Status is important (2/33)

Although it may not be immediately apparent, status is a huge thing in Thai culture. Age, family connections, job types, education, and income levels are all contributing factors to a person’s perceived status in society. Status is not fixed, as in some cultures; a Thai can gain or lose status if their circumstances change. Thais perform different versions of the wai depending on a person’s status, and there are social rules concerning who should offer the first wai. Status is important when a group of people are socialising together—it’s traditional for the highest earner to foot the bill.

When talking with each other, Thais have words that indicate a person’s age, using pee before an older person’s name to show respect, and nong for somebody younger than them. Things aren’t always quite so simple, though, as a younger person may be referred to as pee if they have a higher status, for example through marriage or by way of their profession. These small social rules are easy to miss by an outsider but are tightly woven into the fabric of Thai culture.