Nong Ple (น้องเปิ้ล): meaning and key lines
PARADOXพาราด็อกซ์
What the song is about
น้องเปิ้ลnáwng bpôen, “Nong Ple (Little Ple)”, is a Thai rock song by PARADOX (2000). The first single from PARADOX's breakthrough album is a joke serenade: a lovesick student phones the cute new girl late at night, from outside her house, and can't stop shouting how cute she is. An easy rock song for learners, it teaches not yet, asleep, snacks, alone in the dark, to realise, the soft particle a Thai guy uses to sound sweet, and how students call each other big brother and little sister.
Free, no sign-up: learn the key lines and words with audio, then sing along.
Song facts
- Artist
- PARADOX
- Released
- 2000
- Style
- Thai rock
- Level
- A2 (elementary)
- Mood
- goofy, lovesick, rowdy
- Views
- about 2.5M (Oct 2026)
- Video
- GMM GRAMMY OFFICIAL (the label's 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.
- ยังไม่ yang mâiหลับ làpใช่ไหม châi mǎiจ๊ะ já
You're not asleep yet, are you?
He has rung her and asked if she's in. ยังไม่yang mâi + verb = not … yet: ยังไม่กินyang mâi gin = I haven't eaten yet. หลับlàp = to be asleep, to fall asleep (นอนnawn is to lie down, to go to bed). ใช่ไหมchâi mǎi at the end checks what you think is true: …, right?, aren't you? จ๊ะjá is a soft, sweet particle, here a young man putting on his gentlest voice. - น้อง náwngเปิ้ล bpôenชอบ châwpกิน ginขนม kà-nǒmอะไร à-raiเหรอ rǒeจ๊ะ já
What snacks do you like, Ple?
น้องnáwng = younger sibling, and the friendly way to talk to someone younger: an older student calls a first-year น้องnáwng + her nickname, and himself พี่pîi. เปิ้ลbpôen is a common nickname, from แอปเปิ้ลáep-bpôen, apple (the video has a giant apple). ชอบกินchâwp gin + food = to like (eating): ชอบกินเผ็ดไหมchâwp gin pèt mǎi = do you like spicy food? ขนมkà-nǒm = snacks, sweets. เหรอrǒe softens the question (he says it lǒe, with the l of relaxed speech), and then comes จ๊ะjá again. A second, lower voice echoes him. - ผม pǒmอยู่ yùuคนเดียว kon-diawใน naiความมืด kwaam-mûuet
I'm all alone in the dark
The second verse turns to self-pity. อยู่คนเดียวyùu kon-diaw = to be alone, to live alone: อยู่คนเดียวได้ไหมyùu kon-diaw dâi mǎi = can you stay on your own? ความมืดkwaam-mûuet = darkness, from มืดmûuet, dark: ความkwaam + adjective makes a noun, as in ความรักkwaam-rák, love. ในnai = in. Here he sings ผมpǒm, the polite 'I' for men. - คุณ kunรู้ตัว rúu-dtuaไหม mǎiว่า wâaคุณ kunน่ารัก nâa-rákมาก mâak
Do you realise that you're really cute?
After all the shouting, he drops his voice. รู้ตัวrúu-dtua = to realise, to be aware: รู้ตัวไหมว่าrúu-dtua mǎi wâa … = do you realise that …? ไม่รู้ตัวmâi rúu-dtua = without realising. ว่าwâa = that. น่ารักnâa-rák = cute, lovely, sweet, the word the chorus shouts again and again: น่าnâa + verb = worth …ing, so it's 'lovable', as น่ากินnâa-gin is 'looks delicious'. Thai needs no 'are': คุณน่ารักมากkun nâa-rák mâak = you're very cute. คุณkun = you, the polite word: for a mock-serious moment he drops น้องnáwng for คุณkun. มากmâak = very.
Words you'll learn
- หลับ làp
to be asleep, to fall asleep
- ขนม kà-nǒm
snack; sweets, dessert
Anything from crisps to traditional Thai sweets, ขนมไทยkà-nǒm tai.
- ชอบ châwp
to like
Answer ชอบไหมchâwp mǎi with ชอบchâwp or ไม่ชอบmâi châwp, not with yes or no.
- น่ารัก nâa-rák
cute, lovely, sweet
Literally 'lovable': for children, pets and clothes, and for kind people: น่ารักมากnâa-rák mâak can mean 'that's so sweet of you'.
- คนเดียว kon-diaw
alone, by oneself
- ความมืด kwaam-mûuet
darkness, the dark
From มืดmûuet, dark: ไฟดับมืดไปหมดfai dàp mûuet bpai mòt = the power went out and everything went dark.
- รู้ตัว rúu-dtua
to realise, to be aware (of yourself)
- ยังไม่ yang mâi
not yet
- เปิ้ล bpôen
Ple (a nickname, from 'apple')
Thai nicknames are often English words, cut short: แอปเปิ้ลáep-bpôen (apple) gives เปิ้ลbpôen.
Grammar in this song
Questions with a tag. ใช่ไหมchâi mǎi at the end checks something you think is true: ยังไม่หลับใช่ไหมyang mâi làp châi mǎi (you're not asleep yet, are you?), คุณเป็นคนไทยใช่ไหมkun bpen kon tai châi mǎi (you're Thai, aren't you?). เหรอrǒe after a question word makes it softer and chattier: ชอบอะไรเหรอchâwp à-rai rǒe (so what do you like?). ยังไม่yang mâi + verb = not … yet; the short answers are ยังyang (not yet) and แล้วláew (already).
น่าnâa + verb = worth …ing: น่ารักnâa-rák (lovable, cute), น่ากินnâa-gin (looks tasty), น่าเบื่อnâa-bùea (boring). ความkwaam + adjective = a noun: มืดmûuet (dark) → ความมืดkwaam-mûuet (darkness).
The culture behind it
PARADOX (พาราด็อกซ์paa-raa-dàwk) began around 1994 as a band of students in the Faculty of Education at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, and became known for wild live shows with fire, water and balloons thrown into the crowd (Thai Wikipedia). "น้องเปิ้ลnáwng bpôen" was the first single of Summer (2000), the album that made them widely known, and it has become the song that opens their concerts. Its singer and songwriter, Ta (Itthipong Kridakorn na Ayutthaya), told Sanook how it began: after a day of รับน้องráp náwng, the welcome that older students give the new first-years, the boys were buzzing about how many cute freshmen there were, one of them called Ple, and jammed a song out of nothing but her name and 'cute'. For the record they toned the words down, brought in their friend Off, the senior who did the shouting at the welcome, to bellow along, and had the real Ple say the 'hello' at the start.
So it's a joke at a lovesick student's expense: he rings late at night, stands outside her house and can't stop yelling how cute she is. Don't try it on anyone you like. On a Thai campus first-years are น้องnáwng and older students พี่pîi, and the พี่ว้ากpîi wáak is the senior who barks orders at the freshmen during the first weeks.
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Written by the Learn Thai For Free team
Audio: AI voices, quality-checked for tones