Singlish vocabulary

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A visual guide behind the definitions of ordering Singapore's common Kopi drink variations using the lexicon of Singlish

This article delves into the lexicon or vocabulary of Singlish,[a] an English-based creole language and accent originating from Singapore.[1][2][3] The term Singlish is a blend of Singaporean slang and English and was first recorded in the early 1970s.[4] English is one of Singapore's official languages, along with Mandarin, Malay and Tamil.[5] Although English is the lexifier language, Singlish has its unique slang and syntax, which are more pronounced in informal speech.

The vocabulary of Singlish consists of words originating from English, which are complemented by other Asian languages such as Malay, Cantonese, Japanese, Hokkien, Mandarin, Teochew, and Tamil.[6] It is used in casual contexts between Singaporeans, but is avoided in formal events when certain Singlish phrases may be considered unedifying. Singapore English can be broken into two subcategories. Standard Singapore English (SSE) and Colloquial Singapore English (CSE) or Singlish as locals call it. The relationship between SSE and Singlish is viewed as a diglossia, in which SSE is restricted to be used in situations of formality where Singlish/CSE is used in most other circumstances.[7]

Since the turn of the century, there have been recent surges in the interest of Singlish internationally, sparking several national conversations. Some of the most popular Singlish terms have been added to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) since 2000, including wah, sabo, lepak, shiok and hawker centre.[8] On 11 February 2015, kiasu was chosen as OED's Word of the Day.[9] Reactions were generally positive by Singaporeans, with Singlish being commonly associated with the country and is considered a unique aspect of Singaporean culture.[10][11]

Word origins[]

Singlish vocabulary formally takes after British English (in terms of spelling and abbreviations), although naming conventions are in a mix of American and British ones (with American ones on the rise). For instance, local media have "sports pages" (sport in British English) and "soccer coverage" (soccer—originally slang for association football—while used in Britain, is more usually called just football). Singlish also uses many words borrowed from Hokkien, the non-Mandarin Chinese language native to more than 75% of the Chinese in Singapore, and from Malay. In many cases, English words take on the meaning of their Chinese counterparts, resulting in a shift in meaning. Vocabulary is also taken from Indian words such as dai meaning 'hey', goondu meaning 'fat', etc. This is most obvious in such cases as borrow/lend, which are functionally equivalent in Singlish and mapped to the same Mandarin word, 借 (jiè), which can mean to lend or to borrow. For example: "Oi, can I borrow your calculator?" / "Hey, can you lend me your calculator?"

Singlish dictionaries and word lists[]

The Coxford Singlish Dictionary, a light-hearted lexicon of Singlish published in 2002

There have been several efforts to compile lexicons of Singlish, some for scholarly purposes, but most for entertainment. Two early humorous works were Sylvia Toh Paik Choo's Eh, Goondu! (1982)[12] and Lagi Goondu! (1986).[13] In 1997 the second edition of the Times-Chambers Essential English Dictionary[14] was published. To date, this is the only formal dictionary containing a substantial number of Singaporean English terms. Such entries and sub-entries are arranged alphabetically amongst the standard English entries. A list of common words borrowed from local languages such as Hokkien and Malay appears in an appendix. It appears that no subsequent editions have been published.

2002 saw the publication of the Coxford Singlish Dictionary,[15] a light-hearted lexicon which was developed from material posted on the website Talkingcock.com. In 2004 a website, A Dictionary of Singlish and Singapore English, was launched to document the actual usage of Singlish and Singapore English in published material, in the way that the Oxford English Dictionary does for standard English. Compiled by an amateur lexicographer, the Dictionary appears to be one of the more comprehensive and professionally written dictionaries dealing exclusively with Singlish and Singapore English available so far.

The Singapore Tourism Board and tourism-related businesses have also produced short lists of commonly used Singlish terms, ostensibly to allow foreigners visiting Singapore to comprehend the local language better. Such lists have been printed in brochures or booklets, and also published on websites.

The lack of an officially printed version of a Singlish dictionary is due to the fact that the Singapore government frowns upon the use of Singlish, their official stand being that the speaking of Singlish will make Singaporeans difficult to understand when communicating with foreigners who are not familiar with Singlish. Thus, the government has made an effort to quash the use of Singlish and to promote the use of standard English through the Speak Good English Movement over the past few years. Though failing to discourage the use of Singlish, it has resulted in Singlish having a bad reputation in recent years, further stalling efforts to document actual Singlish usage.

