desto

When you arrive at the terminus, remember to change your desto.

(informal, Australia, Singapore, New Zealand) a headsign; a destination sign: a moveable or electronic display mounted on a bus or other public transport vehicle to indicate its intended route and destination.


brinjal

/ˈbɹɪnd͡ʒəl/

Borrowed from Portuguese beringela, from Arabic بَاذِنْجَان (bāḏinjān), from Persian بادنجان (bâdenjân), from Sanskrit वातिगगम (vātiga-gama, “eggplant”), from Proto-Dravidian *waẓVtV. Doublet of aubergine.

der

Arabic بَاذِنْجَان (bāḏinjān)

Hindustan produces abundance of wheat, and throughout India the natives are plentifully supplied with vegetables and fruit; the brinjal, tomato, yam, carrot, radish, onion, garlic, spinach cabbage, nowkohl, cucumbers, and other gourds, may be mentioned among the former

1858, George Trevor, India, an historical sketch, page 14

(South Asia, Malaysia, South Africa, Singapore) An aubergine or eggplant.


NDP

National Day Parade
w:Singapore National Day Parade

(Singapore) Initialism of National Day Parade.


cibai

/ˌt͡siː˨ ˈbaɪ˦/

From Hokkien 膣屄 (chi-bai). Compare Cebuano tsibay.

Yes, you are giving your customers cheebai because you are a pimp.

2005 November 10, hillaryC, “Re: China spending billions on defence”, in soc.culture.british (Usenet)

Wah! Your cheebuy got what kind of taste har? Chillie sauce, izzit?

2005 November 11, Tan Kok Beng, “Re: China spending billions on defence”, in soc.culture.british (Usenet)

(Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, slang, vulgar) Vagina, cunt.

Wah! This chibai lending her cunt to BN [Barisan Nasional] to help them win votes.

1999 November 29, Disgusted, “And now a few words from the bimbos...”, in soc.culture.malaysia (Usenet)

Woi cibai, this got nothing to do with NEP. So much hatred to anything "Malay" eh? You TIU NA SENG!!

2001 August 28, sinkong, “Some Malay primary school teachers have poor attitude !!”, in soc.culture.malaysia (Usenet)

Okay, cibai: Tell it to *me* then that I need not study.

2004 February 24, Ahmad Sayuthi, “Re: Change our education system”, in soc.culture.malaysia (Usenet)

[…] chow chee bye attitude! some more hor, got high-tech GSP guidan oso cannot find dhe road. […]

2010, Singrish King, soc.culture.singapore (Usenet)

(Singapore, Malaysia, slang, vulgar) A term of abuse: a bastard, a contemptible person.


lala

(Singapore, Malaysia) Alternative form of la la (“clams”)


mah

Adventurer: 'AFTER YEARS OF ADVENTURING... I HAVE FINALLY ARRIVED AT THE STREETPASS ARENA. ONCE I REST MAH HOOFS, I'M GOING TO RECORD MY SECRET BATTLE TECHNIQUE.'

2014 June 26, Yacht Club Games, Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope, Nintendo 3DS, level/area: Streetpass Arena

Pronunciation spelling
pronunciation spelling

(African-American Vernacular, Southern US) Pronunciation spelling of my.


mah

— Why can't we go now?
— We need to come up with a plan mah.

Singlish is acceptable in Singapore mah

1998 April 24, viken, “tcs shows”, in sg.rec.tv (Usenet)

Asserts that there is a straightforward or self-evident reason to something.


anot

Your computer got virus anot?

(Singapore, colloquial, Singlish) Alternative form of or not


outstation

(India, Malaysia, Singapore) Out of town.


sian

en-adj

sian (comparative more sian, superlative most sian)

more sian (comparative)
most sian (superlative)

[Y]ou know you’re not the only one around who is bored and sian and tired of being bored and sian.

2006 October 3, Serene Luo, w:The Straits Times, quoted in Jack Tsen-Ta Lee, A Dictionary of Singlish and Singapore English, Singapore: Singapore Press Holdings Limited, →OCLC, section 3

(colloquial, Singapore, Singlish) Bored, weary or fed-up.

(colloquial, Singapore, Singlish) Dull, boring, wearisome.


junior college

en-noun

junior college (countable and uncountable, plural junior colleges)

(Singapore) A government high school, usually abbreviated to "JC".


sergeant major

sergeant major (plural sergeant majors or sergeants major)

sergeant majors (plural)
sergeants major (plural)

National Cadet Corps
National Cadet Corps

non-commissioned officer
non-commissioned officer

(Singapore, plural sergeant majors) An appointment (not a rank) in the Singapore Army and National Cadet Corps, denoting the most senior non-commissioned officer in a battalion, regiment, company or unit.


thiam

First element of Hokkien 恬去 (tiām-khì, tiām-khù, “shut up”).


longkang

[ˈlɔŋ˧.kaŋ˦]

(colloquial, Singapore, Malaysia) Ditch, street drain


talk cock

en-verb

talk cock (third-person singular simple present talks cock, present participle talking cock, simple past and past participle talked cock)

talks cock (present singular third-person)
talking cock (participle present)
talked cock (participle past)
talked cock (past)

Either a calque of Hokkien 講𡳞鳥話／讲𡳞鸟话 (kóng lān-chiáu-ōe), from 講話／讲话 (kóng-ōe, “talk”) + 𡳞鳥／𡳞鸟 (lān-chiáu, “cock (penis)”), or influenced by the English phrase cock-and-bull story.

cal

It was at this Parliament sitting, during an intense 40-minute exchange between Ling How Doong and Lee Hsien Loong, that Ling uttered the phrase "Don't talk cock," which became famous for all the wrong reasons in the annals of Singaporean parliamentary history.

2019, Loke Hoe Yeong, “14: Regrouping”, in The First Wave

(Singapore, Malaysia, informal) To talk nonsense.

(Singapore, informal) To engage in idle chatter.


wah lau

[ˈwɑ˦˨ ˌlaʊ˨˧]

[ˌwɑ̽ˈlaʊ˨˦˧]

From Teochew and Hokkien. Ultimate origin uncertain: first element equivalent to Hokkien 我 (óa, “my”) + lau, possibly from 老爸 (lāu-pē, “father”). Originated in the 1990s.

Wah lau! You tekan him, ah? But he bigger than you, man!

1992 February 22, soc.culture.asean (Usenet)

Zion Mansion... Wah lau, wasn’t that built in the Qing Dynasty or something.

2009, Jean Tay, Boom, Epigram Books, Act I, scene iv

(Singlish, Manglish) An exclamation of annoyance or exasperation.


ang moh

/ɑŋ(˨)ˈmɔː(˨˦)/

Borrowed from Hokkien 紅毛／红毛 (âng-mô͘, “person of Western descent”, literally “red hair”).

zh-l

Apart from skin colour, I have nothing in common with these Caucasians. To be honest, I have very little in common with the expatriates who live in Singapore either. For a start, most of the ang mohs that live here, particularly the ones from Britain, tend to come from the upper-middle classes.

2001, Neil Humphreys, Notes from an Even Smaller Island, Singapore: Times Books International, published 2005; republished as Notes from an Even Smaller Island: Singapore through a Young Brit’s Eyes, Singapore: Marshall Cavendish Editions, 2004, page 208

Zhen decided he liked Robert, although the Englishman smiled too much. Perhaps this was the ang mo way. In China, if a man smiled too much he was considered effeminate, but Zhen noticed that Baba Tan was completely at ease with them and laughed and smiled more in their company than when he was with the Chinese.

2007, Dawn Farnham, chapter 23, in The Red Thread: A Chinese Tale of Love and Fate in 1830s Singapore (The Straits Quartet; 1), Singapore: Monsoon Books

Suyin recognized him immediately—the tall, uncomfortable-looking white man, the ang moh standing guard by the only unoccupied table in the cafe.

2010, Shirley Geok-lin Lim, chapter 8, in Joss and Gold, Singapore: Marshall Cavendish Editions, page 254

[H]e attracted the attention of a food vendor and pointed at a pot consisting of different cuts of meat stewed in a dark soy sauce broth, served with flat rice noodles on the side. The food vendors, or hawkers, smiled at each other beatifically while ladling out the hot soup and meat in a bowl. They were probably thinking something on the lines of, "The stupid angmoh doesn't know what he is about to eat!" Angmoh, literally meaning "red hair," is the Hokkien Chinese collective term for Caucasians.

2011, Edmund M. Schirmer, “Finding Home Again”, in When there were Tigers in Singapore: A Family Saga of the Japanese Occupation, Singapore: Marshall Cavendish Editions, page 38

With my kind of career and background, I have the best of both worlds. You can't tell me I'm that ang moh (Caucasian) who doesn't understand. I'm the Asian who's been through the same challenges, and I would show you how to overcome them.

2015 August 1, Wong Wei Han, quoting Stephen Krempl, “One bold move catapulted him to global stage: Man who heads his own HR consulting firm believes his willingness to stand out from the crowd and be counted was key to his success”, in The Straits Times, Singapore, archived from the original on 2015-09-01

"Ang moh" is still used today with an implicit sense of the cultural power ang mohs wield in postcolonial Singapore, whether we admit it anot.

2017, Gwee Li Sui, “England”, in Spiaking Singlish: A Companion to how Singaporeans Communicate, Singapore: Marshall Cavendish Editions, pages 67–68

(Singapore, Malaysia, informal, possibly mildly derogatory, ethnic slur) A white person, especially one perceived as a foreigner rather than a local inhabitant.


kaypoh

en-adj

kaypoh (comparative more kaypoh, superlative most kaypoh)

more kaypoh (comparative)
most kaypoh (superlative)

Hey hey two different matters okay? Our SM already paid so why you so kaypoh?

2003 December 13, Kaypoh, “SIA air rage passenger ordered to pay diversion cost”, in soc.culture.malaysia (Usenet)

“My elder sister and mother don’t like me doing this. They would scold me and say I’m kaypoh.

2007 March 26, Yeng Ai Chun, “A task for a ‘busybody’”, in The Star, Malaysia, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2019-01-02

The slightest noise eg. me opening an envelope, will have him running up to investigate, being very kaypoh (nosey) by nature.

2007 October 6, William K. C. Kee, “My diva dog, Chai Chai”, in The Star, Malaysia, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2019-01-03

(Singapore, Malaysia, slang) Being a busybody, prying into the business of others.


kaypoh

To get problems rectified, Lim who admits to being a “kaypoh” (busybody), would hassle the relevant authorities.

2007 March 26, Yeng Ai Chun, “A task for a ‘busybody’”, in The Star, Malaysia, archived from the original on 2019-01-02

(Singapore, Malaysia, slang) A busybody.


kaypoh

en-verb

kaypoh (third-person singular simple present kaypohs, present participle kaypohing, simple past and past participle kaypohed)

kaypohs (present singular third-person)
kaypohing (participle present)
kaypohed (participle past)
kaypohed (past)

I thought through every angle, then Jesus decides to kaypoh and mess everything up.

2000, Hwee Hwee Tan, Foreign Bodies, page 236

Don't kaypoh so much. Locked door, not allowed to go inside, means don't go—understand?

Puay Sim interrupted, clacking her chopsticks decisively over a slice of fried fish. “If you don't know them, don't kaypoh, Mum.

2016, Jason Erik Lundberg, The Epigram Books Collection of Best New Singaporean Short Stories

(Singapore, Malaysia, slang) To act as a busybody, to pry into the business of others.


chope

chope (third-person singular simple present chopes, present participle choping, simple past and past participle choped)

chopes (present singular third-person)
choping (participle present)
choped (participle past)
choped (past)

From Malay chup (“a cry in a game requesting a halt or the retraction of a stroke”), possibly from Hindi चुप (cup, “silence!”).

bor

Place a packet of tissues on a table and people will assume it is taken by someone in an act referred to as chope. Others may chope their table with a bag, knowing.

