SaWaDiKa (สวัสดีค่ะ): meaning and key lines
LISAลิซ่า
What the song is about
สวัสดีค่ะsà-wàt-dii kâ, “SaWaDiKa (Hello)”, is a Thai rap song by LISA (2026). LISA of BLACKPINK named her 2026 single after the Thai greeting 'sawasdee ka', and the video drew 70.8 million views in its first day. The song is in English, with some strong language, but its few Thai words make a perfect first lesson: hello the way a woman says it, 'geng mak' (great job!), the praise every Thai uses, and baht, the money you'll spend from day one.
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Song facts
- Artist
- LISA
- Released
- 2026
- Style
- Thai rap
- Level
- A1 (beginner)
- Mood
- confident, swaggering, proud
- Views
- about 211M (Oct 2026)
- Video
- LLOUD Official (LISA's official artist channel)
- 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.
- สวัสดี sà-wàt-diiค่ะ kâ
Hello!
LISA opens the song with 'Hello, sawadika': hello in English, then in Thai. สวัสดีsà-wàt-dii is hello (and goodbye); a woman adds ค่ะkâ and a man ครับkráp to be polite: สวัสดีค่ะsà-wàt-dii kâ, สวัสดีครับsà-wàt-dii kráp. Said quickly it sounds like the title, 'sa-wa-di-ka'. In person, say it with a ไหว้wâai, palms together. - เก่ง gèngมาก mâak
Great job! (literally 'very skilful')
She raps 'Screaming geng mak with my gang'. เก่งgèng = good at something, skilful, clever, and มากmâak = very: เก่งมากgèng mâak is how Thais praise anyone, a child who can count, a friend who parks in one go, or you, the first time you order in Thai. เก่งภาษาไทยgèng paa-sǎa tai = good at Thai. - บาท bàat
baht (Thai money)
Right after it she raps 'Baht be going in my bank'. บาทbàat is Thailand's money, and the number comes first: ร้อยบาทráwy bàat = a hundred baht, ห้าสิบบาทhâa sìp bàat = fifty baht. To ask a price, say เท่าไหร่tâo-rài (how much?) with คะká or ครับkráp.
Words you'll learn
- สวัสดี sà-wàt-dii
hello; goodbye
Use it morning, noon and night, and for goodbye too; the lighter word after it is your polite particle, coming up next.
- เก่ง gèng
good at (something), skilful; clever
Plain g with no puff of air, and a low tone. After a verb it means 'well': ร้องเพลงเก่งráwng-pleeng gèng sings well.
- บาท bàat
baht (Thai currency)
The number comes first, then บาทbàat: ห้าสิบบาทhâa sìp bàat, 50 baht.
- ร้อย ráwy
hundred
100 is ร้อยráwy or หนึ่งร้อยnùeng ráwy; both are everyday Thai.
- มาก mâak
very; a lot
It goes after the word it describes: หวานมากwǎan mâak, very sweet.
- ตุ๊กตุ๊ก dtúk-dtúk
tuk-tuk (three-wheeled taxi)
- กรุงเทพฯ grung-têep
Bangkok
Grammar in this song
Polite particles: a woman ends a polite sentence with ค่ะkâ (and a question with คะká), a man with ครับkráp: สวัสดีค่ะsà-wàt-dii kâ, ขอบคุณครับkàwp-kun kráp. On their own they also mean 'yes'.
Adjective + มากmâak = very: เก่งมากgèng mâak (great job), อร่อยมากà-ràwy mâak (delicious), ร้อนมากráwn mâak (so hot). Number + บาทbàat for prices: ยี่สิบบาทyîi-sìp bàat (20 baht).
The culture behind it
LISA (Lalisa Manobal, born Pranpriya Manobal in 1997 in Buriram, in the Northeast) became world-famous as a member of the K-pop group BLACKPINK and now releases her solo music through her own company, LLOUD. "SaWaDiKa" came out in September 2026 and takes its name from the greeting สวัสดีค่ะsà-wàt-dii kâ. Its video, shot at six places around Bangkok, Hua Lamphong railway station among them, is full of tuk-tuks, Muay Thai and Thai fabrics, and it drew 70.8 million views in its first 24 hours, at the time the biggest first day of any music video in 2026.
The lyrics are English, and strong in places, so the song carries the explicit label here; its Thai is only a handful of words, which is why it makes a good first lesson. She also raps about Bangkok, the city's international name: Thais call it กรุงเทพฯgrung-têep, 'the city of angels' (the small mark at the end shows that the name is shortened; it isn't pronounced). And she name-checks the ตุ๊กตุ๊กdtúk-dtúk, the three-wheeled taxi.
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Written by the Learn Thai For Free team
Audio: AI voices, quality-checked for tones