If you are an expat in Thailand, you have undoubtedly heard the word “farang” in your presence, but why? And what do you hear when you go elsewhere in Asia?
The word “farang” is a word that means “foreigner” in the Thai language and usually refers to someone of European decent. It’s unclear where the word derived from but it is believed to come from the word for “Frank,” meaning “European” in other languages, including Arabic and Portuguese.
If it comes from the Arabic word afrani, this may be derived from the Ethiopian word “faranji” which means white/European people. The Portugese influence may have been due to their introduction of the guava fruit, called a “farang”, which is bright white on the inside. If you are a Westerner and eating a guave fruit, you may get poked fun of a bit.
The word “farang” is almost never offensive. It’s just a word that Thai people use to distinguish foreigners from locals, although you might not want to be called “farang khi nok,” meaning “bird-shit farang”, as khi means waste and nok means (wild) bird. But again, it’s not a word that you should get mad at if someone refers to you as such. In fact, the longer you stay in Thailand the more you’ll start inevitably referring to yourself as a farang.
What do locals call foreigners in Asia?
Other countries in Asia have words for foreigners too, but they’re not all the same. For example, in China, you might often hear the word “Laowai” said in your presence as well as several other words that mean “foreigner.” In Japan, the word is “Gaijin”, which essentially reefers to anyone but also anything that is not Japanese.
In both Malaysia and Indonesia there are two words for foreigners, including “buleh” or “orang phtih.” These words have similar meanings, the word “Buleh” does have some negative origins, as it means ‘can’ or ‘may’ – which is a bit of a hint toward the thought that local people in Malaysia and Indonesia s can get away with more while dealing with foreigners, as those who do not know the local language can’t fluidly communicate, negotiate, etc. The alternative word, “orang putih” is much more polite and simply refers to a white person. Again, this sort of thing might sound racist to Westerners who are taught not to aknowledge rage, but here it is never used in a derogatory way.
Even Singaporians has a word that refers to foreigners; it’s “ang mo,” which literally translates as “red hair.” a surprising fact considering how diverse Singapore really is!