2022 May 15, Jonty Tan, The Local Immigrant, Marshall Cavendish International Asia Pte Ltd

(Singapore, informal, transitive) To reserve a place, such as a seat in a fast food restaurant, sometimes by placing a packet of tissue paper on it.


jakun

en-adj

jakun (comparative more jakun, superlative most jakun)

more jakun (comparative)
most jakun (superlative)

Semantic extension of the Malay Jakun, an indigenous ethnic group inhabiting the jungles of Pahang, Johor and Negeri Sembilan.

A jakun tourist’s worst nightmare…is an idiot who simply cannot see that people want to take photographs & simply stands right in front of the object jakun tourists want to photograph, & lingers around it.

2009 February 9, The Jakun Tourist A Jakun Tourist’s Worst Nightmare…

Yes, it was one of the many jakun moments I had while in Singapore.

2013 May 17, Joel Wong, ONE Asia MMA Summit 2013: The Recap

And it’s popular foods in Korean culture that apparently so many of our readers are familiar with it all! But of course, we all jakun lah LOL.

2015 December 26, The Halal Food Blog, Jinjja Chicken

Sorry so jakun, need to post a picture of my Uber because it looks like a Bentley.

2015 June 26, shaolintiger, Frog Porridge, Chicken Rice & the Journey Home

I was so jakun with the pen thingy and this happened hehe I feel like a kid.

2016 March 18, fatinabilaah, [Twitter feed]

(informal, derogatory, Singapore) Fascinated by objects, events, or experiences which seem ordinary to others.


sama-sama

What else, you tell me, can make a group of young men from various backgrounds, educational levels and races doing their National Service (aka Army) and communicating on a sama-sama wavelength?

2006 October 5, Kaffein-nated: Funny Thing: Singlish

Then all the apologists come and try defend this tai-tai. Come on la. They are all sama-sama elitist.

2008 May 30, ‘Little People’: A Clarification: Opinionated

If I do, I just call my brudders activate 3 Bangla, hide in 3 different cars of sama-sama brand and then tip off ICA.

2009 February 27, Exclusive Interview With Mas Selamat Bin Kastari

Well, “dun dun dun dun” and “kua kua” are sama-sama because “kua kua” also at once casts real life as a movie.

2015 August 26, Gwee Li Sui, Singapore English Archives- The Middle Ground SinGweesh on Wednesday: Kua Kua

(Singapore, informal) The same; identical.


sarong party girl

en-noun

sarong party girl (plural sarong party girls)

(Singapore, derogatory, ethnic slur) An Asian girl who dates a non-Asian, especially a white expatriate.


sayang

Indonesian
Philippine English
Singaporean English

* (Singaporean and Malaysian English): Borrowed from Malay sayang.
* (Philippine English): Borrowed from Tagalog sayang.

to regret, to miss (regret the absence of)


GRO

(Singapore) Initialism of grassroots organization.


ICA

Immigration and Checkpoints Authority
w:Immigration and Checkpoints Authority

(Singapore) Initialism of Immigration and Checkpoints Authority.


GRC

(Singapore) Initialism of group representation constituency.


missy

→ Maori: Mihi


PMO

PMO (countable and uncountable, plural PMOs)

Prime Minister's Office
Prime Minister's Office#English

(government, Canada, Australia, Singapore) Initialism of Prime Minister's Office; The Office of the Prime Minister, composed of the prime minister and his or her top political staff.


CWO

corrective work order
w:corrective work order

(Singapore) Initialism of corrective work order.


tai chi

en-verb

tai chi (third-person singular simple present tai chis, present participle tai chiing or tai chi-ing, simple past and past participle tai chied)

tai chis (present singular third-person)
tai chiing (participle present)
tai chi-ing (participle present)
tai chied (participle past)
tai chied (past)

From Mandarin 太極／太极 (tàijí), Wade–Giles romanization: tʻai⁴-chi². Doublet of taegeuk.

zh-l

太極／太极 (tàijí)

(Malaysia, Singapore, slang, figurative) To push a task or responsibility to someone else.


strata title

(Australia, Singapore, British Columbia) (law) A form of title over parts of real property, originally designed to facilitate ownership and mortgage of separate parts of a building, often on multiple levels. Usually some common property is the responsibility of all strata title holders via an owner's corporation.


rakyat

(Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia) An ordinary citizen.


LTA

Land Transport Authority
w:Land Transport Authority

(Singapore) Initialism of Land Transport Authority.


carrot cake

en-noun

carrot cake (countable and uncountable, plural carrot cakes)

The Singaporean senses may have arisen from a confusion between Min Nan 菜頭／菜头 (chhài-thâu, “radish”) and 紅菜頭／红菜头 (âng-chhài-thâu, “carrot”, literally “red radish”).

zh-l

(Singapore) Turnip cake (a savoury cake containing radish, usually pan-fried).

(Singapore) Synonym of chai tow kway (“a dish of stir-fried radish cakes and eggs”).


nn

(Philippines, Singapore) Alternative form of NN (“noon”).


GG

Physics test today was out of the world…Honestly I think I’m going to fail big time…I didn’t know I had to study statics! What’s the point in testing LAST year’s work? Like wtf lawl…So i think I flung that section…GG liao lor…

2007 March 7, Thomas Kwok, Camping Grounds 2.0, What a week, accessed on 2015-10-22

Liverpool GG liao la. Steven Jialat hamstring problem. Dirk Kuyt ankle problem. take west ham win this saturday.

2010 November 18, QQfufa, Hardware Zone Singapore, Liverpool GG liao la, accessed on 2015-10-22

GG liao.. I can't get in to my account liao ... Keep say someone inside...

2013 December 23, BBdotcom Enterprise, Facebook, retrieved 2015-10-22

Gg liao moi go Malaysia forgot to off my data roaming Den i check singtel app saying 1mb data roaming = $25.

2015 October 20, Kitaro9202, Hardware Zone Singapore, GG liao moi go Malaysia forgot off my data roaming, accessed on 2015-10-22

(Singapore, informal, colloquial) Likely to have an undesirable outcome, which one cannot change or escape from.


mandor

(Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia) A workman who oversees others in a factory or a plantation, typically an oil palm or rubber estate.


PCC

(Singapore, slang) Initialism of pa chew cheng.


CCE

(Singapore, education) Initialism of character and citizenship education.


mampus

From Malay mampus (“to die, to perish, to be wiped out”).

bor

"Oh, my wife is such a shrew. No wonder I can't stay with her!" Mampus, you're finished!

Luckily, there were not in US dollars. If they were, mampus.

1998, unknown author, Singapore Business, page 123

Advertlets? 2 months still haven’t received?!?!?! OMG. I just cashed out mine like last week. MAMPUS. Like this December then get?

2008 June 29, Khairul Neezam, “khaaaa-zaaam!”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), archived from the original on 2013-02-07

Don't be [surprise] if I am using "Sure mampus", [s]o lembap or etc in this blog..

2009, Muhammad Norsina Zalin, My Name is Sina: Hi…, [blog]

Mampus! The recipe was in my family for seven generations! Now my unborn grandchildren will never get to enjoy this sedap dish with their multi-racial friends.

Mampus lah. How can immature females be allowed to choose their own life partner?

2013, William Gwee Thian Hock, A Baba Boyhood: Growing Up During World War 2, page 205 [book]

(Singapore, informal) finished, wiped out, kaput.


last time

(Malaysia, Singapore) In the past; formerly.


simi

A short sword or dagger used by the Kikuyu people.


Hong Kong foot

→ Thai: ฮ่องกงฟุต (hɔ̂ng-gong-fút)

Calque from Chinese 香港腳／香港脚 (xiānggǎngjiǎo).

(slang, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, pathology) Athlete's foot.


minah

Coordinate term: mat

Yati feels she is lucky to get - and hold - a factory job, though it has earned her the title of "Minah Karan".

1987 August 26, Ning Juita, “Culture shock for Yati, the kampung girl”, in The Straits Times, page 16

Among the ah bengs and ah lians, the mats and the minahs, the young expats and the backpackers, he stood out like a dozen guys on a male-only dance floor singing Dancing Queen (I'll never forgive Blur for ruining my 21st birthday).

2012 April 15, Neil Humphreys, “From Cool Dude to Sad Old Man”, in The New Paper, page 34

“People thought I was a minah and that I would not make it but I did,” she says, using the colloquial term to describe rowdy Malay girls without drive or ambition.

2015 October 4, Wong Kim Hoh, “At 17, she found herself with a broken home and nowhere to stay”, in The Straits Times, page B7

Hirzi said of their significance: “People watched the Minahs for entertainment, but there was also a lot (more) to the videos... When we were vulnerable, the characters, especially the Minahs, picked us up.”

2017 December 19, Audrey Leong, “YouTube duo makes curtain call”, in The New Paper, page 15

(Singapore, colloquial, derogatory) A Malay girl.


pass up

en-verb

pass up (third-person singular simple present passes up, present participle passing up, simple past and past participle passed up)

passes up (present singular third-person)
passing up (participle present)
passed up (participle past)
passed up (past)

The teacher told us to pass up our English homework.

Be punctual and pass up schoolwork on time.

1979 September 16, “THE TWENTY MAXIMS”, in The Straits Times, page 1

The teachers called me, she doesn't do her work, she doesn't pass up work, she'll hide her papers everywhere.

2004, Lana Yiu Lan Khong, Family Matters: The Role of Parents in the Singapore Education, page 159

At times, when I had to pass up assignments, I did them whenever I had any free time at work.

2015 May 11, Hafsah Ali, Shhhh!!! Can Airport Talk?

(Singapore, Malaysia, transitive) To submit (hand in) items to a person, usually one's teacher.

luovuttaa

to submit, such as homework to a teacher


tingkat

en-noun

tingkat (usually uncountable, plural tingkats)

(metonymically, uncountable) Home-cooked meals from a home delivery and catering service.


MRT

MRT (countable and uncountable, plural MRTs)

mass rail transit
mass rail transit#English

(UK, Southeast Asia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, India, transport, uncountable) A form of heavy-rail rapid-transit system that utilizes modern Electric Multiple Units to transport commuters between stations.

(UK, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, India, transport, uncountable) Initialism of mass rail transit.

mass rapid transit
mass rapid transit#English

(UK, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, India, transport, uncountable) Initialism of mass rapid transit.

mass rail transport
mass rail transport#English

(UK, Singapore, Philippines, India, transport, uncountable) Initialism of mass rail transport.

mass rapid transport
mass rapid transport#English

(Singapore, Malaysia, India, Thailand, transport, uncountable) Initialism of mass rapid transport.

metro rail transport
metro rail transport#English

(India, Philippines, Singapore, transport, uncountable) Initialism of metro rail transport.

metro rapid transit
metro rapid transit#English

(UK, Singapore, India, transport, uncountable) Initialism of metro rapid transit.

metropolitan rapid transport
metropolitan rapid transport#English

(India, Thailand, South Korea, transport, uncountable) Initialism of metropolitan rapid transport.

metropolitan rapid transit
metropolitan rapid transit#English

(Thailand, India, South Korea, transport, uncountable) Initialism of metropolitan rapid transit.

metro rail transit
metro rail transit#English

(Philippines, India, transport, uncountable) Initialism of metro rail transit.

metropolitan rail transit
metropolitan rail transit#English

(Philippines, India, transport, uncountable) Initialism of metropolitan rail transit.

metro rapid transport
metro rapid transport#English

(UK, India, transport, uncountable) Initialism of metro rapid transport.

metropolitan rail transport
metropolitan rail transport#English

(India, transport, uncountable) Initialism of metropolitan rail transport.

After several years of study, the Government of Singapore in 1982 decided to implement a comprehensive mass rapid transit (MRT) system.

2000, Jian Zhao, J. Nicholar Shirlaw, Rajan Krishnan, Tunnels and Underground Structures, page 32

The origins of the MRT are derived from a forecast by city planners in 1967 which stated the need for a rail based urban transportation system.

2008 September 25, Angela Albanese, bus570 fall 08: The Mass Rapid Transit (MRT)

Bukit Panjang residents will soon enjoy a shorter commuting time to town when Singapore’s latest MRT line, the Downtown Line 2 (DTL2), commences operations on Dec 27.

