English is widely spoken in Singapore ... or is it? Many
first-time visitors have been confounded by the colloquialisms that
pepper Singaporeans' speech. This is because we speak very quickly
(or so it's been said) and with a distinct Singaporean accent. Over
the years, Singaporeans have developed their own brand of English
fondly referred to as 'Singlish'.
With our multi-racial background, it's not surprising that
'Singlish' borrows from the many different languages spoken in
Singapore. Here's a collection of 'Singlish' terms:
Action (verb)
Derived from the English language meaning to show off.
Example: That fellow always like to action, walking around with his
Rolex over his shirt sleeves.
Arrow (verb)
Derived from the English language meaning to be given a task that
you don't want to do.
Example: I was arrowed to paint this wall.
Blur (adj)
Derived from the English language meaning does not know what is
going on.
Example: He hasn't read up on the background to this project and
was very blur at the meeting.
Boh-Chup (adj)
Derived from the Hokkien dialect meaning couldn't care less.
Example: Ah, boh-chup, I'm not going to hand in my
assignment.
Chim (adj)
Pronounced 'cheem'.
Derived from the Hokkien dialect meaning profound.
Example: The professor's lecture was very chim.
Chope (verb)
Derived from the English language meaning to reserve.
Example: It's free seating at the concert, we need to get there
early to chope seats for our group.
Gostun (verb)
Derived from the English language (go stern) meaning to
reverse.
Example: He overshot the turning so had to gostun back up the
road.
Havoc (adj)
Derived from the English language meaning wild and
uncontrollable.
Example: That person is very havoc, always out late every
night.
Kayu (adj)
Pronounced 'kah-yoo'.
Derived from the Malay language meaning dumb or stupid.
Example: How come he is so kayu? Teach him so many times and he
still cannot do it.
Kiasu (adj)
Pronounced 'kee-a-soo'.
Derived from the Hokkien dialect meaning afraid to lose out to
others or not to lose face.
Example: He sent his family to line up in different queues for the
same item, so kiasu.
Lah
The most famous of Singaporean expressions used at the end of
sentences for emphasis.
Example: Very funny, lah!
Langgar (verb)
Derived from the Malay language meaning to collide.
Example: This van suddenly pulled out and langgar my car.
Obiang (adj)
Derived from the Hokkien dialect meaning ugly or outdated.
Example: This dress is so obiang! Who is going to buy it?
Pai seh (adj)
Pronounced 'pie-say'.
Derived from the Hokkien dialect meaning embarrassed or shy.
Example: That's the third time I've forgotten her name. So pai
seh.
Shiok (adj)
Pronounced 'shee-oak'
Derived from the Malay language (Straits Chinese) meaning fantastic
or marvellous.
Example: That prawn mee soup was shiok!"
Sekali
A word meaning suddenly.
Example: "I was about to make a right turn. Sekali this car appears
from nowhere and nearly langgar me!"
Solid (adj)
Derived from the English language meaning great or superb.
Example: Did you see how he scored the goal? Solid, man!
Sotong (adj)
Derived from the Malay language meaning does not know what is going
on. Similar meaning to 'blur'. (Sotong is the Malay word for
octopus which squirts ink and clouds everything.)
Example: This has been going on for months, didn't you know?
Sotong!
Suaku (noun)
Pronounced 'soo-ah-koo'.
Derived from the Hokkien dialect meaning country bumpkin.
Example: Don't be so suaku lah, don't you know what a VCD player
is?
Terok (adj)
Derived from the Malay language meaning troublesome or
difficult.
Example: That customer was very terok.
Tompang (verb)
Pronounced 'tome-pang'.
Derived from the Malay language meaning to ride on or request a
favour.
Example: You're going to the post office? Can I tompang some
letters to be mailed?
Ulu (adj)
Pronounced 'oo-loo'.
Derived from Malay language meaning rural or a deserted
place.
Example: This place is so ulu, you hardly see a single soul around
even on weekends.
Ya Ya (adj)
An expression meaning boastful or arrogant.
Example: Wah, he's so ya ya
