Unless you’re living out in the middle of a rice field somewhere north of Baan-no where, then you’ve probably been acquainted with a few of the emerging acronyms used to describe different aspects of expat Thai life.
The reality is, if you don’t know your TIT from your TOT, and your BKK from your PATTS, you might as well not be living in the LOS.
Say what? Exactly!
So it has fallen on me to be the first to put together a definitive expat acronym/abbreviation guide to ensure you stay at the forefront of cool while living in Thailand.
The Definitive Thailand Expat Acronyms Guide
1. LOS
Land Of Smiles: Thailand.
2. TIT
This Is Thailand: Used as a way of saying, accept it, love it or leave it, that's just the way it is).
3.BIB
Boys In Brown (police): Also known among a minority as Baht In Pocket (no explanation required).
4. TAT
Tourism Authority of Thailand.
5. TOT
Telephone Organization of Thailand: A state-owned telecommunications company, originally established in 1954 and corporatized in 2002.
6. BKK
Bangkok: Otherwise known as the City of Angels, or Bangers.
7. PATTS
Pattaya: otherwise know as Sin City.
8. CM
Chiang Mai: The one time capital of the ancient Lanna kingdom
9. CR
Chiang Rai: North of Chiang Mai, CR is the main commercial centre serving the Golden Triangle border region of Thailand, Myanmar and Laos.
10. NST
Nakhon Si Thammarat: A southern province on the western shore of the Gulf of Thailand.
11. UC
Upcountry: anywhere considered to be in the middle of Nakhon no where
12. SUK
Short for Sukhumvit in Bangkok.
13. Swampy
Short for Suvarnabhumi Airport
14. 555
Used by Thais to indicate through writing that something is very funny. The number 5 is “ha” in Thai. So, hahaha = 555. Genius.
15. OMB
Oh My Buddha! (The Buddhist play on OMG – Oh my God).
16. TV
Short for the popular ThaiVisa.com forum.
17. OE
Short for OrientExpat.com, a slightly less popular but so-called more intelligent Thailand forum.
18. TTL
Short for the popular blog, TheThailandLife.com
19. TG
Thai Girl.
20. TW
Thai Wife.
21. TBG
Thai Bar Girl.
22. NBG
Non Bar Girl.
23. NTG
Nice Thai Girl.
24. LB
Lady Boy.
25. Tom
Short for Tomboy.
26. FP
Farang Pattaya: used to describe the archetypal foreigner residing in or regularly visiting Pattaya (Can also be PF).
27. OT
Old Timer: Used to describe expats who've been living in Thailand since the 90s.
28. FK
Farang Keenok: Literally translated as ‘bird shit farang', but generally used to describe lower class and poor foreigners.
29. FKS
Farang Kaosan: Used to describe the traveler types that stay on Kaosan road.
30. NMNH
No Money No Honey: A saying used by BGs to indicate that only those with money get to play.
31. U2U
Up To You! Can mean “I'm easy, whatever you want to do”, or, “Go ahead, but at your own peril”.
32. VR
Visa Run: Also written as BR – Border Run.
Got one for the list? Let me know!
Last Updated on
seabear says
Where can I find a list of acronyms relevant to Thai politics?
Sep 07, 2016 at 11:54 am
TheThailandLife says
No idea. I doubt there is one.
Sep 08, 2016 at 1:42 am
Daniella says
Haha, this made me laugh. I’ll start using these around the office. What about some for farang ladies living in Thailand?
Sep 20, 2014 at 4:17 pm
TheThailandLife says
Hey Daniella, please feel free to suggest some 🙂
Sep 20, 2014 at 7:14 pm
TheThailandLife says
Ahhh yes, the ++++. Thanks for that addition 🙂
Jul 15, 2014 at 12:39 pm
Lloyd says
With out a doubt OT is used for ‘Overtime’, in twenty odd years in Asia I’ve never heard the saying ‘old timer’ outside of pure farang conversations.
You should mention ‘+++’ used to exaggerate anything, especially ‘555’.
Jul 15, 2014 at 3:46 am