2015 December 11, Feily Sofian, Esther Hoon, The Edge Property: The impact of MRT on property prices


onz

Tomorrow's gathering onz or not? ― Is tomorrow's gathering taking place?

(colloquial, Malaysia, Singapore) Taking place


onz

en-verb

onz (third-person singular simple present onz, present participle onz, simple past and past participle onz)

onz (present singular third-person)
onz (participle present)
onz (participle past)
onz (past)

You onz? ― Are you attending?

Hiking tomorrow. Onz mou? ― I am going on a hike tomorrow. Are you coming?

(colloquial, Malaysia, Singapore) Attending; coming; joining; participating


s/o

(India, Singapore) Abbreviation of son of.


diam

Borrowed from Malay diam (“quiet”, adjective) or Hokkien 恬 (tiām, “silent”) or Teochew 恬 (diam⁷, “silent”).

Diam lah, you have no gal let alone have a son or daughter.

2021 April 8, intruder, “God so loved the world”, in soc.culture.malaysia (Usenet)

If the answer is affirmative, then he is qualified to talk to us. Otherwise, diam lah.

2023 December 9, “Najib wants more time for another run.”, in soc.culture.malaysia (Usenet)

So diam lah, baruah bangsat!

2013 June 7, <par@tmnet.net.my>, “Mooted online media control 'not politically motivated'”, in soc.culture.malaysia (Usenet)

(informal, Singapore, chiefly Malaysia) Be quiet.


national service

The boys in between 18 and 20 are doing national service.

(Singapore, UK) Compulsory service in the armed forces; conscription.


jambu

en-adj

jambu (comparative more jambu, superlative most jambu)

more jambu (comparative)
most jambu (superlative)

Semantic extension from Malay jambu, which originated from Sanskrit जम्बु (jambu, “a fruit or a blood pear”).

der

2000 2 December, m0bius, soc.culture.singapore
You discover that she has SISTERS, who are also very jambu.

She has this healthy glow, almost like she's golden skinned, but oh so jambu lah!

2007 August 27, http://her-whimsical-escapade.blogspot.sg

2008 26 July, CR[7], Singapore Bikes Forum
got this mat saleh soooo jambu.

Add me pls . There are only 5 Salmah Samions ! The most jambu looking profile is me lah !

I also wanna look jambu also what on that 2-day event.

2014 October 16, https://web.archive.org/web/20160910012100/https://faithinloveandyou.wordpress.com/

My very jambu Shahida for her engagement today. I have a thing for braces girls.

2014 December 6, theatelierweddings, Instagram

don't sabo that minah jambu lah.

2015 August 1, figo16, Singapore Hardware Zone Forum

A reader has shared with us a Facebook post by jambu ICA officer Adilla Ramli. She gives her view on the recent ICA jams.

2015 December 21, Farhan, All Singapore Stuff

(Singapore, colloquial, informal) Cute, adorable or beautiful.


char kway teow

/ˌt͡ʃɑː ˌkweɪ ˈtjaʊ/

(Singapore, Malaysia) A Southeast Asian noodle dish made from flat rice noodles, soy sauce, chili, prawns and other common stir-fry ingredients.


SPG

sarong party girl
sarong party girl#English

(Singapore, derogatory) Initialism of sarong party girl.


handphone

→ Korean: 핸드폰 (haendeupon)

From hand + phone. For the sense of mobile phone, compare with Chinese 手機／手机 (shǒujī, literally “hand machine”) and Korean 손전화 (sonjeonhwa, literally “hand telephone”).

cog

(Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Brunei, South Korea, Hawaii) A mobile phone.


Baba

(Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia) A male Peranakan.


CNY

Majestic Bay offers traditional CNY set menus (from S$388) as well as a CNY dim sum lunch set menu (S$68 per person).

2014 February 6, “Chef Yong's Group Restaurants”, in Today, Singapore, →OCLC, Dining Guide, page 71

2019 February 5, Adrian Lim, “Multiracial CNY celebrations true to Singapore spirit: President Halimah”, in The Straits Times, Singapore, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2019-02-05, in title

Gone are the days of hustling through busy streets to shop for CNY goodies, because they can now be ordered online and delivered to your doorsteps.

2019 February 5, Lo Tern Chern, “Of CNY, angpows and fireworks”, in The Star, Malaysia, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2019-02-05

Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year#English

(chiefly Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia) Initialism of Chinese New Year.


towkay

From Malay tauke, from Hokkien 頭家／头家 (thâu-ke, “boss”).

My own experience would lead me to suggest that the Chinese immigrants should be placed under one Towkay, or head man, who would control those villages under his care.

1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 352

(Malaysia, Singapore), A business owner; boss (especially a Malaysian Chinese or a Singaporean Chinese).

(Malaysia, Singapore), Term of address for such a person; sir.


suaku

From Hokkien 山龜／山龟 (soaⁿ-ku, “mountain turtle”), from 山 (soaⁿ, “mountain”) + 龜／龟 (ku, “turtle”).

The suaku (literally "mountain tortoise" and figuratively "country bumpkin") sports a beer belly, fake brand-name apparel and oil-slick hair.

1986, “New Books”, in Asiaweek, volume 12, page 60

(Singapore, informal) Someone who is not well informed; a country bumpkin.


suaku

en-adj

suaku (comparative more suaku, superlative most suaku)

more suaku (comparative)
most suaku (superlative)

Ah Lian are not simply lowly educated, they also have supposedly 'pre-modern' or sua-ku (hill tortoise, metaphor for 'backward') modes of behaviour.

2003, Beng Huat Chua, Life is Not Complete Without Shopping: Consumption Culture in Singapore, page 88

(Singapore, informal) Not well informed; backward.


sabo

en-verb

sabo (third-person singular simple present sabos, present participle saboing, simple past and past participle saboed)

sabos (present singular third-person)
saboing (participle present)
saboed (participle past)
saboed (past)

(transitive, Singapore, colloquial, informal, Singlish) To get someone in trouble, to prank, to sabotage another's efforts.


ownself

“Tea Cake ain't been no boy for some time. He's round thirty his ownself.”

1937, Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Harper, published 2013, page 3

Did you paint this your ownself?

(now chiefly regional, especially Southern US, Caribbean, Singlish) (One's) self; used with a preceding possessive adjective to form a pronominal phrase.


sibo

Derived from Hokkien 是無／是无 (sī-bô, “is not”).

u dun understand english sibo?

2009 December 29, GMAudition, “Gamerz Planet”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)

Ka ni na, ask stupid question sibo?

2010 September 26, Ang Shi Na, “Sheena’s101”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)

You are factoring in the interest sibo?

2013 August 6, “BlueOldMan, HDB Resales price”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)

Grin until mouth crooked sibo?

2015 May 12, May Lee, “Study stress”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)

(Singapore, informal) An expression of disbelief, equivalent to Is it so?


CTE

Central Expressway
w:Central Expressway, Singapore

(Singapore, in road signs) Abbreviation of Central Expressway.


senget

en-adj

senget (comparative more senget, superlative most senget)

more senget (comparative)
most senget (superlative)

(Singlish, Manglish) Askew, uneven, not straight.


no duff

From the RAF slang expression "duff gen" meaning bad information; no duff, by extension means accurate, also: stop operations until ordered otherwise.

“Sunray, No Duff, No Duff, No Duff. We need a medic, we’ve got a man down. Wound to the upper arm, and major blood loss. Over.” ¶ All the other chatter on all the radios went dead with the ‘No Duff.’ It was the signal for a medical emergency.

2001, Ska Child, David Harris, Skavoovee, Victoria, B.C.: Trafford Publishing, page 152

“Someone grabbed me from behind and said ‘No duff,’ which means this is real,” said LCdr. Wong. “That’s what everybody heard, ‘Plane crash, 737,’ and all of us started running to our posts,” he told reporters after Prime Minister Stephen Harper arrived here to commend those who raced to the scene.

2011 August 24, Gloria Galloway, “When troops heard ‘no duff,’ they knew Resolute Bay rescue wasn’t an exercise”, in The Globe and Mail

(UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, military slang, radio voice procedure) Indicating that this is not a drill or training exercise.


no duff

Get him in here, and radio a ‘no duff’ [casualty] to HQ.

1999, Scott Taylor, Canada at War and Peace: A Millennium of Military Heritage, volume 3, Ottawa: Esprit de Corps Books, page 140

[p 224] I called on the radio and — this was the most horrifying part of this — I couldn’t reach my observation post where my guys were. But I did get the command post in the middle of Srebrenica. I told them, “This is a no duff situation. You’ve got two men down and we’re on the trail.’
[p 236, glossary] No duff The radio code words used to get people off the air because a serious incident has occurred.

2003, “Jordie Yeo: Master Corporal” in John Wood ed., The Chance of War: Canadian Soldiers in the Balkans, 1992–1995, Dundurn Press

(UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, military slang, radio voice procedure) An incident that is not a drill or training exercise; an emergency. Also end of exercise. Stop drill immediately. As a ‘tap out’ called by during physical training. Sim munitions training in Australian Swat ‘end ex’.


tekan

From Malay tekan (“to press or pressure”).

Wah lau! You tekan him, ah? But he bigger than you, man!

1992 February 22, soc.culture.asean (Usenet)

We have also been through training and we all kena tekan (were bullied), but even if we were ill-treated, we didn’t know that we were being ill-treated

2003 October 17, “Questions thick and fast in Parliament”, in TODAY, page 2

When Hamdan joined their cell, Iryan told him the 1.6m-tall victim was someone they could tekan (bully).

2009 July 8, “Victim offered sex: Attackers”, in TODAY, page 10

It will expose us to different ways of thought … like waking up at 4am and being tekan.

2013 July 17, “Paige Chua wears the pants”, in TODAY, page 60

(Singapore, colloquial, slang) To bully or treat harshly.


TPE

Tampines Expressway
w:Tampines Expressway

(Singapore, in road signs) Abbreviation of Tampines Expressway.


sapu

en-verb

sapu (third-person singular simple present sapus, present participle sapuing, simple past and past participle sapued)

sapus (present singular third-person)
sapuing (participle present)
sapued (participle past)
sapued (past)

I liked to sapu everything.

2004 June 6, “Beancurd made me fat”, in The Sunday Times (LifeStyle), page 31


kosong

Kopi O Kosong ― Black coffee, with no sugar added

(Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, postpositive, of food or drink) Not having additional ingredients, such as milk or sugar; plain.


kena

Alternative form of quena (“traditional flute of the Andes”)


merlion

/ˈmɜːˌlaɪən/

/ˌmɜːˈlaɪən/

Merlion Park
Singapore River
Singapore Tourism Board

From mer- + lion; sense 1 promoted by the Singapore Tourism Board as the name of a statue installed at the mouth of the Singapore River on 15 September 1972.

In 1995, a second Merlion was built on the island of Sentosa. This new Merlion is actually a 37-metre high panoramic tower, from which it is possible to view mainland Singapore and the Straits of Singapore[…]. A new "ancient legend" was created for this creature with this tower. The legend alleged that the Merlion landed on Sentosa and saved Singapore from a storm. It would save Singapore again if the island ran into trouble (according to a film in the Merlion Tower). […] Some locals are upset by this fabrication. The STB [Singapore Tourism Board] maintains that the Merlion reflects the combination of Singapore's national animal (the lion) and Singapore being an island. Many Singaporeans have come to accept this mythical creature as a quintessential symbol of Singapore. To the unaware tourists, the product was packaged in a convincing manner, with the legend, film clip, and chronotopic dimensions of when and where the Merlion supposedly visited Singapore.

2002, Can-Seng Ooi, Cultural Tourism and Tourism Cultures: The Business of Mediating Experiences in Copenhagen and Singapore, Copenhagen: Copenhagen Business School Press, pages 109–110

Like Changi Airport or the Merlion, Singlish is something that is quintessentially Singaporean. It is a dialect that everyone speaks and understands and is something that could provide the cornerstone for a unifying cultural identity.

