Kham Wa Hak Kan Man Hia Thim Sai (คำว่าฮักกัน มันเหี่ยถิ่มไส): meaning and key lines
Monkaen Kaenkoonมนต์แคน แก่นคูน
What the song is about
คำว่าฮักกัน มันเหี่ยถิ่มไสkam wâa hák gan man hìa tìm sǎi, “Kham Wa Hak Kan Man Hia Thim Sai (Where Did the Word 'Love' Get Thrown Away?)”, is a luk thung song by Monkaen Kaenkoon (2016). An Isan heartbreak ballad with more than half a billion views on YouTube: a man sees the woman who swore she would never leave him in someone else's arms, and asks where their 'love' went. It is sung slowly and clearly, and its lines teach Isan's two big sound changes, its words for that day, where and how, and everyday Thai for not believing your eyes, becoming a stranger and having no strength left.
Free, no sign-up: learn the key lines and words with audio, then sing along.
Song facts
- Artist
- Monkaen Kaenkoon
- Released
- 2016
- Style
- Luk thung
- Level
- B2 (upper intermediate)
- Mood
- heartbroken, betrayed, tender
- Views
- about 518M (Oct 2026)
- Video
- Grammy Gold Official
- 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.
- อ้าย âaiบ่ bàwอยาก yàakเซื่อ sûeaสายตา sǎai-dtaa
I don't want to believe my eyes.
Isan → Central: อ้ายâai, 'older brother', is the man calling himself 'I', like Central พี่pîi; บ่bàw = ไม่mâi, not; เซื่อsûea = เชื่อchûea, to believe. Isan often has s where Central Thai has ch: an elephant, ช้างcháang, is a ซ้างsáang in Isan. สายตาsǎai-dtaa = your eyes, your sight: ไม่อยากเชื่อสายตาmâi yàak chûea sǎai-dtaa = I can't believe my eyes. อยากyàak + verb = to want to. - กอด gàwtอิ้งติ้ง îng-dtîngอยู่ yùuกับ gàpผู้อื่น pûu-ùuen
Holding someone else tight in her arms.
The line before says the two of them are hugging tight; this one says it again, and with whom. กอดgàwt = to hug. Isan อิ้งติ้งîng-dtîng makes a word stronger, 'tight, completely': กอดอิ้งติ้งgàwt îng-dtîng = to hug tight. Verb + อยู่yùu = doing it right now, and กับgàp = with. ผู้อื่นpûu-ùuen = someone else, other people: Isan says ผู้pûu for 'person' where Central Thai says คนkon, as in คนอื่นkon ùuen. - จังใด๋ jang-dǎiมา maaกลายเป็น glaai-bpenอื่น ùuen
How did you turn into a stranger?
Isan → Central: จังใด๋jang-dǎi (also written จังได๋jang-dǎi) = ยังไงyang-ngai, how. กลายเป็นglaai-bpen = to become, to turn into, and อื่นùuen = other: กลายเป็นอื่นglaai-bpen ùuen = to become someone else, a stranger. มาmaa before a verb adds 'came to…': how could it come to this? - แล้ว láewคำ kamว่า wâaฮัก hákกัน ganมื้อนั่น múue-nânมัน manเหี่ย hìaถิ่ม tìmไส sǎi
And those words from that day, 'we love each other': where were they thrown away?
The title line. คำว่าkam wâa + words = the word(s) '…'; ฮักกันhák gan = รักกันrák gan, to love each other (Isan h for Central r). Isan → Central: มื้อนั่นmúue-nân = วันนั้นwan nán, that day (and มื้อนี้múue-níi, today); เหี่ยhìa = to drop, to fall (ตกdtòk); ถิ่มtìm = ทิ้งtíng, to throw away; ไสsǎi = ไหนnǎi, where. มันman, it, is the word 'love' itself: where was it dropped and thrown away? - แทบ tâepบ่ bàwมี miiแฮง haengหายใจ hǎai-jai
I barely have the strength to breathe.
แทบtâep + not = hardly, barely: แทบไม่มีเวลาtâep mâi mii wee-laa = I hardly have any time. Isan แฮงhaeng = แรงraeng, strength: one more r turned into h. หายใจhǎai-jai = to breathe. Having no strength even to breathe is how Thai songs say you're crushed. - จังได้ jang dâiฮู้ húuว่า wâaอ้าย âaiโง่ ngôoมา maaตั้งนาน dtâng-naan
Only then did I see what a fool I'd been all along.
Just before this, he sees it with his own eyes. Isan → Central: จังได้jang dâi = ถึงได้tǔeng dâi, only then; ฮู้húu = รู้rúu, to know. โง่ngôo = stupid, a fool. มาตั้งนานmaa dtâng-naan = for so long, up to now: ตั้งdtâng before a length of time means 'all of, as much as': รอมาตั้งนานraw maa dtâng-naan = I've waited for ages. - ถิ่ม tìmกัน ganง่าย ngâaiแท้ táeหนอ nǎwใจ jaiคน kon
How easily people throw each other away. Oh, the human heart!
