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Mai Pen Rai
Home » Thailand » Thailand People & Culture » Mai Pen Rai“Mai pen rai” is a phrase you will hear over and over again. It means “never mind”. Besides being a helpful phrase to use when you change your plans or don’t want to bother someone unnecessarily, this phrase reflects a pervading attitude in the culture. Thais are very laid back. They don’t get easily agitated or upset. They consider extreme displays of negative emotion to reflect poorly on themselves and others. Though a Thai may be very angry, he or she will likely smile, say mai pen rai and walk away. The idea of “saving face” is very important. In a similar way, Thais don’t like to make others feel obligated or burdened. But they readily admit that they often do things to meet the expectations of others. This is called “granjay”. An example of this might be when one person gives a very nice gift to another. The recipient might feel pressure to do something nice in return. Intense feelings of granjay would arise if the recipient would simply have no way of returning the niceties. Thais will find a way to least offend others. For example, if a Thai is invited to a dinner at your house, he might say “yes” even if he has no intention of coming. In his mind, he has disappointed you only once (by not showing up) instead of two times (by saying no to your invitation and not showing up). Understanding the Thais desire to be the least offensive (in his paradigm) really helps in relating to the culture.
Related Thailand People & Culture Articles
- Thailand People & Culture Overview
- Buddhism in Thailand
- The Phi-Nong System
- Mai Pen Rai
- Sanuk
- Modesty and other cultural Taboos