Ying krataai, literally ‘to shoot a rabbit’, is a somewhat archaic Thai idiom used only for men and boys, means ‘to pee’ or ‘to take a leak’, and was here made into a toilet sign. The equivalent used for women and girls, is the phrase det dokmai, literally ‘to pick flowers’, and means ‘to [squat and] pee’.

In ordinary speech and for both sexes the terms puat chih, yiyaw, and the more polite patsahwa are commonly used. Other sayings are rong phleng phu khao, which translates ‘singing [to] the mountains’; pai thung, i.e. ‘going to the field’; pai thah, meaning ‘going to the wharf’; pai pah, that is ‘going to the forest’; and pai suam, which literally means ‘going to the toilet (bowl)’.