Just over a year ago, a man wearing large sunglasses and a stripy orange and white vest filmed himself violently shouting swear words that you are about to learn. His name is Thar Sis and, inevitably, he went viral on Facebook.
Before his moment arrived, Thar Sis may have been a soldier or a taxi driver. With the sheer volume of Internet stars shooting across the sky these days, it’s hard to keep track. We simply don’t know. What we do know is that now he is a DJ, a singer, a social influencer, and, for today, our guide on how to cuss in Burmese.
*Disclaimer* This article is not intended to condone or encourage swearing. It’s merely to inform those who are not aware of some crucial words in a ‘knowledge is power’ kind of way.
You will understand what that pushy taxi driver is shouting at fellow motorists; maybe a phrase or two will spring to mind when the bargain you thought he gave you turns into a no-AC screaming-down-his-phone hell ride.
And full disclosure: while I avoid swearing in front of my parents, the occasional hearty “fuck” creeps out when least expected.
But back to Thar Sis. Sometimes he wears military fatigues and chases beach dogs live on Facebook. If you’ve seen this gem floating about in your Facebook Watch, you’re a pretty nasty person.
အယ်လဲ့.. သားစစ် ခွေး နဲ့ စကားပြောတာ မမြင်ဖူးရင် ကြည့်ထားးး????????
Posted by မူဆယ် အမှန်သတင်း on Monday, July 23, 2018
We are greeted by a cranky Thar Sis who opens with “may loe,” introducing us to the Burmese for “motherfucker” (may = mother, loe = fuck).
Growling “loooeeee” in one’s deepest voice is proven to be intimidating. It can be paired with the word “nga” to coin the term “nga loe” meaning “I fuck.” Another variant is “nga loe ma thar,” a strange way of saying, “the son of the woman I fucked,” boiled down as, “my son.”
Thar Sis continues by asking the dogs of their origin and calling them “may loe” which I am sure mattered little to them.
He goes on to label them as “khway wal sar” or “dirty dogs who have a skin problem.”
Stopping at 0.15 seconds, we hear the frequently deployed phrase “min may sapat” meaning “your mother’s vagina.”
This brings us to the Burmese slang for vagina, “sapat,” which, like sex, is a taboo subject in Myanmar. It’s also a top-tier swear word, used as an adjective as well as a standalone noun, and a handy term to keep in mind for when life gives you lemons.
Not one to exclude, Thar Sis promptly presents us with the Burmese slang for male genitalia—“lee”—at 0.22 seconds. An adjective, adverb and sometimes used in continuous form, “lee” can often be heard as “lee phyit nay lar” meaning “are you being a dick?”
The heavy implication here is that the person is behaving in an unacceptable manner, as, naturally, only a “lee” can be a “lee.”
Finally at 1.45 minutes, Thar Sis pursues a dog that has hitherto been wisely avoiding him. It’s a chase scene for the ages, with raw energy spilling from Thar Sis’s throat.
After tiring, Thar Sis and his sidekick—the whiny background voice you hear at 2:10 minutes—say, “sit!” (it’s not a swear word but… “htine!”) to one of the dogs, who instead leaps up.
The pair of army fanatics then plan “an assassination” on the dogs followed by inaudible military cadence. (Thar Sis does all this for comic effect and is not going to kill the dogs.)
Shortly after, the influencer, a pack of Marlboro Gold in hand, waves goodbye to his loyal fan base, completing an arguably gratuitous video (not like this article, okay?).
Yet, with its flurry of vulgarity, the clip will always have a special place in my heart. It is a reminder that Myanmar is not only one of the most generous countries in the world, but also one of the rudest.
For those taking the ‘guide’ part of this guide seriously, here are a few expletives Thar Sis omitted:
“La khwan” or “la khwee” is a milder choice for “lee”—the “crap” to lee’s “shit” if you will.
“Prostitute” exists as a profanity in many cultures, from the Italian puttana to the Spanish puta. In Myanmar we have “phar the (eəʳ sound) ma.”
From here, we have “phar the ma thar” meaning “son of a whore” or “phar gaung” meaning “pimp.” Calling someone a “phar gaung” is acceptable when some guy has stolen your girl or is a certified “fuckboy.”
And that’s all for this week. Catch me next time with more viral madness.
