learn Thai # family Thai vocabulary today : ครอบครัว krôp-krua = family Thais use terms for members of the family such as ปู่ pùu (father’s father) ย่า yâa (father’s mother) ตา tāa (mother’s father) ยาย yaāi (mother’s mother) ลุง lūng (parents’ elder brother) ป้า pâ (parents’ elder sister) น้า náa (mother’s younger brother or sister) อา āa (father’s younger sister or brother) พี่ phî (one’s elder sister or brother) น้อง nóng (one’s younger sister or brother) *น้อง 'nóng' is a small but versatile Thai word. It has several meanings and can demonstrate friendliness, politeness and fondness. As a personal pronoun, refer to family members and close acquaintances. Two from the group are so commonly used in daily life that they've recently been entered into the Grolier International Dictionary by the Macquarie Dictionary team, as you can see below: — น้อง nóng, (noun) Thai English 1. a younger brother or sister 2. a form of address used by an older person to a younger person as a sign of a certain amount of friendliness or politeness 3. a polite form of address to someone serving you, such as a waiter or shop assistant, or someone in a similar position. This word is borrowed into English from Thai. — พี่ phi, noun, Thai English 1. an older brother or sister 2. a polite form of address from a younger to an older person, used to show respect. and... * We call the person who serves us nóng, such as a waiter or a waitress. ** some people also add nóng in the front of the names of small children. For example, น้องแนน nóng Nan, น้องฝน nóng Fon. ****Thai culture is interesting in the use of language for everyday interaction. Often, personal pronouns are used in reference to others -whether it's family or even strangers. For example when you see a taxi driver who looks the same age as your father you can call him "lung" (uncle). Another example would be a waitress who looks older than you -you can call her พี่ (a term used to call your older sister) or if she is much older, you can use "náa น้า" (which means aunt).