2005, Neil Humphreys, chapter 11, in Notes from an Even Smaller Island: Singapore through a Young Brit’s Eyes, Singapore: Marshall Cavendish Editions, page 174

Yeah, well, he went into a tourist shop, not the one with postcards and plastic Merlions. That one ah, the one in here for the towkays and businessmen for conference centres. They sell gold-plated Merlions, Eiffel Towers and Empire State Buildings, you know.

2015, Neil Humphreys, chapter 9, in Marina Bay Sins, Singapore: Marshall Cavendish Editions

And in the fourteenth century / Because of Nila Utama's river mouth encounter with a merlion / The Lion City surged into being / And its people could travel the wide world

2015, Wong Yoon Wah, “Metamorphosis: Temasek”, in Jeremy Tiang, transl., edited by Gwee Li Sui with Tan Chee Lay, Sa'eda bte Buang, and Azhagiya Pandiyan, Singathology: 50 New Works by Celebrated Singaporean Writers, volume I (Life), Singapore: National Arts Council; Marshall Cavendish Editions, stanza 1 (Temasek)

At his favorite, familiar hotel on busy Orchard Road, he paid his fare, hefted his small bag and walked past the gorgeous garden with flowers and a fountain. Under the spray of water was a statue of the so-called merlion, the mythical beast that was the symbol of the tourist industry here. Its top half was a lion and the bottom half a fish. A couple of years ago, when he'd taken a stuffed merlion home to Lexi, she'd insisted on calling it Lion King Little Mermaid from her two favorite Disney movies at that time.

2016, Karen Harper, chapter 1, in Chasing Shadows (A South Shore Novel), Don Mills, Ont.: Harlequin MIRA

(Singapore) Often Merlion: a symbolic creature having the head of a lion and the body of a fish, which is a national symbol of Singapore; an image, statue, or other depiction of this creature.


kepo

en-adj

kepo (comparative more kepo, superlative most kepo)

more kepo (comparative)
most kepo (superlative)

(Singapore, Malaysia, slang) Alternative spelling of kaypoh


kepo

en-verb

kepo (third-person singular simple present kepos, present participle kepoing, simple past and past participle kepoed)

kepos (present singular third-person)
kepoing (participle present)
kepoed (participle past)
kepoed (past)


buang

buang (third-person singular simple present buangs, present participle buanging, simple past and past participle buanged)

buangs (present singular third-person)
buanging (participle present)
buanged (participle past)
buanged (past)

From Malay buang (“throw away, discard”).

The RSAF attachment in France and Australia is a very good example. If they are in Singapore, many of these RSAF wives will not bother to have babies at all. Likewise in Batam, Singapore men are known to "buang sperm" like water over there.

2004 March 2, Kilometric, “Singapore Birth Rate”, in googlegroups

Being the deep-thinking intellectual I am, I sat in front of my telly, contemplating certain important issues before setting out to watch the 9 o'clock show - The Champion, starring the voluptuous Fiona Xie, no-breasted Jeanette Aw, and cute Toro Tan (I don't know Toro's surname so I anyhow buang).

2004 October 28, Xiaxue, “Blogging TV Critic!”, in blogspot.sg

Heard the Marina IR 3 Tombstones was built exactly like tombstones to buang sway for the decision makers.

2008 November 26, Ahleebabasingaporethief, “Govt 'may take stake in Marina IR' – shame, shame”, in sammyboy

I have already buanged two midterms liao.

2010 September 28, Yoshi_fanboy, “NUS ppl lip lai”, in forum.hardwarezone.com.sg

Soon after, two other forms came into play: “anyhow whack” and “anyhow pong”. These two terms are an improvement because they buang the whole need to remember and name the action verb itself.

2015 August 5, Gwee Li Sui, “SinGweesh on Wednesday”, in themiddleground.sg, archived from the original on 2016-03-20

Multicultural means what? Means that, if you buang Singlish, everyone will be left with his or her own thing. The Angmohs and Eurasians and jiak kentangs will talk in England.

2015 August 9, Gwee Li Sui, “My Singlish Jubilee Wish”, in themiddleground.sg, archived from the original on 2015-08-11

(Singapore, colloquial, informal) To discard or throw something out.


ornot

(Singapore, colloquial) Alternative form of or not


is it

You forgot, is it?

(Singapore, Wales) Final interrogative particle forming a tag question.


leh

Our appointment leh? ― What about our appointment?

No leh, it's right here. ― No? It's right here.

OK, this one, leh?

2002 May 14, Niamh O’Leary, The Straits Times, Singapore, page L2

You got send [e-mail] meh? I never receive leh.

2010 August 22, Fiona Chan, The Sunday Times, Singapore, page 13

— We can try taking the train.
— I don’t think we’ll have enough time leh.

Used to indicate disagreement with a suggestion.

Close the door leh. ― Why don't you close the door?

Sing us a song, leh.

1994, C.S. Chong, NS: An Air-Level Story, page 29


korban

Ultimately from Arabic قُرْبَان (qurbān), probably through Malay korban. Doublet of corban and Qurbana.

To explore alternative sources, a korban review committee was formed last December with officials from the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore[…].

2013 October 16, Melody Zaccheus, “Muslims mark Hari Raya Haji with prayer, korban”, in The Straits Times

[…]on Hari Raya Haji, a “Korban” (sacrifice) is performed, where live sheep, lambs and other livestock are slaughtered as prayers are recited.

2020 May 15, Pinky Chng, “What's the difference between Hari Raya Puasa and Hari Raya Haji?”, in AsiaOne

(Islam) a ritual sacrifice of a livestock animal at Eid ul-Adha


lady's finger

Abelmoschus esculentus
Abelmoschus esculentus#Translingual

(chiefly India, Pakistan, Myanmar, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei) Okra; an edible capsules of Abelmoschus esculentus.


Venerable

(Singapore) A title indicating respect, prefixed to the names of Buddhist monks and nuns.


hse

(Hong Kong, Singapore) Abbreviation of house.


Hongkie

(slang in Singapore, Malaysia and Australia; sometimes derogatory) Somebody from Hong Kong; a Hong Konger, Hongkongese.


shopoffice

(Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia) A building of virtually the same design as a shophouse, but devoted either to commercial use or to a mixture of commercial and residential use.


void deck

(Singapore) The ground floor of an apartment block, used for community mingling and social functions, and sometimes containing shops.


ECP

(Singapore, in road signs) Initialism of East Coast Parkway.


roti prata

/ˈɹɒti ˈpɹɑːtə/

Borrowed from Tamil ரொட்டி (roṭṭi) + பரோட்டா (parōṭṭā).

compound

ரொட்டி (roṭṭi) + பரோட்டா (parōṭṭā)

(chiefly Singapore, southern Malaysia) Synonym of roti canai.


kegler

Borrowed from German Kegler (“bowler, bowling player”), from Kegeln (“bowling”) + -er (“-er”).

bor+

(US, Singapore, slang) A ten-pin bowling player or enthusiast.


cukup

From Malay cukup (“enough”), coined by e-sports athletes in Malaysia and Singapore when competing with each other in e-sports matches.

(video games, Malaysia, Singapore) Abbreviation of choose your kit and level up or choose your kit and upgrade


Peranakan

en-noun

Peranakan (plural Peranakans or Peranakan)

/pəɹænəˈkæn/

Unadapted borrowing from Malay peranakan.

ubor

(Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia) A descendant of the 15th- through 17th-century Chinese immigrants to the Malay Peninsula and Nusantara (Indonesian Archipelago), now part of Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Southern Thailand) also known as Nanyang.


k-word

(Malaysia, Singapore, euphemistic) The word Keling.


dry market

The HDB market of tomorrow will be a combination of stalls in shop units selling both fresh produce and a mini "dry" market for housewives to get her groceries and foodstuff.

1982 August 7, “HDB's cool, dry markets”, in The Straits Times, Singapore

The supermarket giant has just been given approval by the HDB to operate 24 hours a day. The ground floor will house a supermarket selling fresh and perishable goods, such as fish, meat, vegetables and fruits. Yokoso promises to provide a full range of fresh food supplies - a step towards the development of dry markets in housing estates proposed by the government lately.

1983 January 16, “Round-the-clock shopping”, in Singapore Monitor

(Singapore) A market selling fresh meat, produce and other goods with a dry floor, unlike a wet market.


nonbailable

(specifically, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Malaysia) In relation to an offence, not automatically eligible for bail.


gotong-royong

en-noun

gotong-royong (countable and uncountable, plural gotong-royongs)

Unadapted borrowing from Malay gotong royong.

ubor

These [Housing and Development Board housing estates] must be the core areas where the concept of neighbourliness and the friendly smile and greeting can and must be promoted and the kampung spirit of ‘gotong royong’ preserved. [Quoting an editorial in the National Youth Leadership Training Institute Alumni’s newsletter.]

1978 December 7, “The good S’porean urged to set an example”, in The Straits Times, Singapore: Singapore Press Holdings, →OCLC, page 26, column 10

(uncountable, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore) Cooperation by members of a community to achieve a common goal.

(countable, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore) An event where people clean up a place, such as sweeping and removing rubbish.


NCC

National Cadet Corps
w:National Cadet Corps

(Bangladesh, Ghana, India, Maldives, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka) Initialism of National Cadet Corps.


kopitiam

Borrowed from Malay kopitiam, from Hokkien 咖啡店 (ko-pi-tiàm).

Bustling kopitiams sprouted around derelict whiskey bars like toadstools around rotting logs.

2008, Preeta Samarasan, Evening is the Whole Day, Fourth Estate, page 23

(Malaysia, Singapore) A traditional style of eatery having public seating and multiple vendors selling Chinese, Indian, and Malay food.


CPF

Central Provident Fund
w:Central Provident Fund

(Singapore) Initialism of Central Provident Fund.


economy rice

(Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand) Rice sold with a combination of other cooked foods from a stall.


hiam

en-adj

hiam (comparative more hiam, superlative most hiam)

more hiam (comparative)
most hiam (superlative)

Borrowed from Hokkien 薟／莶 (hiam, “spicy”).

At best, it was just so-so – nothing like what we would cook for ourselves at home. It was not “hiam” enough probably from the lack of ginger or ginger juice and there was insufficient wine.

2011 Aug, “STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS!”, in suituapui.wordpress.com, retrieved 2016-08-12

(Singapore, colloquial) Of food: hot and spicy.


ITE

en-noun

ITE (countable and uncountable, plural ITEs)

ITE doing comprehensive review of worker education courses.

1993 June 6, The Sunday Times, NEWS FOCUS Best programme for unskilled may be phased out within 5 years

The first regional campus, the ITE College East, was built in 2005. The remaining two, ITE College West and ITE College Central, will be completed by 2009 and 2011, respectively.

2008, Fredriksen Birger, Sing Kong Lee, Chor Boon Goh, Toward a Better Future: Education and Training for Economic Development in Singapore since 1965, pages 125–126

In 2011, Mr Haikal graduated from the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) with a diploma in technical engineering in machine technology and went on to complete his national service.

2016 December 2, The New Paper, ITE student making strides at Google

Mr Tharman, who is also Coordinating Minister for Economic and Social Policies, said that the ITE has been "a remarkable success" and one that many did not expect when the vocational training institute was set up in 1992.

2017 May 26, The Straits Times, ITE to be key anchor for SkillsFuture: DPM Tharman Shanmugaratnam

With the hub's opening, ITE College Central has become the first institute of higher learning to offer all of National Heritage Board's signature heritage education programmes, which include adopting a heritage trail and creating a heritage appreciation elective module.

2017 February 17, The Straits Times, ITE's new NE Hub speaks for itself

Institute of Technical Education
w:Institute of Technical Education

(Singapore, uncountable) Initialism of Institute of Technical Education.


hawker centre

The unemployment situation is aggravated by the recent decision of the Municipal authorities to close down five hawker-centres.

1948 March 10, “Big Unemployment Problem in S'pore”, in Malaya Tribune, Singapore

Separate tenders are invited for any one or all of the following: Erection & Completion of 3 Blocks of 12-Storey Shops & Flats with 2-Storey Annexes, One 2-Storey Hawker Centre, 2 Dustbin Compounds/Stores ....

