Picture this: It’s your first time exploring Thailand’s nightlife. You’ll hear lots of slang words thrown around, Short-Time, Long-Time, Barfine, Butterfly, Boom Boom, GFE, etc.
What do they mean? This article will cover them all – each slang word, phrases and questions with hidden meanings being used in Thailand’s nightlife and adult entertainment scene.
My goal is that you watch this article, and know 99% of the insider slang.
We start with the essentials, the ones you must absolutely know about and will use on a daily basis!
Then we move on to more niche slang, the Expert level. Rare, but slang that is good to know and will save you money!
At the end the article, I’ll declassify the secret phrases, questions and slang that you’ve never heard of and explain their true, hidden meaning. Stuff working girl don’t want you to know.
And this is not clickbait, they REALLY don’t want you to know because more knowledge and your side means less profit on their side.
By the way, thanks to the guys in the KING EPIC Telegram group who have added suggestions to this list!
So, let’s get started!
ESSENTIALS
- Short Time: Also abbreviated as ST, is usually 1 hour of fun, or 1 shot. Whichever ends first. Usually they are not super strict, so it means roughly an hour.
- Shot: As in 1 shot, 2 shots; it means exactly that. You finishing.
- Quickie: Same as short time, usually refers to 1 hour of fun.
- Long Time: Also abbreviated as LT, usually means several hours, or overnight. Exact duration varies, so for long time, it always best to discuss details.
- Overnight: Can and does often mean the same as Long Time. Usually until noon the next, but again, best to clarify upfront because while she might stay until that time, it doesn’t necessarily mean that arrangement means that you have unlimited fun until that time.
- Barfine: That’s the fee you pay to the bar to take a girl with you during her working hours. A compensation for the bar.
- Mamasan: Usually an older woman running the place, such as a bar. You’d pay the barfine, etc. to her. Also, if you have any issues, that’s who you talk to.
- Lady Drink: Any drink you buy for a girl at the bar is a lady drink. There’s nothing special about it, it’s just a regular drink that’s more expensive because it includes the girl’s commission.
- Bar Girl: That’s simply a girl working AT the bar, as opposite to a girl just being at the bar, independently as a freelancer.
- Freelancer: A working girl, that works on her own terms. You find those outside, at bars, at clubs but they are not to be found at go-go bars.
- Working Girl: That’s a prostitute. However, that term doesn’t tell you what type of work she does, whether she’s employed at a certain venue or working freelance.
- Go-Go Bar: That’s essentially the Thai version of a strip club. In most of these, you can take the girls home with you. Some places, such as Crazy House at Soi Cowboy have completely nude dancers.
- Coyote Girl: That’s a girl – usually at a go-go bar – who doesn’t go home with customers. Drink and entertainment only.
- Drink Girl/Drink Queen: Similar to a coyote girl, a girl that just makes money off lady drinks but rare or never goes home with customers.
- Joiner/Guest Fee: It’s rather rare and mostly happens in short time rooms in, or near Red Light areas, but some places have a guest fee for bringing a girl to your room. Sometimes also called joiner fee.
- ‘Loom’: Speaking of room, many Thais pronounce the r as an l, so girls will say ‘loom’ but essentially mean room.
- LINE ID (ID Line, “ID Lie”): That’s the Thai version of WhatsApp, and everyone here uses it. Many girls pronounce LINE as ‘lie’, so they might ask if you have ‘lie’. What they mean is if you use LINE messenger app. LINE ID is sort of the username to add someone as a friend.
- ‘Shy’: This one can be confusing. It’s the Thai word ‘Chai’ for yes, but sounds like the English word ‘shy’
- 555: Only used in the written version. The number 5 in Thai is pronounced as ‘Ha’, so 555 simply means Hahaha (expressing laughter). Chatting with Thai girls online, you will see this all the time.
- พัมปุย (Pumpui): If a girl online tells you she is pumpui, or if staff at a bar tells you that about a girl, you probably should pass. It means fat, or chubby. Although don’t ALWAYS be to quick to move on as the Thai standard for chubby often simply mean NOT skinny, so it could be your version of curvy.
- บูมบูม (Boom Boom): Another playful, hybrid term sometimes dropped in conversation among bar staff; and girls online use it. What could Boom Boom possibly mean? Yeah, exactly that …
- ฝรั่ง (Farang): Mostly pronounced as ‘falang’. This term simply means “foreigner” and is omnipresent in red-light and nightlife contexts—often used by Thai staff or even customers when referring to Westerners.
EXPERT
- บัตเตอร์ฟลาย (Butterfly): Used among bar girls and in red-light settings—this word may describe a person (often a man) who flits between partners or simply serve as part of the in‐group slang.
- GFE (Girlfriend Experience): Usually means “can do anything/up to you” – we’re talking bedroom activities. But it can also mean longer-term arrangements such as spending several days or weeks with the girl instead of just short-time, or overnight.
