The Power of 'Nong'

My first encounter with the word ‘nong’ was during my first dining experience at a restaurant in Bangkok with my wife. In my experience, Thai wait staff are very friendly and polite yet don’t have as much initiative you would enjoy in the U.S. If I need another drink or a new utensil, the wait staff usually never notice and I have to hail one down. The thing is, the standard hand raise or arm waving with an “excuse me” usually does not work in getting their attention, even as they walk right past you! On this particular day, after my few fruitless attempts to catch a waiter, my wife took over and nearly screamed the word “nong” at a nearby waitress. From my observation the waitress was surprised by being addressed this way and nearly tripped and fell as she tried to locate the source. She saw my wife’s raised hand, realized that it was her who called her, and hurriedly came to our table to attend to us. I was quite amazed at the response.

The response seems to be the same no matter which restaurant we are at or the age or gender of the wait staff. Whenever the word “nong” is said, it seems to send a jolt of attention to the wait staff - similar to a grazing deer that suddenly hears a noise and snaps it head up to locate the source. Some waiters stop abruptly in mid stride, while others nearly spill the tray in their hand. It seems to always get their immediate attention and prompt service. For a while though, I never used the word myself because I didn’t know the meaning and my wife didn‘t know either. It was just one of those things she picked up after living in Thailand for over a year. For all I knew, their reaction could have been because the word was derogatory, though they never seemed to be offended. After a little research, it turns out that the Thai word 'nong' has several meanings and can demonstrate friendliness, politeness and fondness.

Per The Grolier International Dictionary the definition of 'Nong'

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.

Basically it’s the English equivalent of saying the word ‘sir’ to a younger person(s) of customer service. It is a polite way to get address them and get their attention. I’ve never heard another foreigner use ‘nong’ so it must be a surprise to them when my non-Thai wife addresses them in this manner. This is the secret of ‘nong’. Now, it is quite amusing to witness the numerous foreign diners that get frustrated at their futile attempts to call for service - I was like that once.

It’s all about the power of ‘nong’!

Amber with one of the Thai waitstaff at The Blue Elephant restaurant

*For those interested, the Thai word ‘pee’ is the opposite of ‘nong’. The Thai word ‘pee’ means older brother or sister, and is the equivalent of ‘sir’ when addressing an elder or someone of higher rank or responsibility