Thai tutor confronts foreign man shouting ‘Ni Hao’ and urges others to speak up
A Thai English-language tutor and social media influencer shared her experience of confronting a foreign man who shouted “Ni Hao” at her, urging others not to stay silent when faced with similar behaviour.
The influencer, Warinthorn “Ann” Euawasinthon, widely known as Kru P’Ann, is the founder of Learnovate and a popular online educator. She has more than 1.7 million followers on her Perfect English with Kru P’Ann Facebook page and nearly 500,000 subscribers on her KruPAnn YouTube channel.
Yesterday, December 24, Ann posted a video recounting an incident in which a foreign man shouted “Ni Hao” at her in public. In the caption, she wrote, “Encounter a foreigner shouting Ni Hao at me, so I chose to confront him.”
In the video, Ann explained that she was pushing a luggage trolley when the foreign man approached and repeatedly shouted, “Ni Hao, Ni Hao, Ni Hao.”
She said she was confident the man was not greeting her politely. Ann explained that if someone genuinely believed she was Chinese and wanted to greet her, they would normally say something like “Hi, Ni Hao,” rather than shouting it repeatedly in a mocking tone.
Ann stressed that she has many Chinese friends and has no issue being mistaken for a Chinese national. She said she respects Chinese people, does business with them, and views China as a highly developed country. However, she described the incident as “racist” and “disrespectful” due to the tone and gestures used.
Footage included in the video showed Ann confronting the man asking:
Ann: “Did you say Ni Hao to me? Did you say that to me?”
The foreign man: “What? No, let me explain.”
Ann: “That’s rude”
Then, Ann walked away. She said the man appeared shocked, suggesting he may not have expected to be confronted and may have behaved similarly towards other Asian people before.
Beyond sharing her personal experience, Ann encouraged her followers to speak up if they face similar treatment. She advised responding calmly and politely, explaining that Thai people greet others with “Sawasdee,” not “Ni Hao.”
The issue drew comparisons to a previous incident involving former park ranger Siranudh Scott, who confronted foreign tourists after they shouted “Ni Hao” at him while he was on duty off the coast of Krabi.
That case sparked widespread debate online. The discussion also prompted comments from Russian language teacher Sergei Sychoff, who argued that if Thais consider “Ni Hao” offensive, they should also reflect on the use of the term “farang” when referring to foreigners.
