Thai Names & Honorifics (for the casual BL fan) 

*“Living in thailand, I’ve come across some weird nicknames, for example Porsche”* also Perth who is part in *KinnPorsche* : YEP

I love the fact that he uses his own dramas as references. What a fun way to teach ☺️

I taught at an international high school in Thailand and one of my students was nicknamed "Milk" and her best friend went by "Donut." As far as I know they came up with these names independent of each other when they were children.

Not gonna lie, but I can sit all day long, listening to Perth speak. His voice is sooooooo calm, gives me a comforting vibe. I love you Perth 💕

“Damn!- that’s a long ass name!” Yep- that pretty much describes my EXACT reaction when I read Thai actors names- then follows a game I like to describe as “how many times can I (try to) say that name quickly before I ef it up!?” (Or twist my tongue into an untie-able knot!) Edit- loved this video- genuinely informative!- I did wonder about why Thai surnames were so damn long!

Really helpful! Was wondering why Kuea kept calling Lian, "Hia".

If I had a language teacher like Perth for every language, I would never be intimidated by language classes again!

I am 100% Thai but honestly you explain them way better than me. 😂 I had a hard time clarifying these to my foreign friend. Thank you.

Perth, please make merch with the quote, “Damn! That’s a long ass name.” 🤣🤣🤣🤣 Humor aside, thank you for this informative video! I enjoyed learning and understanding the meaning behind Thai culture.

Another thing i want all the inter fans to know is that in 'Nu Kuea'​ the word NU is actually not a part of his name but it's from the word KHUN NU which means young master and the word NU itself can also be used as a honorific to someone really cute, adorable and young. You can call someone masculine with KHUN NU but never with NU

You've got talent in TEACHING! Found it really clear and helpful. This series has given me much strength in learning Thai hahah

I am an American from Dallas Texas I just want to thank u for sharing this with us this is so helpful. Everything that you spoke on are the things that I've been asking questions about.. for me it's all about respect using the proper handles and titles when addressing anyone 🌈 🌞 thanks again perth... -Akasha

I love this. "Damn, that's a long-ass name." I can't tell you how many times I've thought that. It's nice to hear an explanation of why. Great job!

Finally another Thai language video from my first and also my favorite Thai teacher ❤️ As always, you're very good at explaining things! Now, everything I hear in series makes even more sense 😁

For Chinese people, most of our surnames are pretty common, so like in English they’d usually be translated as Ong, Tan, Wong, Chan, Lee, etc. These are usually more common among Singaporeans and Malaysians, since we’re more ‘westernised’, so to say, and English is one of our main languages. In Chinese, they’d usually be written as Ong=Wáng, Tan/Chan=Chén, Wong=Huáng, Lee=Li(third tone). However, for our Chinese names, they’re also given with meaning, although most of us also usually don’t know what they mean lol.

I've always been fascinated about how nicknames were chosen because they always seemed so random (and inconsistent); so, thank you so much for the explanation. I really love this type of content; and, I couldn't really think of anybody better to deliver it.

Perth you are honestly fit to be a teacher, this was so much easier to understand! Also, loving the Manner of Death representation

YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY BE A TEACHER! You are so talented in making people understand and with various examples as well. I am learning Thai at the moment because I find this language so beautiful. Thanks once again, Kruu Perth. I am now a subscriber proper!

11:00 I love the fact that he just straight up cursed in Thai but refused to say the F-word😂

Same with African cultures, our parents name us with meaning. So imagine how confused I was after moving to the UK, and my English teacher was called Ms. Wood, headmaster was called Mr Stone, Others Ms. Green, Mr Sandwood.. It was so funny

In poland we have surnames like "Brzęczyszczykiewicz" so i totally understand those long names lmao😭

I'm from Brazil and just understood "Phi" and "Nong", the other honourifcs were confused to me, now it's all very clear in my head. I'm watching Cutie Pie and didn't realize that "Hia" of "Hia Lian" is an honourific, I tought that was his first name haha good to know, thank you, Perth, for the video ❤

I visited Thailand a few years ago and got into Thai dramas last year. I was able to figure out a lot of what you said on a basic level but you really clarified some things and helped me understand the honorifics much better. I want to move to and teach English in Thailand so having some basic knowledge like this is super helpful. Thank you! P.S. I loved watching you in Cutie Pie!

OMG this whole time I was thinking, "I'm pretty sure this guy is from Cutie Pie, like 98% sure" but then I didn't wanna be that person. You did so great in there, actually on of my fav characters! Thank you for explaining, I actually like watching some old school dramas like Mae Ka Khanom Wan or Prissana and at first it was confusing to hear the names and nicknames and the Phi's and Khun's.