- Gik: (A กิ๊ก (“gik”) is a “bit on the side”, for someone who already has a boyfriend or a girlfriend.)
- Incall/Outcall: You will only need this if you make arrangements with a girl from online. Incall = her place. Outcall = your place. Quick tip: If it’s your place, suggest a nearby place to meet instead of disclosing where you actually stay via chat. And keep a screenshot of the service details you’ve agreed upon.
- “you come I go”: Only used online. It’s simply meant as a question: Do you come, or should I go (as in come). Refers to the previous terms, outcall, or incall.
- Kathoey: A term used by Thai people to describe a ladyboy. I’ve heard this a handful times. Most ladyboys will simply refer to themselves as ladyboys
- LB: Short for ladyboy; mostly used online. TG for transgender is very rarely used.
- Sideline/Gray Area Girls: Essentially part-time working girls. Often they study, or work a regular job and just do freelancing as a side hustle. Some of these girls are very picky, only go with guys they really like, not just about anyone.
- Lady with D: I’ve only encountered this a handful of times. Code for ladyboy, in case it wasn’t obvious …
- ‘I can take care’: – A woman saying this means she is a working girl and looking for a customer.
- ‘I lie you’: – Again, the Thai pronunciation. I lie you, she’s saying ‘I like you’. And in most nightlife areas that also means she’s working an looking at you as a potential customer.
- ‘Handsome man!’: – You walk past a massage shop, a girl saying handsome man, there’s a 99% chance that place offers happy endings, full service. Hence, that’s the hidden massage behind that saying.
- Happy Ending/Full Service: Exactly what you probably think it means. Fun all the way, not just talking, or a massage. This is mostly being used in the context of massage service to clarify that everything is included, not just a massage. For all other situations, freelance girls, etc. it’s implied that service is full service.
- VIP Service: In Thailand’s red-light districts, VIP Service is a premium offering in which clients pay extra for an exclusive, private experience. This often involves a dedicated room and enhanced attention from a bar girl or escort, promising a more personalized and discreet encounter. Honestly, I haven’t come across this many times, nor is it particularly relevant; IMO it’s just a marketing term you’ll see thrown around to charge higher prices; sometimes also certain girls labelled as VIP.
- Sugar Baby: A Sugar Baby is typically a young Thai woman who enters into a transactional relationship with a foreigner referred to as a sugar daddy. In the red-light context, this usually involves receiving financial support, gifts, or lavish experiences in exchange for companionship and sexual favors. In many cases, traveling together is also included. Keep in mind though that unlike in the West, the bar is much, much lower in terms of financial companion.
- KTV: KTV stands for Karaoke Television, a popular entertainment venue where patrons sing karaoke and enjoy drinks. In Thailand’s red-light districts, KTV bars often double as venues for prostitution, with bar girls engaging customers in lively singing sessions and sometimes providing additional sexual services. Some of these places only accept Asian customers (Japanese, Korean, etc.) and everything they offer is geared towards them. If you want to get straight to the fun, avoid those places.
- Ping Pong: Ping Pong shows are a notorious form of adult entertainment found in some Thai red-light areas; in Bangkok you’ll find them advertised in the Patpong area. Avoid, as they are often scams for highly expensive drinks, or bill padding. In these shows, performers (often bar girls or ladyboys) use their pelvic muscles to expel small objects like ping pong balls in an acrobatic and explicit display, making these acts one of the more infamous attractions for adventurous tourists.
SECRET
Finally, the secret, declassified tier. The thing is, you’ve probably heard those “secret” phrases, those questions before. Many, many times. And yet, you probably had no idea about their true meaning.
They are rather trivial …
Just a bit of smalltalk …
Imagine you’re in the midst of enjoying Thailand nightlife, perhaps in the Red light district. You talk to a girl, and she’s asking
“How long you stay?”, and later your conversation, perhaps “Where you stay?”, or as a Thai girl might ask “Where you loom?”
Rather trivial. She’s just curious, right?
More likely then not, she’s a pro. How long you stay, and where you stay is code for “what’s the potential value of this guy”.
You know about online coaches and you have to fill out a form and say how much you are willing to invest? That is that, only the working girl version to size you up, see if you’re a worthwhile customer.
A follow-up question could also be “How much you pay?”, or “How much you normally pay?” This is to see if you’re a newbie who doesn’t know about prices. If you suggest more than the average price, she’ll accept and wins. If you suggest less then the average price, she’ll just say that she what her price is, she wins.
Another version would be a girl answering one of your questions by saying “up to you”; often trivial, but it can mean she’s gauging if you are a newbie.
Lastly, a lot of this seem like I am overcomplicating things. Do you really need to know all these terms and phrases? Well, that’s up for you to decide, but I think the moment you read or learn something new, it can seem complex, only to become second nature shortly after.
So, you just reading this article once or twice, you’re ahead of 99% of guys traveling to Thailand just by knowing about this stuff.
Anyway, I hope you found the article helpful. Other than that, see you next time!