1966 June 24, “Housing and Development Board”, in The Straits Times, Singapore

(Singapore) An outdoor complex of stalls selling street food.


aircon

And when I suggested turning the aircon off to make the battery last longer, he threw back his head and laughed; later I read that the car’s economy driving mode does exactly that, turning off aircon to extend the car’s range.

2015 September 10, Jemima Kiss, “Clean and green, but an electric car can give a driver some shocks”, in The Guardian

using the aircon at mid-setting or at 25 degrees Celsius for maximum efficiency.

2019 September 9, “Meralco rates down for the fifth straight month”, in Manila Bulletin, archived from the original on 2019-09-22

(UK, Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Hong Kong, abbreviation, informal) Alternative form of air-con (“air conditioning”)


mata-mata

From Malay mata-mata (“eyes”), plural of mata. Doublet of maka, from Hawaiian.

(Singapore, Malaysia, slang) A police officer.


cheem

en-adj

cheem (comparative more cheem, superlative most cheem)

more cheem (comparative)
most cheem (superlative)

Borrowed from either Hokkien 深 (chhim, “deep”) or Teochew 深 (cim¹, “deep”).

You might consider it too cheem and arty farty but just pick up any journal on cultural studies and you'll find more cheem and arty farty stuff in them

1999 December 23, Dennis Kwek, “Pretentious Bullshit Alive and Well in Singapore”, in soc.culture.singapore (Usenet)

Postmodernist discourse is *not* cheem.

1999 December 30, <aescu...@my-deja.com>, “Pretentious Bullshit Alive and Well in Singapore”, in soc.culture.singapore (Usenet)

You know what’s cheem? Our CPF is cheem.

2014 June 23, Jonathan Lim, “17 Singlish words that offer so much more than their English equivalents”, in Mothership.SG, archived from the original on 2014-06-25

(Singapore, informal) Deep; profound; complex.


lepak

en-verb

lepak (third-person singular simple present lepaks, present participle lepaking, simple past and past participle lepaked)

lepaks (present singular third-person)
lepaking (participle present)
lepaked (participle past)
lepaked (past)

I think we should rally behind PM [the Prime Minister] for the sake of national unity. Without national unity, there will be more single mothers, abandoned babies, people lepaking (loitering) …

1997, Aliran Monthly, volumes 17–18, Pinang, Malaysia: Aliran Kesedaran Negara, →OCLC, page 19, column 3

We do things together and we lepak together quite a bit (hey, this is the solution to the lepak problem: the family that lepaks together stays together).

1997, Marina Mahathir, In Liberal Doses, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Archipelago Press, page 118

The study's operational definition was that "a teenager lepaks if he gathers and remains in a public place without any special purpose other than chattering or laughing."

1998, Thomas A. Williamson, Leaving Town: Kuala Kangsar’s Colonial Past and the Postponed Nation in Malaysia (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation), Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, →OCLC, page 344

"What do you think will happen?" a reporter asked a beautiful girl lepaking and smoking outside the Starbucks in Bukit Bintang Plaza. "Oh, at the bewitching midnight hour, everything will be back to normal. The office workers at Sri Hartamas will be back to their humdrum 9 to 5 jobs, no doubt bitching and wishing they were elsewhere."

2005, T. R. R. Raman, The Wedgwood Ladies Football Club and Other Stories, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Silverfishbooks, page 189

Cafes mushroomed everywhere in KL's [Kuala Lumpur's] trendiest spots, and big names such as Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and Starbucks made their presence felt. With these cafes, KLites often lepaked (hung out) way into the wee hours and now it has become a part of our pop culture.

2011, Tony Wilson, “Beyond Attitudes: To the Audience Itself!: Understanding Consumers: Interpretive Inductivism”, in Global Advertising, Attitudes and Audiences (Routledge Advances in Management and Business Studies; 44), New York, N.Y., Abingdon, Oxon.: Routledge, page 36

(intransitive, Malaysia, Singapore) To loiter about casually or idly, to hang around unproductively, to laze around.


zha bo

[t͡sä˨.bɔ˦˨]

Borrowed from Hokkien 查某 (cha-bó͘, “woman, girl”).

They didn’t think my mum could take over, much less me, whom they referred to as Ang Yew Seng’s zha bor kia (Hokkien for daughter).

2010 May 29, The Straits Times, “Old Times, New Blood”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), archived from the original on 2015-02-06, page B18

Bro, you see, the only thing common about the places you mentioned, all have Zha Bos, this is the entertainment sustaining the us today.

2010 June 18, “Thai girls are boring after long time”, in SingThaiDisco

And most of them call me "swee zha bo", pretty girl.

2013 December 9, “Hawker Masters 2013: Secrets about famous ‘Bedok Camp’ Cheng Tng revealed”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), archived from the original on 2016-03-06

(Malaysia, Singapore, colloquial) Lady or woman.


season parking

Sense extension of season (“part of a year when something particular happens”) + parking.

Season parking is also comparatively affordable. Monthly charges range from $160 to $200, versus as high as $940 in Hong Kong.

If the supplementary signplate indicates “Reserved for Season Parking From 7pm to 7am on Mon-Sat & Whole Day on Sun and Public Holidays”, short-term parking is only allowed from 7am to 7pm on Monday to Saturday.

2011 September 23, Cost of parking in Singapore

Residents can opt to buy season parking (paying monthly for the right to use the car park) but visitors will have to rely on the coupon system.

2014 September 7, Marion Bravo-Bhasin CultureShock! Singapore: A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette, page 140

(Singapore) A long-term parking concession sold to vehicle owners on a calendar month basis.


'cher

Student A: "Cher cher! Can I go to the loo?" Teacher: "Go lah go lah!".

1998 August 14, mrbrown, “The Great Singlish/Singapore Dialect Dictionary”, in mrbrown.com

Teacher: WHO DID THAT? B: Cher cher, him! I saw! *points to A*

I suppose it was a lot better than being addressed as ‘cher, but at the time I kept wishing I had ended up in a junior college instead.

2014 March 9, Manoj Harjani, Chapalang Magazine

(Manglish, Singlish) A teacher (a person who teaches in a school).


muah chee

/ˌmwɑː ˈtʃiː/

[ˌmwaː˨˩ ˈt͡siː˨˦]

From Hokkien 麻糍 (môa-chî, “glutinous rice cake made with hemp-seeds”), from 麻 (môa, “hemp”) + 糍 (chî, “glutinous rice cake”).

zh-l

Nobody worried that it would rain on the vegetable briyani or the muah chee man.

1992 May 1, Hannah Pandian, The Straits Times, page 14

Some parents prepared goodies such as muah chee and rojak for the fair while others helped run the stalls.

1995 August 9, The Straits Times, page 2

Since we were already filled to the gills, we could only meekly manage a helping of muah chee, squares of glutinous rice paste lightly dusted with ground peanuts and black sesame seeds.

2001, Jaimee Ee, The Business Times, 20 Jun page 13

(Singapore) A traditional snack made of glutinous rice, usually mixed with crushed peanuts and sugar.


chut pattern

en-verb

chut pattern (third-person singular simple present chut pattern, no present participle, no simple past or past participle)

chut pattern (present singular third-person)

From Hokkien 出 (chhut, “to produce or make”) + pattern.

The locals like to say 'someone choot pattern' meaning to say someone is being difficult.

2009, unnamed, ‘Boring’ Singapore City Photo, (online)

Actually, the term seems more Hokkien that Singlish - "chut pattern, liao".

2013, Patsy G, There is enough for all..: “Chut pattern, liao” [blog entry]

Many boyfriends going to chut pattern tonight!

2014, Mr. SGAG [unknown author], (online)

A fulfilling relationship is a wondrous thing to have but it does take effort to maintain and that entails the occasional chut pattern.

2015, Kenneth Khing, Skycart is write here, [blog entry]

If we really want to talk about people or organisations that chut pattern, one cannot leave The New Paper out.

2015, Kirsten Tan, The Online Citizen: Gutter journalism: The New Paper “chut pattern”, page (online)

IF DR CHEE SAYS HE IS SECOND WHEN IT COMES TO ‘CHU PATTERN’, NO ONE ELSE WOULD DARE TO CLAIM FIRST.

When we say a person ‘chut pattern’, it talks about someone full of antics.

(Singapore, colloquial) To inconvenience or disturb; to make a fuss and bother; to act up.


koyok

Borrowed from Malay koyok (“quack medicine”), from Hakka 膏藥／膏药 (kò-yo̍k, “herbal plaster, medicated patch, poultice”).

zh-l

Whenever I meet Meng Seng, he is always trying to sell me his koyok and recruit me into his Party.

2011 March 1, Ravi Philemon, “Goh Meng Seng the koyok seller”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)

“I'm here to sell my koyok,” laughed Olivia Lum as she took to the stage and began her presentation on Hyflux Limited, it turned out that the koyok was not some sales pitch trying to sell ice to Eskimos.

2012 September 17, Tan Meng Chuan, “On The Challenges of Cleaning Water”, in Overseas Singaporean Unit, archived from the original on 2016-03-05

This is the reason why I get so uptight, so aggressive when someone comes along, talks very well, but sells koyok and puts our country in danger.

2015 September 10, “Vivian: I fight back when people sell 'koyok'”, in The Straits Times

(Singapore, informal) A phoney or fraudulent item; anything deceptively promoted as genuine or of high quality.


chilli crab

en-noun

chilli crab (countable and uncountable, plural chilli crabs)

Mr Lim’s family lays claim to being the first to invent chilli crab here in 1956.

2000 November 23, Ong Wan Shu, The Straits Times

But for that special meal, Singapore chilli crab (spicy chilli and tomato-based crab stir-fry dish; see the recipe), black pepper crab (sweet and spicy chilli and black pepper-based stir fry dish) or simple steamed crab (all using mud crab) are much-loved treats.

2003, Su-Lyn Tan, World Food Malaysia & Singapore, page 55

The list that emerged was intriguing - durians, chilli crab, Electronic Road Pricing (ERP), parking coupons, memorable Singlish words like "chope" and "lah", "uncles" and "aunties", "mama shop".

(chiefly Singapore, Malaysia) A dish originated and popularized in Singapore, made up of stir-fried crab cooked in a semi-thick sweet and savoury tomato- and chilli-based sauce.


buka puasa

Unadapted borrowing from Malay, from buka (“to open”) + puasa (“fasting, Ramadan”).

The buka puasa functions which flourish during the fasting month have become the latest addition to the Malaysian way of life.

1990 April 24, The Straits Times, page 29

Experience Singapore’s traditional Buka Puasa favourites from the Halal Chinese, Malay and Indian show kitchens during the Muslim fasting month, Ramadan.

2005 October 7, The Business Times, page 32

They are pulling out all the stops by offering special buka puasa menus and dishes to tantalise the tastebuds of diners.

(Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Islam) Relating to iftar.


kampong spirit

In the [Malayan] Union, kampong people have the kampong spirit, and in rural Singapore villagers must have the village spirit in order to improve their living condition.

1946 November 16, R. B. Ooi, “Village Life in Singapore”, in The Malaya Tribune, Singapore: Malaya Tribune Press, →OCLC, page 4, column 5

Some of that kampong spirit still survives in the clean, orderly HDB estates today. But for the most part, Malay-Muslim families depend on their own immediate members.

1994, Zuraidah Ibrahim, Muslims in Singapore: A Shared Vision, Singapore: Published for Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura [Islamic Religious Council of Singapore] by Times Editions, page 34

Attempts to re-ignite the kampong spirit of community were evident at every turn.

2006, Neil Humphreys, chapter 1, in Final Notes from a Great Island: A Farewell Tour of Singapore, Singapore: Marshall Cavendish Editions, page 14

Everyone needs someone. When the kampong spirit is in evidence, nobody needs to feel alone or abandoned.

2013, Josephine Chia, “Foreword”, in Kampong Spirit: Gotong Royong: Life in Potong Pasir, 1955 to 1965, Singapore: Marshall Cavendish Editions, page 11

He says the talk about kampong spirit is worse than nostalgia. "If it's only nostalgic, you just feel romantic about it and you're done with that."

