Same Same, But Different!

There are many examples of how the Thai speak Tinglish, the mix of Thai and English. One of my very favorites is the title of this post; you may well have your own.

One of the more common usages I've encountered is used to describe two items that are almost the same, such as convenience stores:
Q: "You want 7-11 or Family Mart?"
A: "Same same... up to you."

Another is used to denote (or imply) a difference in two seemingly identical things:
Q: "You want shirt?"
A: "Have. Everybody sells that same shirt."
Q: "Not have. Same same, but different! Take a look!"

It's the second one that's caught my attention the most while in Thailand.

Some differences are easy to overlook if you're not paying attention. A half-aisle of Lays Potato Chips can look much like at home, until you see different lettering or a bag of "Nori" (seaweed) flavored chips. I tend to look for the similar-but-different and thought today I'd share a couple with you. Both of these are things you're certainly used to seeing in the US or Canada, hopefully where you live, too. Here's the first one...


Did your mind automatically read "Oreos"? I'd guess so; this isn't a real challenging example. The packaging and lettering fonts are very similar to the originals, and at a glance most people tell me they just think Oreo.

Actually, the Oreos sold in Thailand are made in Indonesia, and - to my palate, anyway - aren't as sweet as the cookies sold here at home, which is probably a good thing. Here's another example...


I grew up with Wrigley's Juicy Fruit gum, and eventually graduated to Spearmint and Doublemint - didn't you? The packs have changed over time, but the gum's still much the same. It was nice to run across it in Thailand. I didn't have a pack of Doublemint, so I threw in one of the metal cannisters of mints available there now.

I'll rummage around and see if there aren't more examples to share soon. I'm sure there will be.