A wonderful tool for people new to Thai language/culture. It answered/clarified a number of questions I had. Watching these dramas definitely makes me more interested in the Thai language and I really enjoy these kinds of educational videos. Just a couple additional things that Perth answered during the premiere live chat in case other watchers are interested: -A wife will usually take her husband's name when they get married -The use of hia/je is dependent on the person the honorific is directed to being of Chinese decent only, not based on the speaker being of Chinese decent.

As someone who isn’t learning Thai as a language (yet lol) but consumes a lot of Thai media this was very interesting & informative. I like how it gives an insight into Thai culture/society as well in terms of how the different honorifics are used.

I've never seen Thai BLs, but I love learning about different languages. I'm guessing that's probably why this video popped up in my recommended feed. This was incredibly interesting! Thank you for posting this!

Dude i literally love the way you explain things, you talk in such a clear voice and with average speed and tone

Perth has done amazing job explaining these concepts in such a concise and easy to digest manner. I'd like to add a few more information as a further reading. - While "Hia" and "Je" means older brother and older sister for chinese descent respectively, the fact that they are used by chinese immigrant all those years ago who would take on odd jobs and opened local shops made those 2 terms have added meanings: chinese middle-aged shop owner. Some thai people will call shop owners of chinese descent "Hia" or "Je" even tho their age range might be around the same as people who would be called "Loong" or "Pa". - There are actually some few cases of people having nicknames that is derived from their first name. For example, 2PM's Nichkhun's nickname is Khun and CLC's Chonnasorn's nickname is Sorn. There are also some really rare case where the person would not have a nickname at all. In these cases, it's always the case that their first name is actually short enough, in the range of 1-2 syllable long, that their parents might be fine with them not having nickname. Or in flip case, their nickname sounds good enough to pass as a first name. If you've watched ATOTS, most of the lead characters don't seem like they have separate first name and nickname. - Because of the benefit of being a literary work, characters' nicknames in shows are pretty meaningful or sounds pretty, or especially in the case of bl, often carried with them trope of cool and desirable names that might not be commonly found in daily life.

Perth is really good at explaining things in simple terms. He would make a great teacher. I didn't know his name was Stewart.

You will be forever my Thai teacher. When I started to watch Thai bls I thought that the random names were a thing for actors and singers only, thanks for your always useful explanations.

Thank you so much, Perth. I'm very new to Thai BL, very close to breaking down and just LEARNING THE LANGUAGE all because not everything is subtitled, and trying to read about this stuff was hurting my head. BTW, LOVED you in Cutie Pie! You did briefly make me think I was hearing things from over-tiredness (marathoned the crap out of that series); I had to pause several times and mumble, "Is that a secret Australian? No, where the hell would a Thai BL get a secret Australian?" I need to read up on you and figure you out! Oh, and especially thank you for acknowledging the bizarre-ness of Thai nicknames. When I watched my first series, I couldn't get used to the names ("What do you mean his name is...Corn?"), so I ended up assigning the main characters numbers instead.

There is so much similarity between our cultures! I am Assam, a state in the northeastern part of India. We too have a auspicious system of choosing our names. They are mostly recommended by a special priest, who reads our astrological charts and gives us a name based on the corresponding letter that is linked to our sun sign! In case, parents do not prefer that specific name, it is either kept as a nickname or else a secret third name, which is used only when the priest asks for it during religious rites!

โหหหห สอนดีมากเลยค้าบบบ อย่างเฮียงี้ คิดอยู่ว่าต่างชาติดูแล้วจะเข้าใจมั้ยนะ น้องเกื้อก็เรียกแต่เฮียทั้งเรื่องเลย มาเจอคลิปนี้คงช่วยแฟนBLต่างชาติได้เยอะเลย คนสอนก็น่ารักมากๆเลยค้าบบบบบ นิ่งเฮียใกล้จบแล้วแต่ยังได้ติดตามผลงานเพิร์ธต่อเรื่องคินน์พอร์ช ยาวไปยาวปายยย ~ 😊

I'm currently watching my 1st Thai BL (Until We Meet Again) and this was extremely helpful to understand some of the names. Thank you so much.

Even if I'm not interested in learning Thai i can keep listening to Perth talking 24/7❤️ the way he explains things is just amazing

Hi Perth, could you do another Ep of this? Explain about Guu, Meung, Chan, Thur, Rao and also sometime the speakers use their nicknames to call themselves…like ‘Phi Jay, chuay Kuea duay!’ It’s a pity non-Thais miss the flavor of the movies/series they watch, cause when translating, everything gets translated to just “I”. This EP is great, thank you!!