2018, Simon Vincent, quoting Chua Beng Huat, “The Liberal’s Nightmare: Chua Beng Huat”, in The Naysayer’s Book Club: 26 Singaporeans You Need to Know, Singapore: Epigram Books

(Singapore) Dated spelling of kampung spirit.


vertical kampong

vertical kampong (countable and uncountable, plural vertical kampongs)

/ˈvɜːtɪkəl ˈkʌmpɔŋ/

From vertical (referring to high-rise buildings) + kampong.

I am happy to note that the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) is going to promote informal volunteerism through the Vertical Kampong initiative.

2011 January 25, Goh Chok Tong, “Speech by Mr Goh Chok Tong, Senior Minister, at the opening plenary of the 21st International Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE) World Volunteer Conference”, in National Council of Social Service, archived from the original on 2016-03-06

That’s why NVPC has a programme called “Vertical Kampung” — to recapture the spirit of the kampong in our high-rise jungles.

2012, “Reclaiming Singapore's Lost Soul: An Interview with Stanley Tan”, in Singapore Management University, retrieved 2015-10-25

They are the most powerful asset, said one of the radio show’s panellists, Jason Ng, who oversees Vertical Kampong, an initiative that aims to raise the kampong spirit by promoting neighbourhood-based volunteerism.

2014 February 10, “Community building, the Singapore way”, in National University of Singapore, archived from the original on 2015-12-01

(Singapore, uncountable) A programme that aims to instill a sense of social cohesion in communities living in high-rise apartments through informal volunteerism.

The “vertical kampong” that is being planned in Woodlands will bring together homes, shops, clinics, childcare and eldercare services, a hawker centre, gardens and public spaces under one roof.

2013 August 17, Feng Zhengkun, “Woodlands to get "vertical kampong"”, in The Straits Times, retrieved 2015-10-25

And just last month, in my own constituency in Woodlands, I launched the new integrated development next to Admiralty MRT station, described as a vertical kampong where exciting integration of various kinds of diverse facilities, health, childcare, and elderly living, a hawker centre and a community plaza all in one development.

2013 August 19, Khaw Boon Wan, “Speech by Minister Khaw Boon Wan at the HDB Exhibition 2013”, in Ministry of National Development, archived from the original on 2016-03-04

But “vertical kampung” suggests something different – more greenery, I assume, being infused with everyday living, multi-generational arrangements, and amenities and other provisions all in the same place.

2015 June 30, “Can We Nurture Kampung Spirit in Singapore?”, in Challenge, archived from the original on 2015-07-06

(Singapore, countable) An integrated high-rise complex with public facilities such as housing, health care, and hawker centres.


shiok

Borrowed from Malay syok (“pleasing; attractive”). Doublet of shoke.

bor+

Ecstasy? Delicious? Pleasurable? How about just Shiok.

2014 June 23, Jonathan Lim, “17 Singlish words that offer so much more than their English equivalents”, in Mothership.SG, Mothership, archived from the original on 2014-06-25

Use condom? Then not shiok lah.

"Women in Singapore are so beautiful", one contestant blur-blur announced. They are all so shiok!"

2022 September 15, Dr Gwee Li Sui, The Leeter Spiaking Singlish Book 3: Loanwords, Marshall Cavendish International Asia Pte Ltd


Kallang Wave

/ˈkɑːlɑːŋ weɪv/

A Singapore variant of the Mexican wave. Kallang is the location of a football stadium in Singapore.

THANK goodness for the Kallang Roar and the Kallang Wave.

1991 August 19, S Gulam, The New Paper, page 36

Beyond the fact that it's a free show, with great fireworks and a goodie-filled fun-pack thrown in, it's the atmosphere, the Kallang Wave and feeling the joy of being Singaporean.

1997 August 18, Bertha Henson, The New Paper, page 20

The Kallang Wave is not so much about the National Stadium as it is about the symbolism of local football's diminishing importance to a populace seemingly obsessed with material success.

2007 April 20, Jeanine Tan, Today Newspaper, page 60

The biggest satisfaction was to do the Kallang Wave again, after so many years, and it was even better as I waved with my son for the first time.

2014, Aaron Koh, Social and Tech (blog entry)


bo bian

From Hokkien 無變／无变 (bô-piàn, “no choice”).

In Singapore, there is no choice being one of the world’s twenty smallest countries. Boh pien ah.

2006, Stuart Lloyd, Gone Troppo: Hot Babes, Warm Weather, Cold Beer. Paradise!, Monsoon Books, page 13

Eh, if cannot finish the work then bo bian must stay back

2011 August 21, Kirsten, “It's Singlish Lah!”, in SEA Youth Say So, retrieved 2015-10-22

I have been sleep deprived for the past few days, and a friend who knows about it just sent me an online message: “Notti (lingo-speak for naughty) ah…still don’t sleep.” My reply, “Bobian (Singaporean-English term for no choice), I’m a workaholic…”

2013, Lena Chen, EFT Meditations, Trafford Publishing, page 8

He already paid for my ticket so even if I was busy, boh pien, I would have to go.

2015 September 22, CLEO MAGAZINE, “11 WORDS THAT EVERY SINGAPOREAN WOULD UNDERSTAND”, in CLEO, archived from the original on 2016-03-04

(Singapore, Malaysia, informal) No choice; it cannot be helped.


bo jio

From Hokkien 無／无 (bô, “not”) + 招 (chio, “invite”).

Wa Lao William Tan, Why you Bo Jio Me to eat Domino’s Pizza?

2012 June 20, [Author Unknown], “9gag Singapore: Blogger William Tan Bo Jio Blogger Hpility”, in Hpility SG, retrieved 2015-10-22

When we asked you for your favourite Singlish Slang, alamak, all the kiasu people rushed to share their favourites! Some won prizes. That could have been you. We hope next time you wouldn’t paiseh and join in the fun. Don’t say we bojio hor.

2014, [Author Unknown], “Love Singapore 50”, in Frasers Centerpoint Limited, retrieved 2015-10-22

Don’t say we bo jio you to use JIO.

2014 October 11, Hu Ching, “This simple app might retire ‘bo jio’ from the Singlish vocabulary”, in mothership.sg

Why got free barbecue 'bo jio'?

2015 July 5, S M Ong, “Why got free barbecue 'bo jio'*?”, in The New Paper Online, retrieved 2015-10-22

(Singapore, Malaysia, colloquial, transitive) To leave someone out from an event or activity by not inviting them.


plain water

Politely I asked for a glass of plain water.

1971 June 17, The Straits Times, page 19

A visitor from Down Under is wondering why most Singapore restaurants and hotels make it a practice to serve all guests with plain water, even when it has not been asked for.

1974 February 21, New Nation: Using Less Water, page 6

Someone asked for a glass of plain water and was told by the waitress: “That’ll be 60 cents.”

1979 October 2, New Nation: Water: Expensive, page 8

Although there is a food and drink stall inside, there are joggers like me who prefer to drink plain water after sweating it out of the tracks.

1987 June 13, The Straits Times: Install Water Cooler, page 20

(Singapore) Tap water, either hot or cold, served in restaurants.


dragon year

/ˈdɹæɡənˌjɜː(ɹ)/

A loan translation from Chinese, equivalent to Mandarin 龍年／龙年 (lóng nián, “dragon year”).

The Dragon takes over from the Rabbit on Feb 17, but according to a prominent astrologer, the Dragon Year actually dawns on Feb 4.

1988 January 29, “The path of the Dragon”, in The Business Times, Singapore, page 18

The dragon is the symbol of power and wealth, but being born in a dragon year is more the financial equivalent of having a strong tail wind.

2012 January 23, Biz-Community (Cape Town), South Africa; Fierce Financial Management for the Year of the Dragon, Africa News

Last year, there were more than 42,600 live births, boosted by the auspicious Dragon Year.

2013 August 13, Imelda Saad, “S'pore seems on track for similar birth numbers as last year”, in Channel NewsAsia, Singapore

In 2011 and 2012, prospective parents in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore admitted to consciously timing their pregnancy for a dragon year.

2015 February 24, Rosie Cima, How the Chinese Zodiac Affects National Birth Rates

(Singapore) A year that corresponds with the fifth animal sign in the Chinese zodiac and occurs once every 12 years.


13th month

/θɜːˌtiːnθ ˈmʌnθ/

/ˌθɝ.tɪnθ ˈmɒnθ/

A fixed 13th Month Payment is introduced, freezing all previous bonus payments and is payable on the following basis: (a) where bonus of one month’s pay or more was paid in respect of the last three annual bonus payments, the 13th Month Payment shall be equivalent to the average of bonuses paid in the last three years or the last annual bonus paid, whichever is higher, subject to a maximum of three months’ pay.

1972 April 29, The Straits Times: Two Choices for Employers, page 1

An ANZUK spokesman last night said the decision to pay civilian employees a 13th month payment (cost: about $1 million) was approved by the Australian government early this year to be in line with the Singapore Government’s policy.

1972 December 21, The Straits Times: ANZUK’s Civilians to get 13-month pay, page 12

According to sources, circulars have been sent to all officers informing them that their 13th month pay will include the National Wages Council recommendations for wage increase for last year and this year

1974 November 4, New Nation: An extra month…, page 3

In this cost cutting era [...] many banks do not even give out 13th months.

2013, “Saving $100k by the time you are 30 years old”, in Investment Moats, retrieved 2015-11-03

The Annual Wage Supplement is also known as the 13th month bonus which you will receive in addition of your December’s salary.

2014 December 31, Goodbye 2014, Hello 13th Month Bonus?

(Singapore, Philippines, generally attributive) a one-month (or more) bonus paid to employees at the end of the financial year.


kopi auntie

From Malay kopi (“coffee”) + auntie (term of familiarity or respect applied to elderly women). Usage of auntie probably influenced by Chinese 阿姨 (āyí).

compound

There’s also the kopi auntie who remembers what your usual beverage is just after two visits, and a new “modern western food” stall that serves pretty decent fare cheaply.

2006 June 13, Benjamin Lee, miyagi.sg, archived from the original on 2021-04-13

"My boss said must cut cost, so no money to repair toilet door", said Kopi Auntie.

2011 January 31, Calvin C., mobypicture, archived from the original on 2022-05-20

Does that mean we should blame our kopi aunties and uncles for the haze?

2013 July 3, Terry Xu, “One Kopi, No Haze Please”, in The Online Citizen, archived from the original on 2016-03-05

And I laughed heartily at the Kopi Aunty video which captures so well an everyday slice of life here.

2015 September 19, The Straits Times, page C7

(Singapore, informal) a middle-aged or elderly lady who takes drink orders and serves drinks to patrons of a coffee shop.


nasi ambeng

/ˈnʌsɪ ˈʌmbəŋ/

Malay nasi (“rice”) + Javanese ambeng (“food offering served on a tray”)

uder

The special thing about Nasi Ambeng is that the fragrant rice and about 7-8 dishes are traditionally served in large trays and eaten in groups of 4-5 people. This becomes sort of a feast culture in the Malay community.

2013 November 25, Suryanie Ismail, “Muslimbuzz”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), archived from the original on 2015-11-08

I am a big fan of nasi ambeng as I like its riot of colours, aromas, flavours and textures. It reminds me of a child’s kaleidoscope – always full of delights and surprises.

2015 March 29, Tony, “Johor Kaki”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), retrieved 2015-10-31

To one of my Indonesian food researchers Marchel Handaya, Nasi Ambeng meant “eating outside” or having an outside meal, like a picnic. “But we don’t have anything like this in Indonesia”, he said, overwhelmed as he ogled the huge platter of rice with an array of spicy meats, eggs, potatotes and vegetables.

2015 April 20, KF Seetoh, “Makansutra”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), archived from the original on 2016-01-03

(Singapore) A Malay rice platter consisting of an assortment of meat and vegetable dishes, usually shared among four or five people.


cooling-off day

en-noun

cooling-off day (plural cooling-off days)

Prime Minister Lee said the additional ‘cooling-off’ day would give voters time to reflect rationally on issues, after the emotional high of election campaigning.

