Phu Sao Kha Lao (ผู้สาวขาเลาะ): meaning and key lines
Lamyai Haithongkhamลำไย ไหทองคำ
What the song is about
ผู้สาวขาเลาะpûu-sǎao kǎa-láw, “Phu Sao Kha Lao (The Girl Who Loves to Go Out)”, is a mor lam song by Lamyai Haithongkham (2016). The cheeky Isan hit that made Lamyai a star: a girl who would rather go to every village festival than study admits she likes a guy who already has a girlfriend, and waits 'on standby' for them to break up. Each Isan line maps neatly onto Central Thai, so it teaches everyday words (to know, to compete, to break up, to be hooked on someone), the Isan particles you'll hear all over the northeast, and a pun about school grades.
Free, no sign-up: learn the key lines and words with audio, then sing along.
Song facts
- Artist
- Lamyai Haithongkham
- Released
- 2016
- Style
- Mor lam
- Level
- B2 (upper intermediate)
- Mood
- cheeky, flirty, carefree
- Views
- about 404M (Oct 2026)
- Video
- Hai Thong Kham Records (the singer'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.
- เฮา haoแค่ kâeผู้สาว pûu-sǎaoขาเลาะ kǎa-láwบ่ bàwแม่น mâenผู้สาว pûu-sǎaoขาเรียน kǎa-rian
I'm just a girl who loves to go out, not a girl who loves to study.
Isan → Central: เฮาhao = เราrao, here meaning 'I'; ผู้สาวpûu-sǎao = a young woman, a girl (สาวsǎao); บ่แม่นbàw mâen = ไม่ใช่mâi châi, (I) am not. In Isan เลาะláw means to wander around, stopping here and there, so a ขาเลาะkǎa-láw is a girl who is always out and about, and ขาเรียนkǎa-rian is the singer's joke, a 'study fan'. แค่kâe = just, only. - แต่ dtàeว่า wâaฮู้ húuวันนี้ wan-níiพรุ่งนี้ prûng-níiและ láeเมื่อวาน mûea-waanนั้น nánเป็น bpenบุญ bunบ้าน bâanได๋ dǎi
But I know which village has a festival today, tomorrow and yesterday.
Isan → Central: ฮู้húu = รู้rúu, to know (Isan often has h where Central Thai has r); ได๋dǎi = ไหนnǎi, which. บุญbun is merit, the good that comes from giving and helping, and in Isan also the merit-making festival at a village temple: บุญบ้านได๋bun bâan dǎi = which village's festival. She doesn't know the homework, but she knows every party. Learn the trio: วันนี้wan-níi today, พรุ่งนี้prûng-níi tomorrow, เมื่อวานmûea-waan yesterday. - ฮู้ húuว่า wâaอ้าย âaiมี miiเขา kǎoน้อง náwngกะสิ gà sìบ่ bàwขอ kǎwแข่ง kàeng
I know you've got someone, so I won't try to compete.
Isan → Central: ฮู้ว่าhúu wâa = รู้ว่าrúu wâa, to know that; กะสิบ่gà sì bàw = ก็จะไม่gâw jà mâi, so (I) won't: Isan กะgà = ก็gâw, so, and สิsì = จะjà, will. She calls the man อ้ายâai, 'older brother', and herself น้องnáwng, 'the younger one', as couples do with พี่pîi and น้องnáwng in Central Thai. มีเขาmii kǎo = to have 'someone' (a girlfriend). แข่งkàeng = to compete. - แต่ dtàeว่า wâaน้อง náwngขอ kǎwสแตนด์บาย sà-dtaen-baai
But I'll be on standby.
Just before this, she sings that she wouldn't dare snatch him. ขอkǎw + verb = to ask to do something, let me: ขอดูหน่อยkǎw duu nàwy = can I have a look? สแตนด์บายsà-dtaen-baai is the English 'standby': ready in case he becomes free. แต่ว่าdtàe wâa = but, a little softer than แต่dtàe. - ฟ่าว fâaoเลิก lôekกัน ganแหน่ nàeเถาะ tàw
Hurry up and break up, will you!
Isan → Central: ฟ่าวfâao = รีบrîip, to hurry; แหน่nàe softens a request like หน่อยnàwy; เถาะtàw = เถอะtòe, go on. เลิกกันlôek gan = to break up (literally 'to stop each other'). In Central Thai: รีบเลิกกันหน่อยเถอะrîip lôek gan nàwy tòe. - ผู้สาว pûu-sǎaoขาเลาะ kǎa-láwอยาก yàakเป็น bpenผู้สาว pûu-sǎaoอ้าย âai
The girl who loves to go out wants to be your girl.
She sings about herself in the third person, as ผู้สาวขาเลาะpûu-sǎao kǎa-láw. อยากเป็นyàak bpen + noun = to want to be: อยากเป็นหมอyàak bpen mǎw = (I) want to be a doctor. ผู้สาวอ้ายpûu-sǎao âai = your girl: the owner simply follows the noun, without ของkǎwng (of). - ติด dtìtร. rawยัง yangพอ pawแก้ gâeได้ dâiแต่ dtàeติดใจ dtìt-jaiอ้าย âaiน้อง náwngไป bpaiบ่ bàwเป็น bpen
An incomplete grade can still be fixed, but I'm hooked on you and I'm lost.
