Thai catch phases that created a buzz in 2023
Many new phrases with a meaning relevant to the situation gained currency among Thai people in 2023, including “digital money”, “soft power”, and “Chin Thao” or “grey Chinese businesses”.
Krunthep Turakij has surveyed and listed some of the many catch phrases of 2023, including those in Thai, English transliterations, and a mixture of Thai and English words.
The most used catch phrases of the year included:
- “kee mong” (when)
“Kee mong” is normally a Thai question related to asking the time, but they can be translated to mean “when”. But during the past year, it has been used negatively to express doubt. For example, it was used to cast doubt on the possibility of the Thai national football team reaching the final round of the World Cup.
- First Thai
The term “first Thai” in the Thai language has been used with a negative connotation in 2023, mockingly about people who claimed they were the first ones to do something. Netizens often used the phrase to express scepticism about the claims.
- Digital money
The term has been used widely mainly because the Pheu Thai Party announced its policy to hand out 10,000 baht to all Thais aged 16 years and above through a digital wallet. Many netizens are asking when they would receive the digital money.
- Chin Thao
Chin Thao in Thai means grey Chinese businesses. It has been used during the past year to describe illegal activities of Chinese gangs.
- Cham
Cham is a Thai word that literally means very juicy or very saturated with water or liquid. It has been used by Thai netizens to mean “a lot” or very high or abundant. WiseSight (Thailand) said the term had received over 68 million engagements in 2023.
- Cha Thai
“Cha Thai”, or Thai tea, has become a popular term among Thai netizens this year because the orange and sweet drink has become popular worldwide and there have been feuds over copyrights over certain recipes or glass design for the drinks.
- “Chai Thrae”
Chai Thrae was coined as a play on the sound of the Thai words "Chai Thae", or real men. The second word has been tweaked to carry a negative meaning about men who look down on other sexes and who speak and treat others with selfishness and a self-centred attitude.
- Choc Mint
It is a transliteration from mint chocolate, which is a favourite drink of Pheu Thai leader Paetongta Shinawatra, and became the drink of her party. The term was widely mentioned and used during the process of government formation after the May 14 general election.
- Short feel
It is a transliteration from short-circuit and feelings. It is used by netizens to mean an action of disrupting someone speaking or doing something, and thus hurting badly his or her feelings.
- Soft power
Soft power is an English term and it has been used as transliteration widely after the Pheu Thai announced its policy to boost Thai soft power with the slogan of “one family one soft power”.
- Third crown coming
A Thai phrase “mong sam ma nae” (the third crown is definitely coming) was widely used during the Miss Universe pageant. Thai netizens expected Miss Universe Thailand Anntonia Porsild to win the Miss Universe crown so they kept posting “mong sam ma nae”.
- Whose fortune?
The term “whose fortune” in Thai was widely used by netizens to express admiration for the stars of idols. Or when they see posts of pictures of good-looking people, they will compliment by saying “whose fortune is this?”
- “I told Phrae Mae Laxmi about you”
This phase has been a popular tag, using English words “I told …. about you”, with a reference to goddess Laxmi in the middle of the tag. Laxmi is the goddess of love and those who want to meet their love destiny often pray to Laxmi. The tag has been used to court someone the person making the post likes.
- Woke
Thai netizens have been using the past tense of wake or “woke” to express their disillusionment about certain issues, especially those pertaining to politics.
