Farang: a label, not an insult

Walk through any market and you'll hear ฝรั่ง (fà-ràng), the everyday word for a white or Western foreigner. It most likely goes back to farangi, the Persian word for 'Franks', which reached Siam with traders centuries ago; you can still hear it in ฝรั่งเศส, France. It describes, it doesn't insult: a vendor saying ฝรั่งมา is just noticing you. The same word means guava, so you'll see it on every fruit cart. It turns rude only inside insults such as ฝรั่งขี้นก ('bird-dropping farang', a scruffy foreigner). Asian visitors are usually named by country instead: คนญี่ปุ่น, คนจีน, คนเกาหลี. In formal Thai, and on official forms, you'll see ชาวต่างชาติ, 'foreign nationals'.