2009 December 1, Today, “All will be quiet on the eve…”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)

Allegations against opposition candidates, or attacks on opposition policy proposals, can be repeated on news programmes on cooling-off day, to drum up sentiment against the opposition and to discredit the opposition.

2010 April 27, The Online Citizen, “Cooling-off day open to abuse in ruling party’s favour: Sylvia Lim”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), archived from the original on 2016-03-05

Candidates and supporters are reminded to refrain from visiting their constituents or attending public events within their constituencies on Cooling-off Day and Polling day.

2011 May 5, Elections Department of Singapore, “Cooling-Off Day and Polling Day”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)

(Singapore, politics) The day before polling day in Singapore general elections, during which campaigning and election advertising is not allowed in order to give voters time to reflect rationally on how they will vote.


pang seh

Hokkien 放生 (pàng seⁿ) to release, to set free.

Wau lau, damn shy man, Ah Lian on her wedding day kena pang seh by her husband.

2002, The Coxford Singlish dictionary, page 84

Again pang seh after I buy tickets to movie. I never ask her to come again.

2003, Samantha Hanna, An essential guide to Singlish, page 69

Don’t you hate people who pang seh last minute? Like you’ve got everything planned out, plan to have good time, lookin forward then suddenly boom, everyone pang seh last min….

2007-12-05, redstone, “Pang seh”, in SgForums.com, retrieved 2015-11-01

(Singapore, informal) To deliberately miss an agreed appointment, especially at the last minute.

Then in the end, he everytime pang seh me and disappear during working hours. In the end, I have to clear a lot of work for him instead.

2007-07-11, Im Allgemeinen, “JJ, Part III”, in WordPress.com, retrieved 2015-11-01

They had made a pact to attend Raffles Junior College together and while my nephew obliged for a while, he made an early exit and left Julian feeling that he had been “pang seh-ed” (let down) by his best friend.

2010-03-10, Belinda Wee, “Thaddeus’ pals”, in Go, Thaddeus!, archived from the original on 2016-03-04

Friends don't pang seh friends! Period. And we know just how to make sure your gatherings happens…Watch this space.

2015-01-14, Nando's Singapore, “Twitter”, in Twitter.com, retrieved 2015-11-01

(Singapore, informal) To stand someone up.


tompang

If you go out then can I tumpang some letters to be mailed from post box?

2003, Samantha Hanna, An essential guide to Singlish, page 86

May I tumpang my furniture on your lorry?

2010-07-15, Denyse Tessensohn, “Useful (and some Colloquial) words and phrases”, in Puterim.com, archived from the original on 2016-03-04

Let’s just buy bags for men and get the girls to tompang all their stuff in there.

2014-04-21, Krystle Tse, “11 Singaporean quirks we never realised about ourselves”, in Mothership.SG, archived from the original on 2015-10-12

While you were probably doing someone a favour then, you can now make some money when you help to 'tompang'.

2015-04-01, Victor Loh, “New app allows you to earn money when you 'tompang'”, in AsiaOne Digital, archived from the original on 2015-10-23

To have one's items carried by another; to include items as part of a trip taken by another.


machiam

Kiasi cannot die; machiam machiam words

2000, Liew Geok Leong, Women Without Men, page 130

Chennai (Madras) Photo: machiam our local pasar malam…

2009, Angel_Ling, “Tripadvisor”, in Tripadvisor.com.sg, retrieved 2015-11-01

Machiam rojak! Very messy but taste shiok right?

2014-07-30, Owl International, “Singapore, We Are Ok! (National Day Song 2014)”, in Youtube.com, retrieved 2015-11-01

Wah machiam movie star leh. . So handsome!

2015-09-16, Irene Ang, “Twitter”, in Twitter.com, retrieved 2015-11-01

Machiam hipster like that.

2015, Denise Tan, “Burpple”, in Burpple.com, archived from the original on 2015-09-24

(Singapore, informal) like, similar to, resembling.


bao toh

en-verb

bao toh (third-person singular simple present bao tohs, present participle bao tohing, simple past and past participle bao tohed)

bao tohs (present singular third-person)
bao tohing (participle present)
bao tohed (participle past)
bao tohed (past)

From Hokkien 包刀 (pau-to, “wrapped knife”), referring to backstabbing.

Eh butok lah! Which bastard paotoh to teacher that I carry handphone to school? Now kena confiscate!

2003 September 1, “pao toh”, in Talkingcock.com, retrieved 2015-11-02

I saw Gary looking at his textbook during the test. Wanna bao toh him?

2011, Jonathan Heng, “Bao Toh, v.”, in Singslang.blogspot.sg, retrieved 2015-11-02

Don't pao toh (snitch on) me hor!

2014 July 3, David Lee, “Beng in Brazil: Not the Only Singaporean to Leave a Mark at the World Cup”, in Tnp.sg, retrieved 2015-11-02

Hey! Don’t bao toh me leh!

2015 September 27, PeaNutButter Studios, “Everyday Singlish”, in Youtube.com, retrieved 2015-11-02

(Singapore, informal, Singlish) To inform on someone behind his or her back.


cafe hop

cafe hop (third-person singular simple present cafe hops, present participle cafe hopping, simple past and past participle cafe hopped)

cafe hops (present singular third-person)
cafe hopping (participle present)
cafe hopped (participle past)
cafe hopped (past)

From cafe (“coffee house”) + hop (“move rapidly between locations”); modelled on barhop.

compound

(chiefly Singapore, intransitive) To patronize a number of different cafes on a single outing.


pok kai

Cantonese 仆街 (puk1 gaai1, “fall onto street, drop dead, go to hell”), from 仆 (puk1, “fall”) + 街 (gaai1, “street”).

zh-l

Out shopping, child to parent. “Daddy I want this, daddy I want that.” Daddy, “Daddy pok kai awreddy, ask your mummy.”

2003, Sylvia Toh Paik Choo, The complete Eh, Goondu!

Today I went to Swensen's for dinner, even when I'm totally pok-gai.

2010 March 12, “No Words”, in Pearl, retrieved 2015-11-05

After buying my girlfriend her branded bag, I’m officially pok kai, please don’t ask me to go shopping or clubbing with you.

2015, “Pok Gai”, in Singaporelang - What the Singlish?, archived from the original on 2019-03-03

(Singapore, Malaysia, slang) Having no money; broke; bankrupt.


blogshop

We have previously suggested that the Blogshop phenomenon emerged through the symbiotic relationship of technology adaptation and design with specific geographic conditions.

2010, Hannakaisa Isomäki, Samuli Pekkola, Reframing Humans in Information Systems Development, page 245

Finally, another form of reproducing stereotypes and dominating feminine identities is blogshops, online sites in which young women model and sell apparel via social media that have exploded in many countries.

2013, Kerric Harvey, Encyclopedia of Social Media and Politics, page 570

The blogshop model, 18, makes up for her petite 1.65m frame with her sharp features and megawatt smile.

2012 December 12, Chow Hui Min, “Journey of a Blogshop Model”, in Temasek Polytechnic Campus newspaper: Stop Press, retrieved 2015-10-31

(Singapore) A blog that functions as a retail portal.


strawberry generation

/ˈstɹɔːbɛɹi ˌd͡ʒɛnəˈɹeɪʃən/

Calque from Chinese 草莓族 (cǎoméizú), so called as people of the generation bruise easily like strawberries.

I can spend all day giving retorts and arguing my case, but I thought this was a good chance to speak up for the much maligned “strawberry generation” and wanted to make a much more different point to a much bigger problem.

2012 June 21, Shawn Tan, “In defence of Gen Y & the strawberry generation – Why do Singaporeans hate each other so much?”, in The Temasek Times, retrieved 2015-10-31

Singapore’s young workers have been called the strawberry generation: easily bruised by work and life.]

[2013 August 6, Goh Chin Lian, Andrea Ong, “The Singapore worker: 20s go-getters, 30s & 40s in lower gear”, in The Straits Times, retrieved 2015-10-31

Like our peers in Taiwan, we are dubbed the "strawberry generation" for bruising easily under pressure.]

[2015 August 9, Janice Heng, “The Pioneers' improbable heirs”, in The Straits Times, retrieved 2015-10-31

(Singapore, Taiwan) The generation born in the 1980s, characterised as effete and unable to cope with hard work and the pressures of modern life.


Singaporean core

Coined in the Singapore-government White Paper population policy in January 2013.

In his New Year’s Day Message 2013, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong highlighted the need to maintain a strong Singaporean core in the country’s population policy.

2013 December 1, Faizal Bin Yahya, National University of Singapore: Institute of Policy Studies Developing a Singaporean Core in our Workforce

EP applications for selected firms with a “weaker Singaporean core of PMEs relative to others in their industry” will be scrutinised more closely.

2015 July 8, Adrian Tan, The Middle Ground: Keeping the Singapore core of PMEs employed

In an interview published by Time magazine on Thursday, Mr Lee said the country must have a solid Singaporean core.

And that is a very tricky balancing act to do, because you must not have so many people coming in from the outside that your own local, Singaporean core is eroded.

2015 September 18, Calvin Yang, The Straits Times (Singapore) Indranee: Building economy while keeping Singaporean core a “tricky balancing act”

Singaporeans having birthright citizenship because they are descended from settlers in Singapore prior to independence in 1965.


sarong party

(Singapore) A party for expatriates at which all the guests wear sarongs.


chiongster

Defcon's fastest chiongster is out!!!

2011 April 3, “Fasteest chiongster”, in viwawa.com, retrieved 2015-11-11

Regular partygoers are often referred to as “chiongsters”.

2012, Ivan Lim, Cara Van Miriah, Nightlife [Confidential], Volume 1

You can be sure that all of that above will have been done by a chiongster.

2015 August 12, “6 Types of Colleagues You Always Meet In The Office”, in glints.com, archived from the original on 2015-08-20

We should have a Chiongsters section in HWZ where Chiongsters can chit chat about their favorite places and person.

2015 August 18, “Petition to Have an Chiongster Section in HWZ”, in chioeve.com, retrieved 2015-11-11

(Singapore, informal) Someone who regularly goes nightclubbing and partying; a reveller.


chiong

[t͡ʃʰjɔŋ(˦)]

From Hokkien 衝／冲 (chhiong, “to rush or charge”).

Can recommend places go chiong/clubbing?

2005 March 9, “Home> Bar”, in SGFORUMS, retrieved 2015-11-11

Today Friday, my bookout day; Sushi, Or-Luah then buffet; After that go chiong all night; When I wake up my wallet damn light-ah; Aiyo Aiyo Ai-ai-yo-ah.

2012 September 12, “Lyrics for Songs Featured in Every Singaporean Son”, in MINDEF Singapore, retrieved 2015-11-11

Where are you going to chiong tonight?

(intransitive) To go out partying or nightclubbing.


remisier

(Singapore, Malaysia) an agent of a stockbroking company who receives a commission for each transaction handled


bee hoon

From Hokkien 米粉 (bí-hún). Doublet of mei fun. Compare Malay bihun, Indonesian bihun, Tagalog bihon.

And it is possible that you will shortly read in the papers that he has executed his stated intention of burning down his father's bee hoon factory in Upper Thompson Road.

2016, Gregory Nalpon, The Wayang at Eight Milestone: Stories & Essays

(Singapore, Malaysia, cooking) Rice vermicelli, rice noodles.


summon auntie

using the pronunciation of saman in Malay

Compound noun formed with the English word summon (see summons, noun) and auntie (“term of familiarity or respect applied to elderly women”).

Summon Auntie is a Singlish phrase that describes meter attendants, usually middle-aged women, who give parking fines to cars that are illegally parked

2011 October 18, Willis Wee, “iPhone App Spots Parking Meter Attendants in Singapore”, in Tech in Asia, retrieved 2016-03-28

‘Summon auntie’ chases off bikini-clad sunbathers at Redhill car park. A video of a female car park attendant chasing off two bikini-clad girls sunbathing at the top of a multi-storey car park in Redhill has gotten people talking.