I used to wonder who would name their children Technic and Techno (for those that may know the series that these came from) and also I have heard some with car or other brand names. Eventually I learned they can pick just about anything. And I learned more through this video. Thank you, this is really, really informative!

OMG thank you for this ! I've started learning thai and never came across someone explaining why the nicknames like Barcode, Porsche (hello) Bright, Bible etc... Also the explaing of phi and nong, wow, gosh you really explain well and it makes more sense now, how you kinda estimate the age and call ppl one way or the other

His voice is so calming.. the kind of voice that makes people want to pay attention

this is actually very educational! you're giving a bit of history and backgrounds on these names which make us more easy to understand and follow. honestly school material worthy! thank you for this vid

"for the casual BL fans" *winks* Me who's here for scientific purposes: *fangirl panic*

"You just use your eyes to see and guess how old they are." yeah okay, but like have you seen your coworkers? I guessed literally all of the actors of KinnPorsche to be at least 5 years younger than they actually are.

Hey Perth, I just really wanted to say thank you for introducing me to the wonderful world of Cutiepie. Your acting as Jay was really great (and dare I say very handsome) and I am on a streak watch atm, watching your previous series as well as the other cast memeber's at Mandee Work. I just wanted to say thank you and wish you all the very best in your life and career. You've definitely earned a fan that will support you for a long time! ขอให้โชคดี ✨

Even though I am a Thai, I have never tried to find those names' origins before. Thank you so much. I find it very interesting because you explain everything so clearly.

When I first started watching Thai series it was quite fun learning about different honorifics because we have something similar in Filipino. Btw your character in Cutie Pie… Jay / Gemini always looks so cool.

I'm going to say a big thank-you for this! I have been watching BL dramas for a few weeks now - I started with Cutie Pie and have just finished Bad Buddy and Not Me (on the GMMTV channel). And I was always confused on the different honorifics and nicknames used. I was surprised the find out that Hia meant older brother and it's used a LOT in Cutie Pie by Kuea for Lian. Again this has cleared up a lot for me so thankyou, Perth. I look forward to next video - whatever it happens to be about!

I'm fairly new to Thai media, so this was really educational and interesting for me! I appreciated the comparison to Japanese culture because I've had the experience of learning the language as well as working and living in Japan. Thank you for this video!

WOW I needed that... as a "casual BL fan" 😉😉 this answered alot of the questions I had thank you😊 great examples and great explanations 🎉🥰🥰

I have been watching BL dramas for about 2 months now.. I caught on to the P and Nong pretty quickly, since I know honorifics are common for Asian cultures. But the “Hia” thing I had no idea about! Thank you so much for this video! I’ll understand things much better now.

This was so helpful, thank you! I love when actors share more of their culture for international fans to better understand their craft. Also, the whole time you were talking, I couldn’t help but think “damn, that’s a cute sweater”. I have to know where you got it!

okay but you are so charismatic! your acting skills, your attitude, your videos, you are adorable 💗 thanks for the video!

The best thai language and culture teacher that one can have. Khun Perth have you ever thought about writing a thai language book? There are not so many great resources out there, but your explanation is excellent and easy to follow.

Perth, you're so good at this! You provided good and helpful info and presented it in a really clear way. Your videos are always enjoyable but I especially like this one.

I could listen to it for hours, and look at it too because it's solar, it has a warm beauty, such a sweet and friendly air! Thank you for all these explanations! I love it so much!

Not me thinking about max and tul in manner of death as soon as you mentioned using khun amount couples and you showing a scene from it blew my mind

Thank you, Perth. I've learned a lot today. Can you please explain why your friends would call your mom also mom? I've seen it in many series I've watched. I truly love "Cutie Pie". It's cute, funny and so beautiful. I love your, Zee's and NuNew's characters.

wow this actually explains alot of things we hear all the time , loved how you used those references so it makes more sense too!

The nickname thing explains the characters/actors names in bl's. Watching my first bl, I'd always do a double-take and chuckle at the character's names. They always sounded so random 😂

Gosh, Perth explaining makes me focus on his face and accent than the words coming out from his mouth. Kudos! I love how u explain everything. Gosh! How to have someone like u

I've been watching Thai BL for about 5 months now and have developed an interest in learning bits of the language where I can. This was super informative in an easy to understand way! Thanks soooo much - now on to binge the other videos on the channel. :D

I love how you explain the meaning of Khun and than show Manners of Death/ TanBun as example for the pet names because I was so confused when they called each other Khun in the series. Like I looked it up and was super confused whay they still called each other a super formal way when they are a couple. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR EXPLAINING!!

