น่าเกลียดน่าชัง

nâa glìiat nâa chang[ น่า เกฺลียด น่า ชัง ]
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  • Stative VerbAdjective
    [to be] cute,lovable,charming
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    Despite it's literal meaning of "hateful", in former times (and, to a lesser extent, the present day) น่าเกลียดน่าชัง was a compliment given to parents about their new-born babies. This was because it was thought that the evil spirits were attracted to cute babies, and upon hearing a baby being complimented as น่ารัก (the usual word for "cute") would come and snatch it away. So น่าเกลียดน่าชัง was used a compliment instead, the idea being humans would understand the real meaning of "cute", while the spirits would be fooled into leaving the "ugly" baby alone..