ผม vs. ฉน

[cdnmatt]

I often hear His Lordship using krap pom or sometime kaa pom when I would have expected chai or dai.
Is it just an acknowledgement similar to krap or something with a subtler meaning?

Yep, exactly, it's basically just a respectful acknowledgement. Think of it as a quick, informal, friendly "thanks".

So if you want to be polite and say thank you, you would use "kawp khun krap". If it's for example, a small store you frequent and you're familiar with the clerk, then a simple "kra pom" works just fine.

[lego]

I just watched the movie Triple 9 at a Bangkok cinema. Police uncle talking to his police nephew, Thai subtitles again translate his spoken "I" as "ฉัน". It's probably quite common even between real men, but I hadn't really been on the lookout before this thread popped up.

[cdnmatt]

Ok, thanks lego. So I guess I had it mixed up? If you're a foriegner learning Thai, you'll learn that "pom" / "chan" depends on your gender, and that's it. Apparently that's wrong, and it actually depends on the context of the conversation, not the gender you are.

In that case, cool. That means lots of people are chatting to me in a sweet context, and I don't have to run away thinking, "ahhh, ladyboy!".