If you started a patreon to teach/explain basic Thai I would SO pay for it... came across this video by chance and it has helped me navigate work! I addressed someone as 'Khun' and they seemed really happy that an american used their local honorifics to address them! i work with post production and as this market gets more and more global im trying to learn words from all the languages I work in. These small things (like honorifics) have been SO useful to learn!

Hi Perth, thanks for taking on this challenge to teach Thai, watch alot of Bls, and am sick of sub titles....lol. Loved you in Cutie Pie and KinnPorsche. Didnt recognize you at first, was just glad someone was teaching Thai. Now even more excited to learn from you. Learned alot in the first 2 videos..about sur names and when to use honorifics...answered so many questions. Please keep it up, you are much appreciated. Promise to watch all your content and future shows you are in.

I love how much I learned and how much it helped my cultural understanding while I'm watching stuff. Thank you so much!

P' Perth, the way you explain it makes it so easy to understand! Using BL clips as examples was also super entertaining! Thank you so much, I look forward to watching more videos from you about the thai language and culture! Unfortunately, I live in a country where Thai is not a language that is offered in university courses or even in language institutes. If someone would like to learn thai in Thailand, is there specific schools or institutes you would recommend? Much love!

Perth british accent really slayy btw this is very helpfull!!! thank you! you deserve million subcribers!!

This video was really helpful. Thanks for all the examples and the making it easier to understand some of these. Phi and Nong ones I had figured out, but it is cool to know that Phi is not really age specific. This history behind Thai names was really interesting. To know that no two families have the same Surname is quite amazing, unless they are related. Really cool!

Si entendiste fácilmente la gran mayoría de las cosas que explicó, eso demuestra lo mucho que ves series de Tailandia ♡ Pd: Gracias por otro maravilloso video. Tus explicaciones siempre son excelentes y los ejemplos son tan acertados y divertidos

This is very good and educational The channel is very underrated, most people might come here for your pretty face but they'll also realize that you're very smart, well spoken and kind. And phi and nong are very miss translated imo in many bl shows coz when love interests say brother/little brother it looks kinda creepy, so thank you for clarifying. Like you said asian culture is about respect especially of elders I'm an Indian and in hindi we call older males as 'bhaiya' which comes from the word for brother 'bhai' so it'd be weird if I call my lover as bhaiya as it'll creep him n me out .

thank you P'Perth for always explaining everything so well! You really help me understand Thai culture that I fell in love with through watching BL

It feels so good to learn your favorite language with your favorite actor

Muchas gracias P' Perth, con este vídeo aprendí más sobre los nombres y honoríficos en tailandés, sólo sabía el significado de Phi, Nong y Hia; ahora he aprendido un poco más. Ha sido muy educativo este vídeo. Saludos desde Perú ❤

"dare I say sexy bar owner named gemini" Oh you should dare because you did a job well done on that character. People in the comment section were like "who is that good lucking guy" I was like "our favorite Hufflepuff Perth!"

As someone with a learning difficulty I find your videos so helpful easy to learn and very well-thought-out I'd love it if you could make more basic Thai videos

Nowadays, Thai people call someone or something adorable as “Nong” even though they are older. We often refer to them when talking to friends. Ex. I saw Perth is adorable, I talked about he with my friend I called Nong Perth. Nong dog, Nong whatever you like In case, we are talking about Apo and I often say Nong is so adorable.

めっちゃわかりやすかったです！ 例とかも映像つけてくれてるのですっごい参考になりました！また是非やってほしいですー！文化とかの解説もあってめっちゃ良かったです！

Awesome video! I was sooo confused in Cutie Pie by Lian and Yi being both called Hia but now I know it is an honorific. I knew the others but this video surely clarified them all. Thanks Perth!

Thank you for explaining it all! I watched KP after a string of historical C-dramas and I damn near lost my mind going...GREAT. I have to figure out another system of honorifics. Listening to it being explained is a lot more comprehensive than reading a few paragraphs that doesn't really explain it.

wow that was surprisingly interesting! i'm not a big fan of thai series, i really love only two of those i've seen, but... i was watching the video with my jaw on the floor that was soooo exciting to learn something about thai culture. and also it seems like very unique and not alike other cultures. for example in russia we don't have any of these honourifics at all and we don't know a thing about the meanings of our names. thank you very much, phi'perth. i was wondering about thai names for quite a while and never actually tried to find out the truth. definetely a good experience, i told the information to all of my friends

the best presentation video that I've ever watched 😁 the good example provided tho

"Thai people just look at faces and make an estimate" So they probably will be wrong about my age because people tend to think I'm 25 while I'm 35 😂 Thank you about the explanation on Thai surnames. I was always wondering why it is so long

You truly are brilliant! I’ve been wondering about this a lot and your ability to explain and teach is off the charts. I do wonder about your Thai name though if you were always called Stewart and how it came to be.I’ve watched My Engineer and Cutie Pie as well as KinnPorche and you have truly grown in your acting career. I look forward to seeing your next adventure and wish you well.

