Worldwide Accent Project | Hanoi, Vietnam

Worldwide Accent Project | Kuching, Malaysia

Worldwide Accent Project | Manila, Philippines

Worldwide Accents Project | Singapore

Worldwide Accent Project | Jakarta, Indonesia

Worldwide Accent Project | Bangkok, Thailand

HOW TO SAY: “Thank you” in Southeast Asia

This is just about the very first phrase we wanted to learn but keep forgeting it for some reason...Let’s re-look at how we say our appreciation and gratitude within our great region, shall we?...

Although the easiest way is the straightforward “Thank you”, which most of us understands anyway… saying it in their local language puts a tone of sincerity to it. Trying to learn their language by starting with a “Thank you” will make you more endearing to your hosts.

The people of Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei use the term “Terima kasih”. This is the easiest expression to use which will be understood in all 4 countries. Add “banyak-banyak” if you wanna thank them a lot.

And of course, the use of Chinese would be appreciated too if your hosts are Chinese. Say “Xie xie” with your sweetest smile or “Toa xie” and “Doh je” if they speak Cantonese. Say “Nandri” to our Tamil brothers and you might get nice pat at the back!

They say “Salamat” in the Philippines. Add “maraming” before it if you wanna thank them a lot. And… add “po” after it to be more respectful and polite – “Maraming salamat po.” Please note the “po” is pronounced as “pok” without aspirating the “k”.

Our Cambodian brothers (and sisters!) say “Ar kun”. And they say “Kop jai lai lai” in Laos or simply "Kop jai". Our Burmese friends say “Chezu ba” or “Amyaji chezu tinbade” for lotsa thanks! The adorable people of Vietnam say “Cám ơn”.

“Kop khun khrap” is the Thai term for “thank you”. Add “mak” after the khun for “many thanks” and change “khrap” to “kha” if you are (or think =) a female. I guess you already know that we Thais are lazy pronouncing the letter “R”? LOL!

In the occasion of BISEAN’s 1st Year Anniversary of Blogging…
we thank you in all languages.

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HOW TO SAY “DELICIOUS!” IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

My friends and I asked around the neighborhood on “how to say delicious” in our region. We got mixed responses. Some gladly helped and some outright attacked us saying “Whadda heck do you wanna know?! My country speaks English anyway and 'delicious' would be understood”. *my eyeballs rolled 3 times and my left eyebrow challenged the Petronas*

What these oh-so-high-almighty-fluent-English-speakers-with-noses-flat-as-a-pancake don’t understand is; the cultural essence of learning to speak another language. I don’t know about you but here in Thailand, when a foreigner makes an effort to speak our language, we treat them with high esteem.

One time, I was in another country *which I won’t name even if you stick a fork up my nostrils* and made an effort to speak their language. You know what I got? – “Why are you talking in *toot toot*? Don’t you know everybody here speaks English and we are the best English speakers in the whole of Asia yaddi-yadda-yadda-blah-blah?” *OMG! What a culture-less human being!*

Anyways, enough of the ranting…here’s how to say delicious in Southeast Asia and express your appreciation for the delicious food your hosts are serving you:

You say “sedap” in Malaysia and Brunei. Remember that the ‘e’ is pronounced like a soft ‘a”. You would surely harvest nice praises from the Malays and the Bruneians and who knows? – They might give you more food to munch on.

“Sedap” is also applicable in Malay speaking Singapore. And ‘delicious’ in Mandarin is “Hen Hao Chi” or “Hen Mei Wei” or if you really want to impress your hosts, say "Jin Ho Jiek" in Hokkien and "Ho Sek" in Cantonese.

In Vietnam, “Ngon” means delicious. "Rất ngon" means very delicious. If you wanna compliment your hosts’ effort of preparing a dish for you, you say "Ngon quá" for appreciation.

“Sarap” is the root word for ‘delicious’ in the Philippines. You can use it as it is or add a prefix like “masarap” (delicious), “napakasarap” (very delicious) or the overacting “Ang sarap-sarap!” – please note that the Malay ’sedap’ is pronounced like ‘sarap’ too. If you’re in Cebu or Mindanao Island; you say “Lami kaayo”.

Indonesia has a lot of terms for it – “bagose makan”, “enak”, “sedap”, “nikmat” or simply “maknyuss”. And if you wanna max it up -- you can add “sangat” or “sekali” or “banget”. Although the most appropriate term for delicious food is “Lezat”. You can also use these in Timor Leste.

They say “Chi-ang” in Cambodia. In Laos it’s “Saep” (like ‘sehp”) and add “lai lai” after it to say it’s very delicious. I was told its “Lum tair tair” in Burma but I’m not really sure because it sounds Northern Thai to me. *Help me out, Dawn?*

Here in Thailand (เมืองไทยน่าอยู่ที่สุดในโลกเลย) -- we say “aroi” (อร่อย) for delicious and “aroi mak” (อร่อยมาก) for very delicious.

I don’t need to note that you don’t say “delicious” each and every time you stuff your face, should I? Once is enough -- on the first bite usually and maybe repeat it again when you finish eating for the best effect.

