Si Ma Hak Yang Ton Nee (สิมาฮักหยังตอนนี้): meaning and key lines
Tai Orathaiต่าย อรทัย
What the song is about
สิมาฮักหยังตอนนี้sì maa hák yǎng dtawn-níi, “Si Ma Hak Yang Ton Nee (Why Love Me Now?)”, is a luk thung song by Tai Orathai (2019). By 2026 it was among the ten most-watched music videos by Thai artists on YouTube: the man who drifted away, cheated and broke up with her wants her back, just as she has finally got over him. It is sung in clear Isan over Central Thai grammar, and its lesson teaches how to break up, make up and ask 'why now?', with the Isan words for where, who, what and why.
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Song facts
- Artist
- Tai Orathai
- Released
- 2019
- Style
- Luk thung
- Level
- B2 (upper intermediate)
- Mood
- hurt, defiant, bittersweet
- Views
- about 480M (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.
- น้อง náwngสิ sìไปใสกะไป bpai sǎi gà bpaiบ่ bàwถาม tǎamว่า wâaไป bpaiกับ gàpไผ pǎi
Wherever I go, you don't even ask who I'm going with.
She calls herself น้องnáwng, the younger one. Isan → Central: สิsì = จะjà, will; ใสsǎi (more often written ไสsǎi) = ไหนnǎi, where; กะgà = ก็gâw, so, then. So ไปใสกะไปbpai sǎi gà bpai = ไปไหนก็ไปbpai nǎi gâw bpai, go wherever (I like). ไผpǎi = ใครkrai, who: ไปกับไผbpai gàp pǎi = who are you going with? He has stopped caring. - อ้าย âaiหลอย lǎwyไป bpaiมี miiเขา kǎoแล้ว láewมา maaบอกเลิก bàwk-lôekเฮา hao
You went behind my back with someone else, then came and broke up with me.
Isan หลอยlǎwy = แอบàep, secretly, behind someone's back. มีเขาmii kǎo = to have 'someone' (another partner). บอกเลิกbàwk-lôek = to break up with someone (literally 'tell them it's over'). เฮาhao = เราrao, we, here 'me'. แล้วมาláew maa + verb = and then came and… - อ้าย âaiถิ่ม tìmน้อง náwngแล้ว láewไป bpaiมี miiผู้ใหม่ pûu-mài
You dumped me and went off with someone new.
Isan ถิ่มtìm = ทิ้งtíng, to dump, to leave. Isan ผู้ใหม่pûu-mài = คนใหม่kon mài, a new person, a new partner: Isan says ผู้pûu for คนkon, person. แล้วไปláew bpai + verb = and then went off and… - สิ sìมา maaฮัก hákมา maaหวง hǔangน้อง náwngหยัง yǎngตอนนี้ dtawn-níi
Why come and love me, and be so jealous over me, now?
The title. มาmaa + verb = to come and do it: มาฮักmaa hák = come and love (me). หวงhǔang = to be possessive, to guard someone jealously. Isan หยังyǎng, what, at the end means 'what for, why': สิมาฮักหยังตอนนี้sì maa hák yǎng dtawn-níi = จะมารักทำไมตอนนี้jà maa rák tam-mai dtawn-níi, why come and love me now? - เป็นหยัง bpen-yǎngตอน dtawnมี miiจัง jangบ่ bàwใส่ใจ sài-jai
Why didn't you care when you had me?
Isan เป็นหยังbpen-yǎng = ทำไมtam-mai, why (literally 'what is it'). ตอนมีdtawn mii = when (you) had (me). Isan จังjang (also written จั่งjàng) after 'why' is Central ถึงtǔeng: ทำไมถึงไม่ใส่ใจtam-mai tǔeng mâi sài-jai = why didn't you care? ใส่ใจsài-jai = to care about, to pay attention (literally 'put your heart in'). - ฮู้ húuว่า wâaน้อง náwngนั้น nánฮัก hákอ้าย âaiหลาย lǎai
You knew how much I loved you.
ฮู้ว่าhúu wâa = รู้ว่าrúu wâa, to know that. Isan หลายlǎai after a verb = very much (มากmâak): ฮักหลายhák lǎai = to love so much. นั้นnán after น้องnáwng points at her: as for me… The next line says he broke her heart all the same.
Words you'll learn
- บอกเลิก bàwk-lôek
to break up with someone
เลิกกันlôek gan = to break up (with each other).
- หลอย lǎwy
secretly, behind someone's back (Isan)
Central Thai: แอบàep.
- หวง hǔang
to be possessive (of), to guard jealously
หวงของhǔang kǎwng = to be possessive about your things; หึงhǔeng is jealous in love.
- เป็นหยัง bpen-yǎng
why (Isan)
Central Thai: ทำไมtam-mai. เป็นหยังบ่bpen-yǎng bàw = are you OK? (literally 'is something wrong?')
- ใส่ใจ sài-jai
to care about, pay attention to
- ถิ่ม tìm
to throw away; to dump, to leave (Isan)
Central Thai: ทิ้งtíng.
- ผู้ใหม่ pûu-mài
someone new, a new partner (Isan)
Central Thai: คนใหม่kon mài.
Slang and casual Thai
- ไปใสกะไป bpai sǎi gà bpai
go wherever (you like) (Isan)
Central Thai: ไปไหนก็ไปbpai nǎi gâw bpai. Isan ใสsǎi or ไสsǎi = where, กะgà = so, then.
Grammar in this song
Isan question words. ไสsǎi = where (ไหนnǎi), ไผpǎi = who (ใครkrai), หยังyǎng = what (อะไรà-rai) and เป็นหยังbpen-yǎng = why (ทำไมtam-mai). As in Central Thai, they stay where the answer would go: ไปกับไผbpai gàp pǎi = (you're) going with whom? หยังyǎng at the end of a sentence turns it into 'what for?': มาฮักหยังmaa hák yǎng = why come and love me? The romanization reads Isan words as their spelling would sound in Central Thai; real Isan tones differ, so copy the singer.
Breaking up and making up. บอกเลิกbàwk-lôek = to break up with someone; เลิกกันlôek gan = to split up; ขอคืนดีkǎw kuuen-dii = to ask to get back together; มีคนใหม่mii kon mài (Isan มีผู้ใหม่mii pûu-mài) = to have someone new.
ตอนdtawn + verb = when: ตอนมีdtawn mii (when you had it), ตอนเด็กdtawn dèk (as a child), ตอนนี้dtawn-níi (now).
The culture behind it
Tai Orathai (ต่ายอรทัยdtàai aw-rá-tai), born Orathai Dabkham in 1980 in Ubon Ratchathani, is the 'wildflower girl' of luk thung: her debut hit is on our songs page too. 'Si Ma Hak Yang Ton Nee', words and music by Jiab Nisa, came out as a single in December 2019 with a dramatic short film, which Sanook Music reported had passed two million views in four days (the video here is its shorter music-video cut). Sanook explained the title in Central Thai as 'why come and love me now?': it tells of a woman whose ex tries to come back into her life once she has learned to live without him.
The song is written the way Isan is usually written: Thai letters, Isan words. Tai calls the man อ้ายâai, older brother, and herself น้องnáwng, the younger one, as couples do all over Isan, and the Isan in it is close to the Lao spoken across the Mekong. For how Isan differs from Central Thai, see our page on the Isan language.
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Written by the Learn Thai For Free team
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