Apple is a fantastic nickname because it constitutes such a beautiful riddle of Thainess. Te word apple is Thai-English is pronounced 'Ab-pun', because Thais tend to pronounce 'p' as 'b' and a 'I' that falls at the end of a word as 'n'. But the nickname is further complicated by the locals' penchant for shortening words. In this case, the beginning of Apple is chopped off, so girls called Apple are addressed as Pun, which is spelled 'Ple'. Understand?
If you do, then take into account that the average Thai would present himself to you with two names: the polysyllabic formal one that twists the tongue of the untrained, and a punchy moniker whose meaning is often whimsical if not downright mind-boggling. Among the favorites are animal names: Pu (crab), Plaa (fish), Goong (shrimp), Nok (bird), Gai (chicken), Ped (duck), Jeab (chick), Maew (cat), Noo (mouse), Mee (bear) and Chang (elephant). A woman who's called Gong, please note, generally has nothing about her that resembles a shrimp, and likewise a man called Mee isn't always as cuddly as a bear. Equally juicy is a teeming orchard of fruit names: Som (orange), So-o (Pomelo), Tang (melon), Ple (as mentioned before, short for Apple) and Cherry but not, so far, strawberry. Females enjoy pretty names like Fah (sky), Fon (rain), Dao (star), or names that start with Su, which means beautiful or excellent in Thai. Males are tagged with something more about robust like Noom (young man), Yod (the best), or Chai (victory).
Then there's the category of names that are untranslatable. Instead, Att, Eet, It, Uht and even Oodt, are easily pronounced and just as easily remembered. We're thinking the same holds true for someone named Khun Ningnong.
Old fashioned nicknames in circulation include colors such as Dang (red) and Kiew (green), and dimensions such as Lek (small), Yai (big), Nid (tiny) and Noi (little), whereas the three most popular English names these days are, seriously A, B, and C, while P and S seem to be catching up more recently. In Thailand, not only your buddies call you by your cute little second name, but everybody from your dad, your teacher, your students, your boss, your debtor to your dentist does as well.
And, in case you are wondering, there is a method to all of this madness. The naming tradition in Thailand goes back to a time when the thinking was a child with a beautiful, correct or official name was at risk from unhappy demons. Providing a nickname that wouldn't attract attention became common practice. So remember an all-important question in Thailand Khun Cheu Arai, or what's your name?
