” and you would say “som nam na” to someone just like you say “serves you right” or “tough shit” after they messed up as a consequence of their own actions. Although it’s not a swear word, it’s a common expression and is often spoken in a mocking or sarcastic tone.
When to Swear in Thai
I would be very careful as to when and where you choose to swear in Thai, it would be all too easy to misread a situation or the context of something, only for yourself or someone else to lose face or much worse. Only swear in Thai with your close friends, for fun, if you want to practice your new Thai language skills.