The Thai Vowel Song (เพลงสระ): meaning and key lines
The Kids Song
What the song is about
เพลงสระpleeng sà-rà, “The Thai Vowel Song (Pleng Sara)”, is a Thai children's song by The Kids Song (2020). A kindergarten song that runs through all 32 Thai vowels by name, from short a to the rare letter-vowels, twice over, with each vowel sign on screen as it is sung. It teaches how Thais name their vowels, the two ways of writing ai, and the words Thai children use for learning by heart: recite, remember, one at a time.
Free, no sign-up: learn the key lines and words with audio, then sing along.
Song facts
- Artist
- The Kids Song
- Released
- 2020
- Style
- Children's song
- Level
- A1 (beginner)
- Mood
- bright, sing-along, school
- Views
- about 5.3M (Oct 2026)
- Video
- The Kids Song (verified kids' 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.
- สระ sà-ràใน naiภาษา paa-sǎaไทย taiมี miiสาม sǎamสิบ sìpสอง sǎwngตัว dtua
There are thirty-two vowels in Thai.
สระsà-rà = vowel, said in two syllables. Careful: the same spelling said in one, สระsà, is a pond or a pool (สระว่ายน้ำsà-wâai-náam, a swimming pool) or washing your hair (สระผมsà pǒm). ในภาษาไทยnai paa-sǎa tai = in the Thai language. มีmii = there are, and the number comes before its counting word: สามสิบสองตัวsǎam sìp sǎwng dtua = thirty-two of them. Thai counts letters and vowels with ตัวdtua, the counting word you know from animals and clothes. - สระอะ sà-rà àสระอา sà-rà aaสระอิ sà-rà ì
Vowel a, vowel aa, vowel i,
A vowel's name is สระsà-rà + its sound, with the silent letter อaw standing in for a consonant: สระอะsà-rà à is ◌ะa, a short a; สระอาsà-rà aa is ◌าaa, the same sound held long; สระอิsà-rà ì is ◌ิi, a short i. Length changes the meaning of Thai words, so the vowels come in short and long pairs. Hear the short ones' low tone: อaw is a mid-class letter, and a short vowel with no final makes a dead syllable, which is low. All the pairs are on our vowel chart. - ไหน nǎiลอง lawngท่อง tâwngซิ síจะ jàจำได้ jam dâiไหม mǎi
Come on, say them by heart: can you remember them?
ไหนnǎi usually asks 'where?' or 'which?' (a tap shows those meanings), but at the start of a request it means 'come on, let's see': ไหนลองทำซิnǎi lawng tam sí = come on, have a go. ลองlawng = to try, ท่องtâwng = to recite, to learn by heart, the way Thai children learn letters, times tables and poems, and ซิsí at the end urges you on. จะจำได้ไหมjà jam dâi mǎi = will you remember? (จำได้jam dâi = to remember, to recognise). - ท่อง tâwngทีละ tii-láตัว dtuaจะ jàได้ dâiขึ้นใจ kûen-jai
Recite them one at a time, and you'll know them by heart.
ทีละtii-lá + a counting word = one at a time: ทีละตัวtii-lá dtua = one letter at a time, ทีละคนtii-lá kon = one person at a time. จะได้jà dâi starting the second half = so that, and then you'll: พูดช้าๆจะได้เข้าใจpûut cháa-cháa jà dâi kâo-jai = speak slowly so (I) can understand. ขึ้นใจkûen-jai = (known) by heart, so well it has 'gone up into the heart' (ขึ้นkûen = to go up, ใจjai = heart). - ไม้ม้วน mái-múanไม้มลาย mái-má-laaiจะ jàเขียน kǐanต่างกัน dtàang-gan
Mai muan and mai malai are written differently.
The vowel ai has two spellings, and these are their names. ไม้ม้วนmái-múan, the curled one, is ใ◌ai, used in only about twenty words, such as ใจjai (heart), ใหม่mài (new) and ใช้chái (to use); ไม้มลายmái-má-laai is ไ◌ai, the usual one, as in ไปbpai (to go). They sound the same but จะเขียนต่างกันjà kǐan dtàang-gan, 'are written differently': เขียนkǐan = to write, ต่างกันdtàang-gan = different from each other. จะjà here isn't the future: it says how things always are, as in a rule.
Words you'll learn
- สระ sà-rà
vowel
Said in one syllable, สระsà, the same spelling is a pond or a pool.
- สระอา sà-rà aa
the vowel aa (long a)
- ท่อง tâwng
to learn by heart, to recite
- ขึ้นใจ kûen-jai
by heart (known perfectly)
จำขึ้นใจjam kûen-jai = to know by heart.
- เขียน kǐan
to write
- ทีละ tii-lá
one … at a time
- จำได้ jam dâi
to remember, recognise
จำjam + someone + ได้dâi = to remember someone: จำฉันได้ไหมjam chǎn dâi mǎi = do you remember me?
- สระอะ sà-rà à
the vowel a (short a)
- สระอิ sà-rà ì
the vowel i (short i)
- ไม้ม้วน mái-múan
the rarer sign for ai (about 20 words)
The sign ใ◌ai, as in ใจjai and ใหม่mài.
- ไม้มลาย mái-má-laai
the usual sign for ai
The sign ไ◌ai, as in ไปbpai.
- ต่างกัน dtàang-gan
different (from each other)
Grammar in this song
So that: … จะได้jà dâi … Start the second half of a sentence with จะได้jà dâi to say what the first half is for: ท่องทีละตัวจะได้ขึ้นใจtâwng tii-lá dtua jà dâi kûen-jai (recite them one at a time, so you'll know them by heart), นอนเร็วๆจะได้ตื่นเช้าnawn rew-rew jà dâi dtùuen cháao (go to bed early, so you can get up early).
How many: number + counting word. Thai counts with a counting word after the number: สามสิบสองตัวsǎam sìp sǎwng dtua (thirty-two letters or vowels), สองคนsǎwng kon (two people). ทีละtii-lá goes in front of the counting word for one at a time: ทีละตัวtii-lá dtua, ทีละคนtii-lá kon.
The culture behind it
Thirty-two vowels, twenty-one signs. Thai school grammar counts 32 vowels, written with 21 vowel symbols, and children learn to recite all 32 in order. Twenty-four come in short and long pairs, including the three that glide, สระเอียsà-rà ia, สระเอือsà-rà uea and สระอัวsà-rà ua. The other eight are 'extra' vowels: สระอำsà-rà am, the two spellings of ai, สระเอาsà-rà ao, and four letter-vowels from Sanskrit: ฤrúe and ฤๅruue, still found in words like ฤดูrúe-duu (season), and two more that are no longer used. Our vowel chart has every vowel with audio, and the free Read Thai course teaches them a few at a time, with words you already know.
The Kids Song is a verified Thai children's channel, a sister channel of KidsMeSong, whose alphabet song and spider song are on this site too. Its vowel song, uploaded in February 2020, sings the 32 names twice, and each vowel sign appears on screen as it is sung, so you can watch the shapes while you listen.
Learn “The Thai Vowel Song” in about 6 minutes
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Written by the Learn Thai For Free team
Audio: AI voices, quality-checked for tones