These little cultural/language exchange brings us closer together. After all, we are one big family anyway that happens to speak different languages.

I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I did.

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-- Pisanu

Related articles: How to say...
*I Miss You
*I Love You
*F*ck You
*The G Word

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HOW TO SAY “I MISS YOU” IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

Ok, here we go – you already made it to the first base, made it through the hot yet awkward “I love you” stage *eww!*, but you have to go back to your home country and leave your sweetheart for a while.

Although the English “I miss you” would almost certainly melt them, saying it in their own language would definitely blow them off their feet.

If you’re a girl (or feel like a girl) and you wanna say “I miss you” to a Cambodian boy; you say "Oun nirk bong". Or if you’re the boy, you say "Bong nirk oun". I’m not sure if “Bong nirk bong” is acceptable. LOL

You say “Saya rindu kamu” in Indonesia – it won’t matter if you’re a boy of girl, it’s the same. You can also say “Saya kangen kamu”, “Aku rindu kamu”, or “Aku rindu kepadamu”. Just remember the last “a” of Saya is soft like [sayuh].

You can say it two ways in Burmese: one is "thadi-ya-dal" which can be used by both friends and between couples. Another one is "lwan dal" which is more lovey-dovey version of I Miss You.*

They say “Khoi kuedhod chao de” in Laos. They often use this and other terms of endearment because as far as I know, the Laotians are the most romantic lovers in our region.

In Malaysia and Brunei, they say "Saya rindu awak". And it’s “Wo xiang ni” (我 想 你) in Singapore. Remember that these 3 countries share the same languages at the most. How do you say it in Tamil, by the way?

“Tôi Nhớ Bạn” is “I miss you” in Vietnam. This is used for both male and female. Or if you’re the boy, you say “Anh Nhớ Em” to a girl and if you’re the girl, you say “Em Nhớ Anh” to a boy.

You say “Miss kita” or “Miss na kita” in the Philippines. You’ll notice that half of it is the English “miss”; if you wanna go real deeper, you say “Sabik na sabik na ako sa iyo.” -- which literally means “I’m really excited to see you.”

'Kid theung' (คิดถึง) means 'miss' in Thailand. We say “Kid theung ter na' khrap” or change “khrap” to “kha” if you’re a girl (always remember that “kha” is for female speakers, “khrap” is for male speakers). If you wanna make it sound giggly sweet, use “ja” instead of the “kha” or “khrap”.

There you go – the follow up phrase to “I love you”. These can also be an excellent alternative if you’re an insensitive a**hole who cannot say the words “I love you”. *yes, I'm referring to myself so, get off me*

The effort to try to speak their language with the most intimate words is guaranteed to win their hearts, blow their mind and make you “unforgettable” to them.

Now get that mobile phone and send a text message. Try it now!


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*Thanks to Dawn of Yangon!

Related articles: How to say...

*I Love You
*F*ck You
*The G Word


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HOW TO SAY "I LOVE YOU" IN SE ASIA

We'll start a series of "how to say" things on this blog. There's nothing on the Internet that group together the major languages of our region -- it's all cramped in with 200 other world languages that mess our attention.

We'll start with how to say "I love you". Just in case you fancy somebody from our neighboring villages. And then we'll make it naughtier as we go along. We'll go dirty, if we have to.

So here's how you say those three sweetest little words that make the little girls giggle and the little boys blush;

Say "Chan Rak Ter" in Thai. If you're a dude, replace the "chan" with "phom". But the norm, especially in love songs and trying to be romantic, no matter if you're a boy or girl; "Chan Rak Ter" is the choice.

"Saya cintamu" is how they say it in Malaysia. You can also use “Aku cinta padamu.” Cinta is pronounced as ‘chinta’. Bahasa Melayu as we all know is similar to Bahasa Indonesia. Think American English and British English. They only differ in the use of words. They say “Saya cinta padamu” in Indonesia.

Brunei also uses Bahasa but they follow the Malay pattern. They also use “Saya cintamu”.

They say “Mahal kita” in the Philippines. Incidentally, “mahal” means “expensive” too. Maybe it’s a corruption of “...you are expensive, therefore, valuable – you’re valuable to me” notion. Something like that. But technically, you say “Iniibig kita”, by which “ibig” means “like” or “love”…but it is only used in books and literature nowadays. It’s safer to use “Mahal kita”.

“Khoi huk chao” is how they say “I love you” in Laos. You may have known it or not, the Laotians are one of the most romantic people in our region.

Singapore say “Wo ai ni”. Yes, its Mandarin and they also use Bahasa Melayu. So, they also say “Saya cintamu”. I can’t help but to use it all the time when I fly Singapore Airlines. I think they got the best looking crew in our region –of course this statement is open to appeals and violent reactions.

They say “Chit pa de” in Burma, “Bon sro lanh oon” in Cambodia and “Toi yeu em” in Vietnam. The 3 countries that seldom come to my blog so I won’t write anything more, even if I want to. There. Take that!

For however it is and for what it’s worth, I rarely use “I love you” in any language. I personally believe that sex is the ultimate expression of love. If you want to know how much I love you – lay me and I’ll show you.


Keep taking that baby.

--Pisanu