Photo: Takeaway / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Yi Peng Words: Lamps, Lanterns and Fireworks
When the cool season arrives, Northern Thai people start counting the days to Yi Peng (ยี่เพงฯ, Kham Mueang reading yi peng), the full-moon night of the second northern month, when homes, temples and the sky glow with light. This post gathers the Yi Peng words of Kham Mueang from the Moradok Lanna dictionary: the names of the month, lamps for offering, lanterns that rise into the sky, fireworks and temple decorations, so you can follow every word when elders talk about the festival.
For the festival itself, read the companion post Yi Peng, Pi Mai and Tung.
Yi + peng: where the name comes from
The name joins two words: yi, "two", and peng, "full" (the full moon). Because the Lanna calendar counts its months two months ahead of central Thailand, the central Thai 12th month is the Lanna duean yi, "month two".
| Kham Mueang | Lanna script | Meaning (from the dictionary) |
|---|---|---|
| yi | ยี่ | two, as in duean yi, the second Lanna month, which is the 12th Thai month |
| peng | เพงฯ | full, as in chan peng, the full moon |
| duean yi | เดิอฯรยี่ | the second lunar month of the North, the 12th month in central Thailand |
| duean yi peng | เดิอฯรยี่เพงฯ | the full moon of month two, the 15th waxing day of the 12th month |
| loi krathong | ลอฯยฯ | the custom of floating krathong with lit candles and incense, held on the full moon of duean yi; Lanna people call it pa-weni yi peng, the Yi Peng custom |
Three more words mark the weeks before Yi Peng:
- duean kiang (เดิอฯรกยฯง) — the first Lanna month, the 11th month in central Thailand
- ok wa-sa (ออฯกวัสสฯา) — the end of the Buddhist rains retreat
- pha kathin (ผ้ากฐิน) — kathin robes; the dictionary explains they may be offered only from the 1st waning day of duean kiang to the 15th waxing day of duean yi, so Yi Peng is also the last day of the kathin season
Phang, tian and pha-tit: lamps for offering
At the heart of Yi Peng is lighting flames as a pu-cha (ปู่ชา), an offering. Kham Mueang calls the small clay dish that holds oil or wax a phang, and an oil lamp a pha-tit or phang pha-tip. The word kom means any lamp or lantern.
| Kham Mueang | Lanna script | Meaning (from the dictionary) |
|---|---|---|
| phang | ผางฯ | a clay saucer for oil or wax, lit in place of a lamp (same word as the next row) |
| phang | ผังฯ | a cup or dish holding oil or wax for a lamp (same word as the row above) |
| phang pha-tip | ผังฯผทีปฯ | a clay oil lamp with a thread wick, lit as an offering to the Buddha, especially at Yi Peng |
| pha-tit | ผทีสฯฯ | an oil lamp, lantern or lamp (also pha-tip) |
| phang nam man | ผางฯนาฯมันฯ | a small container such as a milk tin, filled with oil and lit with a thread wick |
| kom | โค฿มฯ | a lamp (also phang man) |
| phang kom | ผางฯโค฿มฯ | a lantern, a lamp |
| kom phat | โค฿มฯผัดฯ | a cylindrical lantern that spins when lit, so the pictures painted on it turn round |
| tian | ทยฯร | a candle of wax or tallow with a wick in the middle |
| tian khi phoeng | ทยฯรขี้เผิ้งฯ | a beeswax candle |
| sai tian | ไส้ทยฯร | a candle wick |
| tian pae | ทยฯรแพ | candles tied together in a bundle |
| tian sae | ทยฯรแส้ | incense sticks, lit together with candles |
Photo: YashiWong / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Photo: Chainwit. / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Photo: Lerdsuwa / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Kom fai and wao hom: lanterns that rise into the sky
Lanterns that float upwards have several names, using both kom (lamp) and wao (kite). The difference is whether they rise on fire or on smoke, and whether they fly at night or in the daytime.
| Kham Mueang | Lanna script | Meaning (from the dictionary) |
|---|---|---|
| kom fai | โค฿มฯไฟ | a cylindrical paper lantern on a bamboo frame with a fuel cake hung at its mouth; lit, it rises into the air. Launched at night |
| wao fai | ว่าฯวฯไฟ | another name for kom fai |
| kom loi | โค฿มฯลอฯยฯ | a round paper lantern like a balloon, filled with hot smoke so it rises. Launched in the daytime, very popular at Loy Krathong |
| wao khwan | ว่าฯวฯฅัวฯร | another name for kom loi |
| wao loi | ว่าฯวฯลอฯยฯ | another name for kom loi |
| wao hom | ว่าฯวฯร฿มฯ | another name for kom loi |
| kom chang | โค฿มฯช้างฯ | a smoke lantern shaped like an elephant |
| wao | ว่าฯวฯ | a kite: a bamboo frame covered with paper or thin cloth, flown on a string |
The dictionary describes the kom loi in detail: a small tray of offerings hangs at its mouth, and a string of firecrackers is often tied below so people on the ground can follow it as it climbs. Before launch it must be fanned until it swells, and only then filled with hot smoke.
