Sawasdee Pee Mai (สวัสดีปีใหม่): meaning and key lines
Suntaraporn Bandวงสุนทราภรณ์
What the song is about
สวัสดีปีใหม่sà-wàt-dii bpii mài, “Sawasdee Pee Mai (Happy New Year)”, is a Thai festival song by Suntaraporn Band. One of the best-loved old New Year songs, still played in homes, offices and shops and on TV at the turn of every year. It is written in the formal, poetic Thai of blessings, so its key lines teach how Thais wish each other a happy new year, let bygones be bygones and promise a fresh start.
Free, no sign-up: learn the key lines and words with audio, then sing along.
Song facts
- Artist
- Suntaraporn Band (music: Eua Sunthornsanan; lyrics: Kaew Atchariyakul)
- Style
- Festival song
- Level
- B2 (upper intermediate)
- Mood
- festive, warm, gently swinging
- Views
- about 68K (Oct 2026)
- Video
- Metro Records (original Suntaraporn master recording)
- 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.
- สวัสดีปีใหม่ sà-wàt-dii bpii màiแล้ว láewผอง pǎwngไทย taiจง jongแคล้ว kláewปวง bpuangภัย pai
Happy New Year, it's here! May all Thais be spared every danger.
สวัสดีปีใหม่sà-wàt-dii bpii mài = Happy New Year (literally 'hello, new year'); แล้วláew = it's here now. The rest is the old, formal Thai of blessings: ผองpǎwng = all, so ผองไทยpǎwng tai = all Thais; จงjong + verb = may…; แคล้วkláew = to escape, to be spared; ปวงbpuang = all; ภัยpai = danger. You still hear แคล้วคลาดkláew-klâat in wishes for a journey: ขอให้แคล้วคลาดปลอดภัยkǎw hâi kláew-klâat bplàwt-pai = may you come to no harm. - สิ่ง sìngที่ tîiล่วง lûangแล้ว láewให้ hâiแล้วกันไป láew gan bpai
What's past, let it be over and done with.
สิ่งที่sìng tîi = (the) things that…; ล่วงแล้วlûang láew = have gone by (ล่วงlûang = to pass, a formal word). ให้hâi = let (it be). แล้วกันไปláew gan bpai = over and done with: the everyday way to say it is ที่แล้วก็แล้วไปtîi láew gâw láew bpai, 'let bygones be bygones'. The next line asks people not to hold on to old regrets. - เรา raoมา maaตั้งต้น dtâng-dtônชีวิต chii-wítกัน ganใหม่ mài
Let's start our lives afresh.
มาmaa + verb + กันgan = let's (do it together): มากินข้าวกันmaa gin kâao gan = let's eat. ตั้งต้นdtâng-dtôn = to start, to make a start; with ใหม่mài at the end, to start again, afresh. In everyday Thai: เริ่มต้นใหม่rôem dtôn mài. ชีวิตchii-wít = life. A New Year's resolution in six words.
Words you'll learn
- สวัสดีปีใหม่ sà-wàt-dii bpii mài
happy New Year
Add ครับkráp or ค่ะkâ. On cards: สุขสันต์วันปีใหม่sùk-sǎn wan bpii mài.
- ภัย pai
danger, threat
ปลอดภัยbplàwt-pai = safe (literally 'free of danger').
- สิ่ง sìng
thing (formal, abstract)
สิ่งที่sìng tîi… = the thing that…; in everyday talk, ของkǎwng is a thing you can hold.
- แล้วกันไป láew gan bpai
(let it be) over and done with
- ตั้งต้น dtâng-dtôn
to start, to make a start (formal)
Everyday Thai: เริ่มrôem or เริ่มต้นrôem dtôn.
- แคล้ว kláew
to escape (danger), to be spared
- ผอง pǎwng
all (poetic)
- จง jong
may … (in a blessing); must (in a formal order)
On exam papers: จงตอบคำถามjong dtàwp kam-tǎam = answer the questions.
- ล่วง lûang
to pass, to go by (formal)
Slang and casual Thai
- ปวง bpuang
all (formal, written)
Like ผองpǎwng, a word for blessings and old songs: ปวงภัยbpuang pai = every danger. Everyday Thai: ทุกtúk (every) or ทั้งหมดtáng-mòt (all).
Grammar in this song
Blessing Thai. Wishes use old, formal words that you won't hear in a café but will see on cards and hear in speeches: จงjong + verb = may…, and the 'all' words ผองpǎwng, ปวงbpuang (and in everyday Thai ทุกtúk). Today a New Year wish usually starts with ขอให้kǎw hâi, 'may…': ขอให้มีความสุขตลอดปีkǎw hâi mii kwaam-sùk dtà-làwt bpii = wishing you happiness all year.
Let's: มาmaa + verb + กันgan. มาตั้งต้นชีวิตกันใหม่maa dtâng-dtôn chii-wít gan mài = let's start our lives again; มาเริ่มกันเลยmaa rôem gan loei = let's get started. Verb + ใหม่mài = to do again: ทำใหม่tam mài = to redo, เริ่มใหม่rôem mài = to start over. ที่tîi after a noun = that, which: สิ่งที่ล่วงแล้วsìng tîi lûang láew = the things that have passed.
The culture behind it
Suntaraporn (สุนทราภรณ์sǔn-tá-raa-pawn) is the big band that Eua Sunthornsanan (1910–1981) led from 1939 for the government's Publicity Department; according to Thai Wikipedia he named it after himself and the woman he loved, Sunthorn + Aporn. With the lyricist Kaew Atchariyakul (1915–1981), who wrote some 3,000 song lyrics, he created the songs Thais still play at every festival, from Loy Krathong to Songkran and New Year: people sum up the partnership as 'Eua's tune, Kaew's words'.
New Year on 1 January is fairly new in Thailand: the traditional new year was in April (Songkran), the official year began on 1 April from 1889, and only in 1941 did the government move New Year's Day to 1 January. Songs like this one helped give the new holiday its sound. Besides these lines, the song asks people to forgive each other's slips, join hands and smile, and at the turn of the year it still plays on TV, in shops and in offices. Because both writers died in 1981, the song is still under copyright until the end of 2031, so we quote only three lines: listen to the rest in the video. For the New Year wishes Thais say and write today, see Happy New Year in Thai.
Learn “Sawasdee Pee Mai” in about 6 minutes
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Written by the Learn Thai For Free team
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