2013 October 3, Azilah, “‘Summon auntie’ chases off bikini-clad sunbathers at Redhill car park”, in Yahoo! News, retrieved 2016-03-28

The New Paper recently wrote a story on Feb. 4 about the plight of parking enforcement officers, also known as parking wardens or summon aunties

2014 February 5, Belmont Lay, “This Will Convince Everybody Why No One Should Ever Become a Summon Auntie”, in mothership.sg, retrieved 2016-03-28

Take, for instance, the summon auntie who dishes out fines to cars parked illegally - she's someone everyone recognizes

2015 July 10, Lim Min Zhang, The Straits Times:

(Singapore, colloquial, informal) A parking enforcement officer who goes around public parking spaces to issue parking tickets to illegally parked cars


fatty bom bom

Derived from slang fatty (“a fat person”) + bom bom ("a sound imitative of the noise a fat person makes when walking").
Compare West Indian/Caribbean slang fatty bum-bum ‘a very fat person, esp. a woman with large buttocks’ (Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage, 1996), and Australian slang fatty boom-bah or fatty-boom-bah-sticks ‘a taunting nickname for a fat person’ (The Essential Lingo Dictionary of Australian Words and Phrases, 2015).

He skips 500 times a day and runs three kilometers a day to chase away his fatty bom bom blues.

1990 June 2, Chua Chong Jin, The Straits Times, page 28

“My family and friends were quite upset for me when they read it, but I don’t take it seriously,” said the 79kg heavyweight, who told us there were worse disparages like a “Go Home, Fatty Bom Bom” message posted on the Talentime forum.

2001 November 30, Jeanmarie Tan, The New Paper, page 42

I remember, too, a ditty: "Fatty, fatty bom bom, curi curi jagung; mata-mata tangkap, masuk dalam lokap" (the fat one steals the corn, gets arrested by police and is thrown into the lock-up.

2006 January 10, Kathirasen, New Straits Times

I particularly liked: Fatty bom bom, meaning a fat bottomed person.

2007 November 7, Rosie Milne, “Trouble and strife: Singlish”, in The Telegraph, retrieved 2016-03-28

Soon, there were all sorts of derivatives - fatty, fatso, fatty bom bom, Trim and Fit club (arguably not the children's fault) - so much so that by the time someone reaches adulthood, the term had become a source of deep emotional pain.

2014 October 20, Jeremy Au Yong, “Who are you calling fat?”, in The Straits Times

“Fatty bom bom” refers to an Ah Pui; “bom bom”, as the sound a heavy, wobbling body makes, dramatizes fatness.

2015 November 11, Gwee Li Sui, “SinGweesh on Wednesday: Kiam Chye Char Loti”, in The Middle Ground, archived from the original on 2016-08-09

(Singapore, Malaysia, colloquial, mildly derogatory) A fat or overweight person.


OB marker

From the golfing term OB (“out of bounds”).

(Singapore) A governmental restriction on free speech, limiting topics that can be written about.


huat ah

From Hokkien 發啊／发啊 (hoat--a), from 發／发 (hoat, “to produce, to grow, to develop, to prosper, to pay out”) + 啊 (--a, “particle of exhortation”).

compound

For some strange reasons, some people are shouting "Huat ah" as they toss paper money in the air.

2012 December 24, Albert Tay, “Hungry Ghost Festival in Singapore”, in wordpress.com, retrieved 2016-04-01

Huat ah! The pronunciation of "eight" in Hokkien (Chinese dialect) sounds similar to "Prosperity". Good luck and may you win the lottery!

2014, Jane Lai, “Yusheng designs”, in pinterest.com, retrieved 2016-04-01

The lo hei dish eaten by Singaporeans to herald the Chinese New Year with shouts of "Huat ah!” festive greetings exemplifies a Chinese cuisine with local Singaporean identity.

2015, Yongnian Zheng, Liang Fook Lye, Singapore-China Relations, page 224

(Singapore, Malaysia, informal) A traditional, festive expression used to wish oneself prosperity.


huat ah

This new year, all of us will huat ah!

2008 December 31, babychloe, “TTCing2009/2010 babies grads”, in singaporemotherhood.com, retrieved 2016-04-01

And, I wish everyone a Happy New Year for the upcoming new year. Let's Huat ah!!

2010 December 27, Jaymeetan, “Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all”, in wordpress.com, retrieved 2016-04-02

2016 January 11, Joyce Yang, “12 New Stunning Looks Based On Your Zodiac to HUAT AH This Chinese New Year”, in thesmartlocal.com, retrieved 2016-04-02

(Singapore, Malaysia, informal, intransitive) To prosper.


bo liao

en-adj

bo liao (comparative more bo liao, superlative most bo liao)

more bo liao (comparative)
most bo liao (superlative)

/ˌboː˨ˈljaʊ˨˦/

From Hokkien 無聊／无聊 (bô-liâu, “bored; boring”).

This guy damn bo-liao. As though I got time to entertain you.

1996, Leong Siew Mei, “Government system should be more tightly controlled”, in soc.culture.singapore (Usenet), retrieved 2016-04-01

I had a friend who would SMS me the most bo liao messages. I’m glad it’s stopped now.

1999, Steven Tan, “Petition against M1 charging for SMS”, in soc.culture.singapore (Usenet), retrieved 2016-04-01

Can’t they do something more meaningful? Doing such things is called ‘bo liao‘ (nothing better to do).

2013, Airstrike, “13 school websites defaced by hacker who signed off as 'Jack Riderr'”, in Stomp (Singapore), retrieved 2016-04-01

Having to manage that part is rather ‘bo liao’ and I felt my limited energy can be better served somewhere.

2015, Derek Lim, “Random thoughts: Too iron teeth in my work?”, in thefinance.sg, retrieved 2016-04-01


siew dai

[sjuː˧˦ tɑɪ˨]

From Chinese, though ultimate source language unascertained. Apparently 少底, literally "less base", from 少 (“less”) + 底 (“base; bottom”) in Cantonese pronunciation, referring to the condensed milk, used for sweetening, that sits at the bottom of the cup. In Cantonese this would be pronounced siu2 dai2, but the compound has not been traced in Cantonese.

Ordering a cup of Kopi C Siew Dai (Coffee with evaporated milk and less sugar) makes you feel very Singaporean.

2007, iwatch_ueat, “Tong Ya coffee: super crispy kaya toast!”, in ishootieatipost, retrieved 2016-04-01

But nothing beats that cup of kopi-o siu dai from the nearby kopitiam uncle who knows you best.

2009, Dominic, “Hello, Google!”, in blog.gothere.sg, retrieved 2016-04-01

“I like coffee better.” He smiled. “Kopi-O siew dai.

Before he opens it, he asks what I would like to drink, then shouts out to a woman stirring a cup of Milo vigorously: “One kopi peng siew dai, and one teh si for me.”

2015, Wong Kim Hoh, “Former kopi boy's still full of beans”, in The Straits Times (Singapore), retrieved 2016-04-01

(Singapore, colloquial, informal) Less sweet (as a preference when ordering coffee or tea).


limpeh

Borrowed from Hokkien 恁爸／林北 (lín-pē, “I; me”, literally “your father”), specifically Singapore Hokkien 恁爸 (lím-pē, “I; me”, literally “your father”).

bor

Limpeh always see those AH BENGS drive the CiBIC SiR (Ah-re) around with their big spoiler and so many uglweee stickers.

1999 October 29, Ken Tan, sg.marketplace

Lim peh tell you something – dis year mindef kaciau lim peh, disrupt lim peh eh work flow, now still owing lim peh some marney due to some technicality.

1999 November 23, Sophus Lefouque, sg.marketplace

Yes, you are very right, you are very sharp! Limpeh like your idea!

2002, Jack Neo, I Not Stupid, spoken by Mr Khoo (Richard Low), Singapore: Mediacorp Raintree Pictures

Lim peh ask you last time study hard become scorer, win scorer ship go Harvoc University, you nebber lisen.

2011 January 11, Singrish King, soc.culture.singapore (Usenet)

Limpeh is honoured that my blog has been recently featured by the king of all Singaporean bloggers – Mr Brown.

2011 November 7, LIFT: Limpeh Is Foreign Talent

Welcome to economics 101 with Limpeh. Allow me to break down the concept of round-tripping to you in the most simple way in my kitchen.

2013, williamlaukl@gmail.com, "https://groups.google.com/forum/#!search/%22limpeh%22/ot-email-group/nIK7LscVJM8/MmcxrQBJ2IUJ", ot email group, 18 September 2013

Come over to limpeh, come over to limpeh. Do you understand what limpeh is saying? If yes say yes, if no say no. Don’t tell limpeh "yes no yes no".

2013, ShiGGa Shay (lyrics and music), “Limpeh (ft. Tosh Rock)”, in LimPeh (feat. Tosh Rock) - Single

(Singapore, Singlish, informal, impolite) A reference to oneself in the third person, taking on the stance of a superior.


buay tank

[ˌbwe˨ ˈtɛŋk̚˦]

From Hokkien 袂 (bōe, “cannot”) + Singapore Colloquial English tank (“to withstand”).

This boy damn act cute, I buay tank.

2011 October 29, “Udders”, in Ultimate Killjoy (blog), retrieved 2016-03-26

Sorry I really buay tank my eyes are closing, head spinning I need to sleep haha.

2014 May 20, “little taste of heaven -”, in Sabrina (blog), retrieved 2016-03-26

Lonely mudpie for lonely people. Going to watch Ah Boys to Men at 6:05pm. Really buay tank the loneliness here.

2015 February 18, “冰冷的除夕夜”, in dreamexplorer (blog), retrieved 2016-03-28

Oh well, cheers to a better day ahead. I’m freezing now. I buay tank, I need to go hide in my blanket now.

2015 March 7, “Seoul Student Exchange in Sogang University First 2 Days of School”, in Seoul Student Exchange at Sogang University: 26 February – 20 June 2015 (blog), retrieved 2016-03-29

Singapore’s star awards – the most shameless show. Buay tank how they shamelessly give awards to themselves for being the best. Please. If you are the only one running in the race, and you get champion, may I know what’s there to be happy about?

2015 April 26, aiology (blog), retrieved 2016-03-30

(Singapore, colloquial) Unable to deal or to handle something or someone; unable to put up with a situation or person much longer.


ah neh

Semantic extension from Tamil அண்ணன் (aṇṇaṉ, “elder brother”).

2001 8 August, Leo, soc.culture.singapore
Blame the Ah-Neh race again, just like what they did to the former president who is now in Canada.

some 'ah-neh' stole my hp! not tt i'm a racist but i saw this indian or dunno bhangra walking near me on the way to the mrt stn and din realise tt i lost my hp till i got on the train at jurong east to look for it.

2006 August 24, Susan Ong, pesspgde_05/06_yr2

Well, the locals who contributed to the current prosperity of Singapore, who sacrificed their most productive years to serve the army, who allowed their kampong homes to be acquired by the government, etc etc, are being slowly sidelined in favor of the foreigners -- ah nehs, ah bengs, ah pinoys and others.

2010 October 19, The Cynic, soc.culture.singapore

My SIL had the POLICE visiting her home bcos of ah neh wash. Apparently the ah neh is an overstayer. And the police track all the ah neh's HP contacts and got to her house. Luckily BIL was clever and said they were enquiring only but never engage ah neh service.

2011 November 11, Hiphiphoray, MyCarForum

2013 31 January, ColdBlooded, soc.culture.singapore
But what will happen when these ahnehs flee Singapore when they are asked to do NS?

We dont owe the ah neh a career or life here. They come in with their discriminatory practices and think the sinkies owe them these privileges.

Oh, and if you hear people (like your colleagues for example) refer to "that ah neh", they could be referring to you. It's a derogatory term.

"Upsize or not?" The crew member asked, but the Ah neh still give that blur look, so the crew member decide for him.

2015 May 11, Farhan, All Singapore Stuff

(Singapore, colloquial, informal, derogatory) An Indian man, especially a migrant worker.