Mai Koey (ไม่เคย): meaning and key lines
25hours
What the song is about
ไม่เคยmâi koei, “Mai Koey (Never)”, is a Thai rock song by 25hours (2015). A gentle, aching song about the people, days and moments we only know were precious once they are gone. Its short, parallel lines are a perfect drill in never, the people who matter, how much, missing someone, and when we have to part, and the video comes with official Thai and English captions.
Free, no sign-up: learn the key lines and words with audio, then sing along.
Song facts
- Artist
- 25hours
- Released
- 2015
- Style
- Thai rock
- Level
- B1 (intermediate)
- Mood
- wistful, regretful, longing
- Views
- about 309M (Oct 2026)
- Video
- Genierock (Genie Records, the band's label)
- Lyrics
- Key lines quoted; the full song is in the video
Key lines, explained
Tap a line to hear it. Once the video is playing, lines jump to their moment in the song.
- ฉัน chǎnไม่ mâiเคย koeiรู้ rúuคน konที่ tîiสำคัญ sǎm-kanมัน manมีค่า mii kâaแค่ไหน kâe-nǎi
I never knew how precious the people who matter were
ไม่เคยmâi koei + verb = never (have): ไม่เคยรู้mâi koei rúu = never knew. คนที่สำคัญkon tîi sǎm-kan = the people who matter, literally 'person that (is) important' (ที่tîi = that, who). มันman (it) points back at them and fills the beat; the lyric sheet and the video's captions write the more formal นั้นnán (that) here, but Laem sings มันman. มีค่าmii kâa = precious, valuable, literally 'to have value', and แค่ไหนkâe-nǎi = how much: มีค่าแค่ไหนmii kâa kâe-nǎi = how precious. The verse goes on in the same way about beautiful days and the time they had together. - เรา raoจะ jàคิดถึง kít-tǔengคน konที่ tîiสำคัญ sǎm-kanเมื่อ mûeaต้อง dtâwngจากกัน jàak ganไป bpai
We miss the people who matter when we have to part
จะjà here isn't 'will' but what always happens: เราจะคิดถึงrao jà kít-tǔeng = we (come to) miss. เมื่อmûea = when (written; in speech ตอนที่dtawn-tîi). ต้องdtâwng = to have to. จากกันjàak gan = to part, to leave each other (จากjàak = to leave, กันgan = each other), and ไปbpai after it = away, for good: เราต้องจากกันแล้วrao dtâwng jàak gan láew = we have to say goodbye now. - และ láeตอนนี้ dtawn-níiรู้ rúuไหม mǎiว่า wâaฉัน chǎnคิดถึง kít-tǔengเธอ toeมาก mâakแค่ไหน kâe-nǎi
And now, do you know how much I miss you?
รู้ไหมrúu mǎi = do you know?, here split from the rest by a breath: รู้ไหมว่าrúu mǎi wâa = do you know that…, do you know how… มากแค่ไหนmâak kâe-nǎi = how much: คิดถึงเธอมากแค่ไหนkít-tǔeng toe mâak kâe-nǎi = how much I miss you. Say it yourself: คิดถึงนะkít-tǔeng ná = I miss you, an everyday thing to say to a friend or a partner.
Words you'll learn
- เคย koei
have ever (done); used to
It goes before the verb: เคยไปkoei bpai have been; ไม่เคยmâi koei never.
- สำคัญ sǎm-kan
important
- มีค่า mii kâa
precious, valuable
ของมีค่าkǎwng mii kâa = valuables.
- แค่ไหน kâe-nǎi
how much, to what extent
- คิดถึง kít-tǔeng
to miss (someone, somewhere); to think of
Put who or what you miss straight after it: คิดถึงแม่kít-tǔeng mâe I miss Mum. Thais say คิดถึงนะkít-tǔeng ná warmly to friends too.
- ต้อง dtâwng
must, have to, need to
It goes before the verb; you already know it from ต้องไปแล้วdtâwng bpai láew (I have to go) and ไม่ต้องmâi dtâwng (no need).
- จากกัน jàak gan
to part, to split up (from each other)
- ตอนนี้ dtawn-níi
now, right now
Grammar in this song
ไม่เคยmâi koei + verb = never (have): ไม่เคยกินทุเรียนmâi koei gin tú-rian = I've never eaten durian. Without ไม่mâi, เคยkoei + verb = have ever, used to: เคยไปเชียงใหม่ไหมkoei bpai chiang-mài mǎi = have you ever been to Chiang Mai?
Noun + ที่tîi + description = the … that/who …: คนที่สำคัญkon tîi sǎm-kan (the people who matter), ร้านที่อร่อยráan tîi à-ràwy (a place where the food is good). … แค่ไหนkâe-nǎi = how (much)…, in questions and after know: มีค่าแค่ไหนmii kâa kâe-nǎi, คิดถึงมากแค่ไหนkít-tǔeng mâak kâe-nǎi, ไกลแค่ไหนglai kâe-nǎi (how far?).
The culture behind it
25hours was a five-piece Thai band led by singer Laem, who won the best singer prize at the Hot Wave Music Awards in 2000, as a teenager. The band's first album, 25 hours (2009), won album of the year at the Fat Awards; in 2014 they moved to Genie Records, a GMM Grammy label, and "ไม่เคยmâi koei" (June 2015) was the third single of their first album there, Mom & Pop Shop. Laem wrote the music and one of the band's guitarists the words. The band split up in 2020, and in October 2026 the video was number 37 on kworb's list of the most-viewed YouTube music videos by Thai artists.
The song is meant to be about more than a lover: it is about everything that matters in a life, parents, family, time, the chances we let slip by, which we only miss once they are gone. Turn on the video's captions: it has official Thai and English subtitles, a good way to read along with the whole song.
Learn “Mai Koey” in about 6 minutes
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Written by the Learn Thai For Free team
Audio: AI voices, quality-checked for tones