Photo: Nik Cyclist / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
Photo: DEBA PRASAD ROY / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
Bok fai: Northern Thai fireworks
Kham Mueang calls rockets and fireworks of every kind bok fai (บอฯกไฟ), and lighting them is chi bok fai (จิบอฯกไฟ). The dictionary records that Lanna people see lighting bok fai as driving away bad luck and evil so that blessings take their place, and as an offering to the Buddha. There are many kinds, named by size and effect.
| Kham Mueang | Lanna script | Meaning (from the dictionary) |
|---|---|---|
| bok fai khuen | บอฯกไฟขึ้นฯ | a rocket: a tube packed with gunpowder, with a whole bamboo pole as its tail, that soars into the sky |
| bok fai khao tom | บอฯกไฟเขั้าต้฿มฯ | a small rocket of gunpowder wrapped in dried banana sheath, with a coconut-leaf rib as its tail |
| bok fai chak chan | บอฯกไฟจักฯจั่นฯ | a spinning "cicada" firework (central Thai talai) |
| bok fai chang hong | บอฯกไฟช้างฯร้อฯง | a firework that roars like a trumpeting elephant |
| bok fai dok | บอฯกไฟดอฯก | a fountain firework set in the ground; it throws up a spray of sparks like a flowering bush |
| bok fai dao | บอฯกไฟดาวฯ | an aerial shell that bursts into scattered stars |
| bok fai tian | บอฯกไฟทยฯร | a firework shaped like an incense stick that throws sparks all round, like a sparkler |
| bok fai ba khi bao | บอฯกไฟบ่าฯขี้เบั้าฯ | a small firework packed in a clay pot that can be set down and lit anywhere |
| bok fai mo | บอฯกไฟหํมฯอฯ | another name for bok fai ba khi bao |
| bok fai muen | บอฯกไฟหื่มฯร | a large fountain firework holding 10 kilograms of gunpowder mix |
| bok fai saen | บอฯกไฟแสนฯ | a very large fountain firework holding 100 kilograms of gunpowder mix |
Photo: Takeaway / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Photo: Katyare / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
A bok fai that is not for Yi Peng
bok fai lo (บอฯกไฟหํลฯอฯ) — a rocket fitted with small wheels, sent running along a line to strike the funeral pyre or pavilion instead of lighting it in the ordinary way. It belongs to funerals, not to Yi Peng.
Pa-tu pa and temple decorations
At Yi Peng, temples and homes build a pa-tu pa (ปตูป่า), "forest gate": an archway decorated with branches, leaves, banana plants, sugarcane and coconut-leaf ribs. Each material has its own Kham Mueang name.
| Kham Mueang | Lanna script | Meaning (from the dictionary) |
|---|---|---|
| kuai | ก้ลฯวฯยฯ | banana; Kham Mueang has no initial consonant clusters, so kluai becomes kuai |
| oi | อ้อฯยฯ | sugarcane |
| kan ba pao | ก้านฯบ่าฯพ้ลฯาวฯ | a coconut-leaf rib |
| kap kluai | กาปฯก้ลฯวฯยฯ | banana sheath, the layered skin of the banana stem |
| sa-tuang | สทวฯง | an offering tray with a square rim of banana sheath and a floor of banana leaf |
| cho | ชํอฯ | a triangular flag of mulberry paper, kite paper or cloth |
| cho chang | ชํอฯช้างฯ | a large triangular flag carried at the head of a procession (also tung chai) |
Merit in duean yi: Tang Tham Luang
Besides the lights, duean yi is also a time to hear the great Vessantara sermon. Kham Mueang has its own words for it:
- pa-weni tang tham luang (ปาเวณีตั้งฯธัม์มฯหลฯวฯง) — the custom of the Maha Chat sermon (the Vessantara Jataka)
- tham ma-ha chat (ธัม์มฯมหาชาติ) — the Vessantara Jataka
- tan tham (ทาฯนฯธัม์มฯ) — offering palm-leaf scriptures to a temple
Read the full story at Tang Tham Luang.
Summary
| Group | Words to know |
|---|---|
| Days and months | yi · peng · duean yi · duean yi peng · duean kiang · ok wa-sa |
| Lamps for offering | phang · phang pha-tip · pha-tit · kom · tian · tian sae · pu-cha |
| Sky lanterns | kom fai (wao fai) · kom loi (wao khwan, wao loi, wao hom) · kom chang |
| Fireworks | chi bok fai · bok fai khuen · bok fai dok · bok fai dao · bok fai muen · bok fai saen |
| Temple decorations | pa-tu pa · kuai · oi · kan ba pao · cho |
- Yi Peng is the full-moon night of duean yi, the 12th-month full moon of central Thailand; in 2026 it falls on 24 November.
- Kham Mueang calls incense tian sae and a lamp kom.
- Kom fai fly at night; kom loi or wao hom fly in the daytime, and every launch must follow the province's rules.
- Bok fai covers every kind of firework; muen and saen tell you the size.
Search more festival words in the Moradok Lanna dictionary, read how Lanna counts its months in Duean Nuea, and the festival story in Yi Peng, Pi Mai and Tung.
Sources
- Moradok Lanna dictionary: yi peng(https://moradoklanna.com/dict/?ยี่เป็ง) · kom fai(https://moradoklanna.com/dict/?โกมไฟ) · bok fai(https://moradoklanna.com/dict/?บอกไฟ)
- Moradok Lanna Lanna calendar: 24 November 2026
- Thai PBS Verify (6 November 2025). Clip of "sky lanterns" looks so stunning that netizens thought it was AI — relays the Chiang Mai Provincial Public Relations Office's measures for Yi Peng 2025
- Photos from Wikimedia Commons as credited under each image; the rocket photo was taken in Yasothon and the fountain firework in India, used only to illustrate the words.
