Koh Sichang T-shirts

Over the long weekend, I took a trip to the island of Koh Sichang. I'd really recommend it too, as there was plenty to see and do. Chinese temples, old palaces, beaches, viewpoints and great food were all there. It's also the closest island to Bangkok and you can get there in a few hours by stopping off in Sri Racha first.

While I was there, I took some photos of some of the more humorous t-shirts that they sold on the island. For your entertainment and education, here's the English explanation about three of the best that I saw.

Since this is written in the standard font, I won't rewrite it again. If you're having trouble reading it though, please let me know in the comment section below. Here are the individual words for your information:

นั่ง (nang): to sit/ride
เรือ (reeua): boat
มา (maa): to come
ซื่อ (seeu): to buy
เสื้อ (seeua): shirt
ที่ (tii): at/that
เกาะ (goh): island

This is actually a very basic t-shirt to read. If you need some help though, the full translation is as follows:

I took a car and a boat and came to buy a shirt on Koh Sichang.

The slogan plays with several Thai words, rhyming เรือ and เสื้อ to then create a funny, cute t-shirt.

This t-shirt's slightly more offensive or lewd thanks to the use of the word แรด (raaet). In standard Thai, แรด simply means rhinoceros. In slang though, it basically means 'bitch'. Like in English, it can only be used to describe females. So, in effect this t-shirt translates as:

I've been a bitch on Koh Sichang.

There are some subtle differences between English and Thai here as no western woman would intentionally call herself a bitch. Apparently, Thai women are fine with it though, so the feeling behind this shirt would be more playful than anything else.

This is another t-shirt that plays with word meanings. First though, the font here is slightly odd so I'll rewrite it in the standard font below:

สีชัง / ชัง แต่ ชี่อ เกาะ นั้น หรือ จะ ชัง ใคร

Here are the extra words you might not know:

ชัง (chang): to hate
ชื่อ (cheeu): name
ใคร (kraai): who/anyone/someone/everyone

So this is a play on the word ชัง. Since this is basically a pun, it really loses its feeling when translated into English:

Koh Sichang. Is hate only in the island's name or do you hate someone?

Anyway, these examples should give you some idea of the humour behind these t-shirts and has hopefully given you some new slang words to play with as well! You also have an example of a Thai pun so it proves our cultures aren't too different after all. As usual, if you have any questions or comments, please leave them below. I'll respond to each as they comes in!