What is a "hi so Thai"?

Much has been asserted by Bruce about his intimate acquaintance with тАЬhi so ThaisтАЭ. HereтАЩs his latest:

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I do sense that some Thai boyfriends ( including all I've had ) desperately want to be *seen* as hi so. They're desperate for status and status symbols.

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It seems timely to draw everyoneтАЩs attention to the тАЬwhat is a тАШhi so ThaiтАЩ?тАЭ debate. The best contribution IтАЩve ever read is from the blogger A Farang Abroad who wrote тАЬsome people тАж think тАж that anybody with a bit of money or being able to act even slightly western classes them as a тАЬHi so ThaiтАЩ.

His definition (mine too) is

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A Hi So Thai is usually a person whose family background is very wealthy, not recent wealth but wealth gained over a prolonged period of time. They have or have had high ranking family members in the government system or military. Holiday homes in Hua Hin or a similar spot, the times when they get stopped by the Thai police they just need to make one phone call before they are back on their way doing whatever it is they shouldnтАЩt be.
They may also have a lot of respect and pull in a certain town or city, due too there family name and what they ancestors have done in the past. A Hi So Thai would also have a strong family legacy, connected to well respected and well recognised people of the public spreading over a series of decades.

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I can answer this question easily....

The answer, by the way, is exactly the same for Thai people.... as Western people... as every culture on earth.

They are very similar to words like "warm", "cold", "hot", "cool".... Is Alaska warm? ( Compared to Antarctica, yes, very. )

These are all *relative* terms.

Here's how it works....


Hi So / High Society / Wealthy or Rich = anyone who has *more* wealth or social standing than *YOU* do

Lo So / Low Society / The Poor = anyone who has *less* wealth or social standing than *YOU* do


Thus, a Thai boy who doesn't have 20 baht to buy food today.... will view the Sunee Plaza working boy who made a 20 baht tip for letting a farang fondle him... as richer than him.

And a boy who sports the newest iPhone 6+sX Edge in Champagne Rose color.... is definitely, Hi So.

All of our definitions will differ.... based on where we ourselves are. It's all in the eye of the beholder.

For example, "everyone is tall"..... when you are 4 feet 2 inches. And "everyone is short" if you are 11 feet 1 inch.

I'm afraid most of my Thai friends are lo-so or mid-so.

But some of them try to emulate hi-so by ordering bottled water in a restaurant where free drinking water is available, or taking taxi instead of bus or MRT/BTS/train/boat.

I remember one report on a forum about a Thai woman on a van who makes everyone else wait when she orders food. She feels entitled because she thinks she is hi-so, but if she were hi-so she wouldn't be on a van, she would go by taxi or own car with driver!