Nakorn Dara (นครดารา): meaning and key lines
YOUNGOHMยังโอม
What the song is about
นครดาราná-kawn daa-raa, “Nakorn Dara (City of Stars)”, is a Thai rap song by YOUNGOHM (2025). Spotify's most-streamed Thai song of 2025 in Thailand, by the year's top artist there. YOUNGOHM sings to a girl who wants to be a DJ and is heading for fame in Bangkok, the 'city of stars', while he is still waiting for his break. It is sung more than rapped, in clear everyday Thai: will you forget me?, wherever you look, please wait for me, longer than the Yangtze. And its lyrics spell chǎn, 'I, me', the way it usually sounds in speech: chán.
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Song facts
- Artist
- YOUNGOHM
- Released
- 2025
- Style
- Thai rap
- Level
- B1 (intermediate)
- Mood
- lovesick, dreamy, determined
- Views
- about 99M (Oct 2026)
- Video
- YOUNGOHM (official artist 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.
- เธอ toeบอก bàwkกับ gàpชั้น chánเธอ toeอยาก yàakเป็น bpenดีเจ dii-jee
You told me you wanted to be a DJ.
The song opens on her dream. บอกกับbàwk gàp + person = to tell someone (บอกฉันbàwk chǎn works too). ชั้นchán here is ฉันchǎn, I, me, spelled the way it usually sounds in speech, with a high tone; the official lyrics spell it like this all through the song, as chats often do. Tap it and you'll see what this spelling means everywhere else, a floor or storey (ชั้นสามchán sǎam, the third floor), but in this song it always means 'me'. อยากเป็นyàak bpen + job = to want to be: อยากเป็นหมอyàak bpen mǎw = to want to be a doctor. ดีเจdii-jee is English 'DJ'. Thai verbs have no past tense: บอกbàwk is 'tell' and 'told'. - เธอ toeจะ jàลืม luuemชั้น chánรึเปล่า rúe bplàao
Will you forget me?
His worry is her fame: the next line asks what happens when lots of people love her. ลืมluuem = to forget; ลืมชั้นluuem chán = to forget me (ชั้นchán is ฉันchǎn, as in the first line). รึเปล่าrúe bplàao is หรือเปล่าrǔue bplàao, '…or not?', as it sounds in quick speech: it turns a statement into a yes/no question, often one you're anxious about. จะjà marks the future: เธอจะลืมtoe jà luuem = you will forget. - เธอ toeอาจ àatไม่ใช่ mâi châiเธอ toeคน konเก่า gào
You might not be the same old you.
อาจàat = might, may; in conversation, อาจจะàat-jà. ไม่ใช่mâi châi + noun = to not be: ไม่ใช่คนไทยmâi châi kon tai = (I'm) not Thai. คนเก่าkon gào, 'the old person', is who someone used to be, or an ex: เธอคนเก่าtoe kon gào = the old you. เก่าgào means old for things and former for people, never old in years: an old person is แก่gàe. - ยินดีต้อนรับ yin-dii dtâwn-rápคุณ kunสู่ sùuนคร ná-kawnดารา daa-raa
Welcome to the city of stars.
The title line. ยินดีต้อนรับyin-dii dtâwn-ráp = welcome, the word on signs at airports and hotels, and สู่sùu is the formal 'to' that goes with it: ยินดีต้อนรับสู่ประเทศไทยyin-dii dtâwn-ráp sùu bprà-têet tai = welcome to Thailand. นครná-kawn is a formal word for a city, the one in place names such as นครปฐมná-kawn bpà-tǒm and นครราชสีมาná-kawn râat-chá-sǐi-maa. ดาราdaa-raa is a star in poems, and in everyday Thai a celebrity, a film or TV star. The 'city of stars' is Bangkok, full of people who want to be famous. - มอง mawngไป bpaiทาง taangไหน nǎiก็ gâwมี miiแต่ dtàesuperstar suu-bpôe-sà-dtaa
Wherever you look, there's nothing but superstars.
Question word + ก็gâw = every…, any…: มองไปทางไหนก็mawng bpai taang nǎi gâw = whichever way you look; ไปไหนก็ได้bpai nǎi gâw dâi = we can go anywhere. มีแต่mii dtàe + noun = there's nothing but…, it's all…: มีแต่คนmii dtàe kon = it's packed with people. มองmawng = to look (at), to gaze. 'Superstar' is sung in English, the Thai way: ซูเปอร์สตาร์suu-bpôe-sà-dtaa. - เธอ toeอาจ àatอยู่ yùuสูง sǔungเหมือน mǔeanดาว daaoบน bonฟากฟ้า fâak-fáa
You may be up high, like a star in the sky.
อยู่สูงyùu sǔung = to be up high: สูงsǔung = high, tall. เหมือนmǔean + noun = like: เหมือนดาวmǔean daao = like a star. ดาวdaao is a star in the sky, while ดาราdaa-raa in the title is more often a celebrity. บนbon = on, up on. ฟากฟ้าfâak-fáa is a poetic word for the sky, the heavens; in conversation it's ฟ้าfáa or ท้องฟ้าtáwng-fáa. In the next line he promises to climb up there and bring her back down to him. - โปรด bpròotเธอ toeรอ rawชั้น chánก่อน gàwn
Please wait for me.