I am from south america and we don't really use honorifics like these other than mr/sir/miss/etc so it's really interesting to learn this about other cultures, especially from a culture so different to mine (Chile)

I usually wait to watch finished series but I really wanted to watch cutie pie and when I saw you and how often you show up I get really excited and happy to see you in the show 😩😍

Thank you so much for this amazing explanation!!❤ I was literally so confused about why P'Zee and P'Max were both called 'Hia' in Cutie Pie the series but now I know! Thank you P'Perth❤🌹

I just came across this on my feed yesterday evening and found it quite helpful. I'm particularly fascinated by the idea of the notion of using honorifics for someone who is younger, something that I haven't come across before. As someone who is 71, I very much like the idea of showing respect to someone who is younger rather than always being the recipient of respect simply because of my age. I look forward to learning more about the Thai language and culture through your videos; thank you for making them!

this was a really cool an insightful video! It can always be confusing for international fans getting a glimpse into a culture that they aren't as familiar with so the fact you made a whole video explaining it and explaining it so well is really awesome!

This video was super interesting and fun to watch!! I think Thai language and culture is really underrated. If possible I would love to see a video about Thai traditional clothes! Like if there are any special dresses for events like weddings or other occasions :)

The way he explains the wholeeee thing is so smooth and his intonation is tooo cute and interesting ahhhh. Perth climbing in my heart 😭 i watch his first acting as Gemini 😅

I have been a fan of BL for a long time and I find it very curious that in the most BL series that I see, you are one of the characters hahahahha I really respect you (I love both your way of acting, as well as the way you are a content creator on this platform). The way you explain is incredible, most of the things you said I already knew (but because I informed myself and I've been watching BL for a long as I said..) but for someone who still has no idea of the Thai language it's incredible. I am a new follower now and a new simp lmao !!!! 💗

I am a retired Math and Fine Arts teacher as well as a big BL fan. I have watched you in multiple Bl series and become familiar with your instructional RU-vid videos. I just wanted to give you a shout out for doing such a great job as an instructor. Your pacing, timing, and step by step explanations are informative and very well presented. Keep up the great job! (I am also a fan of yours!)

Los 14 minutos de mi vida bien invertidos ☺️✨✨

This video saved my life after just starting to watch a handful of Thai shows for the first time haha Thank you! Great explanations.

Thanks! I’ve been learning Thai with an online tutor, and your videos are really great supplements for learning! And also, I’ve been a huge fan since My Engineer - and so far enjoying KinnPorsche. Haven’t gotten around to Cutie Pie but as a Zee fan (plus with you in it), it’s on my bucket list. 😊

Thank you for all these lessons. I saw you in many series so you must be very busy but you take the time for that so thank you again. I will look forward for the next episode of basic thaï with you. 👍🏻

A big thank you to you Perth. From watching you on My Engineer, and your first couple of youtube language videos I started learning Thai in 2020 . . . AND NOW I'M IN THAILAND FOR A MONTH! TILL MAY 1! THANKS!

Gosh, I love your videos about the Thai language! You always make it so simple to understand and fun to watch 😄 As a BL fan, I kinda knew what those words meant, but it's always good to have an extra explanation lol Btw, as YOUR fan, just wanted to say it's amazing to see you in TWO series every Saturday now hehehehe Stay healthy, susu na!!! ❤

Thank you so much for this video and your explanation of Thai nicknames. I was confused why someone would use names of objects and furniture as their name but when you explain that within the Thai language, the choice of a name/word from another culture is just based on sound alone, then it makes perfect sense for someone to say "Hi, my name is Desk." That equates back to Western culture and we have names that sound pleasant, but may not have a meaning and was just made up/created because of the way it sounded or looked when written. It's interesting that a first name must have meaning, but a nickname can just sound pleasant and doesn't necessarily have to have a meaning.

Thanks so much. The first part of your video (nicknames, first names, surnames) explains some things in certain scenes of various Thai BLs that have long puzzled me .