Thai people are very serious about showing respect for senior relatives and older people (when I say older people I don’t only mean someone who is elderly but anyone who is older than you). It is very rude in Thai culture to call someone who is older than you by just their fore name. You need to give them a title, such as Pee or Na. Examples of different titles with explanations of when to use them are listed below. It is also important that when you meet an older person and when you say goodbye to them, you “ไหว้” (Wai) which translates as "pay respect” in English. Wai is the act of pressing your hands together in front of your face and bowing.
When you speak to someone older than you it is polite to say Pee followed by their name, for example Pee Somsai or Pee Daniel.
พ่อ (Por) = father. You will use Por followed by the person's name such as : Por Rawad, Por John. Also, Thai people will use Por as a slang word, for example, Por Praa which means someone who is a very good person and forgives everything, Por toon Hua which means Godfather and also means someone who is very special to you, Por pla lai means someone who is very slippery in every way like an eel.
แม่ (Mae) = mother. Mae is used in the same way as Por. We put Mae in front of the name, such as: Mae Karaked, Mae Kathy. Thai people also use Mae mixed with other words such as Mae Praa, which has the same meaning as Por Praa. Mea toon Hua means Godmother or a woman who is very special, the female version of Por toon Hua.
ปู่ (Bhoo) = Grandfather, Bho is your father’s father.
ย่า (Yaa) = Grandmother, Yaa is your father’s mother.
ตา (Dtaa) = Grandfather, Dtaa is your mother’s father.
ยาย (Yaai) = Grandmother, Yaai is your mother’s mother
พี่ชาย (Pee-chai) = older brother. Pee-chai is used to address an older brother or an older male relative. It can also be used for someone whose name you don't know. For example, if you needed to ask for directions from a male who's older than you, you can call him “ Pee-chai” or “ Khun”.
พี่สาว (Pee-sow) = older sister, Pee-sow is used to address your older sister or an older female relative . As with Pee-chai you can use it when speaking to someone whose name you don’t know. With both Pee-sow and Pee-chai we would call the person by the title only. If we wanted to use their name we would just use Pee. For example we would not say "Pee-sow Somying". We would either address them as simply Pee-sow or Pee Somying.
Please note, when I say old with male and female I do not mean too old like grandparent or that kind of age, I mean old enough that you can call them an older brother or sister. In the Thai language we are very serious about using titles in the correct way and about using them to address the right person.
น้องชาย (Nong-chai) = younger brother. We use this to address a younger brother or a male relative who is younger than you. We also use it to speak to younger males whose name you don’t know. For example, if you are in a restaurant or a bar and you would like to ask for the bill, instead of saying: “Waiter, can we have the bill.” You can call: "Nong-Chai, check bill”
น้องสาว(Nong-sow) = younger sister. We use this to address a younger sister or a female relative who is younger than you are. As with Nong-chai we can use it to address younger females whose names we do not know.
When come to giving a title for younger people, we will use the word Nong. For both younger males and females we use Nong followed by the person's name. For example, Nong Nii or Nong Rose. With younger friends it is permissible to just address them with their name, although it is politer to use Nong, but when addressing older people it is important you use Pee.
ลุง (Luung) = uncle. Luung is used to address the older brother of your father or mother. Thai people also use luung as a joke term for a male that acts older than their age. Luung should be followed by the person's name.
ป้า ( Bhaa)= aunty. Baa is used to address the older sister of your father or mother. Like Luung, you can use Baa as a joking term for someone who acts like an old woman. Bhaa is followed by the person's name.
น้า (Naa) = aunty or uncle. We use Naa to address our mother's or father‘s sister or brother. If it is an aunt we call them Naa-sow or an uncle will be referred to as Naa-Chai. But normally we just use Naa followed by the person's name.
อา (Ar) = uncle. Ar is used to address the brother of your father. To use it put Ar then follow it with the uncle's name.
หลานสาว (Llan-sow) = niece
หลานชาย (Llan- chai) = nephew
เหลน (Llen) = great-grandchild
We address our nieces, nephews and great-grandchildren by their names only.
ลูกเขย (Look-Khoy) = son-in-law
ลูกสะใภ้ (Look-sa-pai) = daughter-in-law
หลานเขย(Llan- khoy) = grandchild’s husband.
หลายสะใภ้ (Llan-sa-pai) = grandchild’s wife
พี่สะใภ้ (Pee-sa-pai) = sister-in-law
พี่เขย (Pee-khoy) = brother-in-law. This is the word for brother-in-law, but when we address our brother-in-law or sister-in-law we use “Pee” followed by the name of the person.
แม่ยาย ( Mae-Yaai) = mother-in-law, wife’s mother.
พ่อตา (Por – Taa) = father-in-law, wife’s father.
พ่อปู่ ( Por – Bhoo) = father-in-law, husband’s father.
แม่ย่า ( Mae-Yaa) = mother-in-law, husband’s mother.
ญาติ (Yart) = relative. It’s a word that we sometimes use when you don't want to specify what the relation is to you or if their relation to you is complicated. In this case we would just say "Yart ” meaning relative.
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