In the line before, he finds out the two of them were in it together. ถิ่มกันtìm gan = to throw each other away (ทิ้งกันtíng gan). ง่ายngâai = easy, easily, and Isan แท้táe after it = truly, so: ง่ายแท้ngâai táe = so easily. หนอnǎw is an old, sighing 'oh': ใจคนjai kon, the human heart, is a saying about how fickle people are.
Words you'll learn
- เซื่อ sûea
to believe (Isan)
Central Thai: เชื่อchûea. บ่เซื่อbàw sûea = I don't believe it.
- สายตา sǎai-dtaa
eyesight; the way someone looks at you
ส่งสายตาsòng sǎai-dtaa = to give someone a look.
- กอด gàwt
to hug, to hold in your arms
- ผู้อื่น pûu-ùuen
someone else, other people
In Central Thai a little formal: in speech, คนอื่นkon ùuen.
- กลายเป็น glaai-bpen
to become, to turn into
น้ำกลายเป็นน้ำแข็งnáam glaai-bpen náam-kǎeng = water turns into ice.
- ถิ่ม tìm
to throw away; to dump, to leave (Isan)
Central Thai: ทิ้งtíng.
- ไส sǎi
where (Isan)
Central Thai: ไหนnǎi. ไปไสbpai sǎi = where are you going?
- แฮง haeng
strength (Isan)
Central Thai: แรงraeng.
- หายใจ hǎai-jai
to breathe
- โง่ ngôo
stupid, dumb
Rude when said to someone; fine about yourself.
- ตั้งนาน dtâng-naan
for ages, for so long
- มื้อนั่น múue-nân
that day (Isan)
Central Thai: วันนั้นwan nán.
- เหี่ย hìa
to drop, to fall (Isan)
Central Thai: ตกdtòk or หล่นlòn.
Slang and casual Thai
- อิ้งติ้ง îng-dtîng
tight, completely (Isan intensifier)
An Isan dictionary (Preecha Phinthong's) gives it as 'firmly (fastened)' and 'completely (quiet)'. With กอดgàwt, to hug tight.
- จังใด๋ jang-dǎi
how (Isan)
Central Thai: ยังไงyang-ngai. เฮ็ดจังใด๋hét jang-dǎi = how do you do it?
- จังได้ jang dâi
only then (Isan)
Isan จังjang (often written จั่งjàng) works like Central ถึงtǔeng: จังได้ฮู้jang dâi húu = ถึงได้รู้tǔeng dâi rúu, only then did I know.
- หนอ nǎw
oh, alas (a sigh, in songs and poems)
ใจคนหนอjai kon nǎw = oh, the human heart!
Grammar in this song
Two sound changes. Isan shares most words with Central Thai, but two sounds shift: r becomes h (ฮักhák = รักrák, love; ฮู้húu = รู้rúu, to know; แฮงhaeng = แรงraeng, strength) and ch becomes s (เซื่อsûea = เชื่อchûea, to believe). Learn the pattern and you can guess new words. The romanization reads Isan words as their spelling would sound in Central Thai; real Isan tones differ, so copy the singer.
Isan question words and days. ไสsǎi = where (ไหนnǎi), ไผpǎi = who (ใครkrai), หยังyǎng = what (อะไรà-rai), จังใด๋jang-dǎi = how (ยังไงyang-ngai). They go where the Central word would: มันเหี่ยถิ่มไสman hìa tìm sǎi = where did it get thrown? Days are counted with มื้อmúue, which is 'a meal' in Central Thai: มื้อนี้múue-níi = today, มื้อนั่นmúue-nân = that day.
Barely, for ages. แทบtâep + not = barely: แทบไม่มีแรงtâep mâi mii raeng (barely any strength). มาตั้งนานmaa dtâng-naan after a verb = for so long: อยู่ที่นี่มาตั้งนานyùu tîi-nîi maa dtâng-naan (I've lived here for ages).
The culture behind it
Monkaen Kaenkoon (มนต์แคนแก่นคูนmon-kaen gàen-kuun), whose real name is Kittikun Boonkhamchun, was born in 1973 in Loeng Nok Tha district, Yasothon, and learned to sing from his father, a mor lam singer. According to Thai Wikipedia, he stayed on in the army after his national service and still serves as a clerk in its transport department, alongside a singing career that took off with Grammy Gold in 2005. This song is from his seventh album (September 2016) and was written by his producer, the songwriter Sala Khunnawut (สลาคุณวุฒิsà-lǎa kun-ná-wút), later named a National Artist (for 2021). It began as part of a three-song 'music series' about a Thai man and a Lao woman who cannot stay together, with a lead actress from Laos. GMM Grammy reported that it passed 100 million views in five months, at the time the fastest on its Grammy Gold channel.
The man calls himself อ้ายâai, 'older brother', as Isan and Lao men do with a woman they love, and the song's Isan is close to the Lao spoken across the Mekong: for most of its listeners this is simply their own language. For more on how Isan differs from Central Thai, see our page on the Isan language.
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