โปรดbpròot = please, a formal word from signs and announcements (โปรดถอดรองเท้าbpròot tàwt rawng-táao, please take off your shoes); in a love song it sounds earnest. รอraw = to wait (for): รอฉันraw chǎn = wait for me, here spelled รอชั้นraw chán as it's said. Verb + ก่อนgàwn = for now, first: รอก่อนraw gàwn = hang on, wait a bit. Between friends you'd say รอฉันก่อนนะraw chǎn gàwn ná. - แต่ dtàeรู้ rúuไว้ wáiรัก rákของ kǎwngชั้น chánที่ tîiมี miiให้ hâiเธอ toeนั้น nánยาว yaaoกว่า gwàaแยงซี yaeng-sii
But know this: the love I have for you is longer than the Yangtze.
Verb + ไว้wái = do it and keep it, for later: รู้ไว้rúu wái = know this, keep it in mind; จำไว้jam wái = remember this. มีให้mii hâi + person: feelings you have 'for' someone: รักที่มีให้เธอrák tîi mii hâi toe = the love I have for you; รักของชั้นrák kǎwng chán = my love (ชั้นchán = ฉันchǎn, me). นั้นnán after a long subject sets it off, a little like a comma. Adjective + กว่าgwàa = more … than: ยาวกว่าyaao gwàa = longer than. แยงซีyaeng-sii is the Yangtze, the longest river in Asia.
Words you'll learn
- ดีเจ dii-jee
DJ
From English. เปิดเพลงbpòet pleeng = to play music, what a DJ does.
- บอก bàwk
to tell, to say (to someone)
บอกbàwk + person: บอกฝนbàwk fǒn tell Fon. บอกว่าbàwk wâa + what was said: แม่บอกว่าอร่อยmâe bàwk wâa à-ràwy Mum says it's delicious.
- ลืม luuem
to forget; to leave something behind
- เก่า gào
old (things); former
- ยินดีต้อนรับ yin-dii dtâwn-ráp
welcome
What staff and hosts say as you walk in, and what the signs say when you land.
- ดารา daa-raa
star, celebrity
- มอง mawng
to look (at), to gaze; to view
- สูง sǔung
tall; high
- เหมือน mǔean
like; the same as
- รอ raw
to wait (for)
You know รอแป๊บraw bpáep (wait a moment). There's no word for 'for': รอรถraw rót wait for a ride.
- ยาว yaao
long
- รึเปล่า rúe bplàao
…or not? (as it's said quickly)
The quick, spoken form of หรือเปล่าrǔue bplàao: หิวรึเปล่าhǐu rúe bplàao = are you hungry?
- นคร ná-kawn
city (formal; in place names)
Everyday Thai: เมืองmueang.
- ฟากฟ้า fâak-fáa
the sky (poetic)
Everyday Thai: ท้องฟ้าtáwng-fáa or just ฟ้าfáa.
- แยงซี yaeng-sii
the Yangtze (river in China)
Grammar in this song
Question word + ก็gâw = any…, every…: มองไปทางไหนก็mawng bpai taang nǎi gâw (wherever you look), ใครก็ได้krai gâw dâi (anyone at all), อะไรก็ได้à-rai gâw dâi (anything is fine). มีแต่mii dtàe + noun = there's nothing but: มีแต่ดาราmii dtàe daa-raa (it's all stars).
Comparing with กว่าgwàa: adjective + กว่าgwàa = more … than: ยาวกว่าyaao gwàa (longer than), สูงกว่าsǔung gwàa (taller than), ดีกว่าdii gwàa (better). รึเปล่าrúe bplàao or หรือเปล่าrǔue bplàao at the end = …or not?: เธอจะลืมชั้นรึเปล่าtoe jà luuem chán rúe bplàao (will you forget me?), ว่างรึเปล่าwâang rúe bplàao (are you free?).
The culture behind it
YOUNGOHM (ยังโอมyang-oom), Ratthaphong Phoorisit, is the rapper from the Wat That Thong neighbourhood of Bangkok whose Doo Wai and Thararat are also here. "นครดาราná-kawn daa-raa" came out on 10 February 2025 as the second single from his third album, ไฟกลางคืนfai glaang-kuuen (Night Lights), which followed that October. He wrote it; Gamer Vader and NINESIXTSOUL produced it. The title is the Thai name of La La Land, the 2016 film that inspired the song and the look of its video (its Oscar-winning song is 'City of Stars'). It became Spotify's most-streamed Thai song of 2025 in Thailand, in the year YOUNGOHM was the platform's top artist in the country, and YouTube counted the video among the ten most-watched music videos in Thailand that year.
The song sets a girl who wants to be a DJ in a city full of people who want to be famous: in the hook, however famous you are it's never enough, and some are praying to be a star tomorrow. The narrator, still waiting for his own break, begs her to wait for him. YOUNGOHM sings most of it rather than rapping: LiFTED Asia puts his wide appeal in Thailand down to his personal storytelling and catchy, melodic singing. The lyrics are clean; the video has one crude scene, which is why the song is marked explicit.
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Written by the Learn Thai For Free team
Audio: AI voices, quality-checked for tones