A pun on ติดdtìt, to be stuck with. At a Thai school, ติดร.dtìt raw means getting an 'R' for missing work, which you can still put right: แก้ได้gâe dâi, can be fixed. ติดใจdtìt-jai = to be hooked on someone or something (ติดใจรสชาติdtìt-jai rót-châat = to love the taste). ไปบ่เป็นbpai bàw bpen = Central ไปไม่เป็นbpai mâi bpen, literally 'not know how to go on': to be at a loss. ยังพอyang paw + verb = can still just about…
Words you'll learn
- ผู้สาว pûu-sǎao
girl, young woman (Isan)
Central Thai: สาวsǎao. A young man is a ผู้บ่าวpûu-bàao.
- ฮู้ húu
to know (Isan)
Central Thai: รู้rúu. บ่ฮู้bàw húu = I don't know.
- แข่ง kàeng
to compete, race
แข่งกันkàeng gan = to compete with each other; การแข่งขันgaan kàeng-kǎn = a competition.
- สแตนด์บาย sà-dtaen-baai
on standby (from English)
- เลิก lôek
to break up; to quit, to stop
เลิกกันlôek gan = to break up; เลิกงานlôek ngaan = to finish work for the day.
- ฟ่าว fâao
to hurry (Isan)
Central Thai: รีบrîip. บ่ต้องฟ่าวbàw dtâwng fâao = no need to rush.
- ขาเลาะ kǎa-láw
someone always out and about (Isan)
From Isan เลาะláw, to wander from place to place. The Central Thai word is ขาเที่ยวkǎa-tîaw.
- ติดใจ dtìt-jai
to be hooked on, to be taken with
- แม่น mâen
yes, that's right (Isan)
Central Thai: ใช่châi. บ่แม่นbàw mâen = ไม่ใช่mâi châi, it isn't, I'm not.
- บุญ bun
merit (good deeds); a temple festival
ทำบุญtam-bun = to make merit: to give food to monks, donate or help others.
Slang and casual Thai
- ขาเรียน kǎa-rian
a keen student (a joke word)
Made up to match ขาเลาะkǎa-láw: ขาkǎa (leg) + an activity = a fan of it, as in ขาเที่ยวkǎa-tîaw, someone who loves going out.
- ได๋ dǎi
which, where (Isan)
Central Thai: ไหนnǎi. บ้านได๋bâan dǎi = which village?
- กะสิ gà sì
so (I) will (Isan)
Isan กะgà = Central ก็gâw (so, then) and สิsì = จะjà (will); with บ่bàw, not: น้องกะสิบ่ขอแข่งnáwng gà sì bàw kǎw kàeng = so I won't try to compete.
- แหน่ nàe
a bit, please (Isan, softens a request)
Central Thai: หน่อยnàwy.
- เถาะ tàw
go on, let's (Isan particle)
Central Thai: เถอะtòe.
- ร. raw
R, an incomplete grade at school
Short for รอการตัดสินraw gaan dtàt-sǐn, 'awaiting a decision': some work or a test is missing. Unlike a 0, it goes away once you hand the work in.
Grammar in this song
Isan in Central Thai grammar. Most lines swap a few words and keep the Central Thai word order: ฮู้húu = รู้rúu (Isan often turns r into h), บ่bàw = ไม่mâi, บ่แม่นbàw mâen = ไม่ใช่mâi châi, สิsì = จะjà, กะgà = ก็gâw, ได๋dǎi = ไหนnǎi, ฟ่าวfâao = รีบrîip. The particles soften and urge: แหน่nàe ≈ หน่อยnàwy, เถาะtàw ≈ เถอะtòe, and เด้อdôe ≈ นะná, which the chorus uses too. The romanization reads these words as their spelling would sound in Central Thai; real Isan tones differ, so copy the singer.
Words for 'I' and 'you'. She calls the man อ้ายâai (older brother) and herself น้องnáwng (the younger one), the Isan and Northern version of the พี่pîi and น้องnáwng that couples use in Central Thai. เฮาhao, 'we', often means 'I' in Isan, just as Central เราrao can. And ขอkǎw + verb = let me…: ขอสแตนด์บายkǎw sà-dtaen-baai, let me stand by.
The culture behind it
Lamyai Haithongkham (ลำไยไหทองคำlam-yai hǎi-tawng-kam; ลำไยlam-yai is the longan fruit) was born Suphansa Wetchakama in 1998 in Suwannaphum district, Roi Et. According to Thai Wikipedia, her family was poor and moved to Bangkok, where she helped sell things at nightspots from kindergarten age; she sang and danced with electone bands from primary school and toured as a mor lam singer until producer Prajakchai Naowarat signed her to his label and gave her her stage name. 'Phu Sao Kha Lao', written by Arm Chutima, came out on 24 November 2016 and made her a household name: by July 2017 BBC Thai counted more than 270 million views, and Thai newspapers printed line-by-line Central Thai translations for readers who didn't follow the Isan.
The festivals she knows by heart are real. In Isan, a งานบุญngaan bun, a merit-making fair at the village temple, often ends with a หมอลำmǎw-lam show on a big stage that goes on into the night. A researcher quoted by The Isaan Record sums up the song as a girl riding her motorbike around the villages from one fair to the next, to steal a look at the boy she likes: a ขาเลาะkǎa-láw in every sense.
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Written by the Learn Thai For Free team
Audio: AI voices, quality-checked for tones