Letters contributed to the forum of The Straits Times, the main local newspaper, by readers have called for Singlish to be kept alive in Singapore. Community efforts to do so include the aptly named "Speak Good Singlish Movement". The idea of promoting Singlish was raised as part of a larger debate on creating a uniquely Singaporean identity. However, the government has yet to officially change its stand regarding Singlish.

A list of Singlish terms and expressions widely used in Singapore is set out below. It is not exhaustive and is meant to provide some representative examples of Singlish usage in Singapore. The origins of the Singlish terms are indicated where possible, and literal translations are provided where necessary.

Phonological sounds used in Singlish[]

Below are the phonological sounds used from the International Phonetic Alphabet used in Singlish.

Consonants Used in Singlish Vocabulary[16]
Bilabial Labio-dental Dental Alveolar Post-Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal m n ŋ
Plosive p b t d k g
Fricative f v θ ð s z ʃ ʒ h
Approximant ɹ
Lateral l w
Vowels used in Singlish Vocabulary[17]
Front Central Back
Close i u
Close-Mid e ə o
Open-Mid ɛ ə ɔ
Open a

List of Singlish words[]

0–9[]

  • 4D – Local 4 digit lottery game run by Singapore Pools.
  • 5Cs – Refers to the 5 Cs of Singapore (cash, car, credit card, condominium, country club membership). Commonly associated with materialistic success in modern Singapore.
  • 11B – Official Singapore Army vernacular meaning '11 basic information'. Refers to the Singapore Armed Forces Identity Card held by servicemen during their National Service.

A[]

  • abit – (From English) A little bit. Usually used sarcastically. As in "You abit fast ah" when the person in question is deemed to be slow (sarcasm).
  • abuden – (From Manglish 'Ah, but then?') Obviously; of course.
  • ACBC – (From English and Hokkien) Acronym for "act cute, buay cute." Refers to a person that is behaving in an exaggeratedly cutesy manner, but instead comes across as annoying. (buay – see entry below – is a negative prefix, conveying 'not' or 'un-'.).
  • act blur – (From English and Hokkien) To feign ignorance.
  • act cute – (From English and Hokkien) A phrase which describes behaving in a cutesy manner. Can be used as both a verb and an adjective. See also ACBC above.
  • action – (From English) Refers to a person that is perceived as arrogant or haughty.
  • agak agak / agak-agak – (From Malay) An estimate.[18] Not to be mistaken as "agar-agar" which means jelly/jello.
  • agak-ration – (From Malay and English) An estimate or estimation. Also pronounced as "agar-ration".
  • Ah Beng – (From Hokkien 阿明 a-bêng) A hillbilly, or someone with poor dress sense. Also used to refer to a gangster.[19] Originates from the common Chinese male name 'Ah Beng'.
  • – (From Hokkien 阿成 a-sêng) Ah Beng's sidekick. Also used to refer to a gangster.[19] Originates from the common Chinese male name 'Ah Seng'.
  • ah – (From Chinese 啊) 1. Exclamation. E.g. "Heng ah!" (How lucky!) 2. (... ah?) An alternative spelling of "ar". Used at the end of a sentence to express doubt.
  • ah gua / ah kwa / ah qua – (From Hokkien 阿倌 a kuann) A transvestite, often assumed to be a Thai transsexual. Used to refer to males that appear to be feminine.
  • Ah Lian – (From Hokkien 阿蓮/阿莲 a-lián) A hillbilly, someone with little dress sense; female form of Ah Beng. Also used to refer to a gangster.[19] The expressions came about because Ah Lian is a common Chinese female name.
  • – (From Hokkien 阿花/阿花 a-hoe) Ah Lian's sidekick; female form of Ah Seng. Also used to refer to a gangster.[19] The expressions came about because Ah Huay is a common Chinese female name.
  • Ah Long – 1. (From Cantonese 阿窿, which is a shortened form of Dai I Long 大耳窿) Slang term for a loan shark. 2. Sometimes used to mistranslate Lee Hsien Loong.
  • ah neh – (From Hokkien/Tamil. Tamil: அண்ணன் /aṇṇaṉ/) means older brother; a shortened version of a racial slur (see below).
  • ah pu neh neh – (From Hokkien) A racial slur for Indians.
  • ah tiong – (From Hokkien 阿中 a-tiong) Sometimes used simply as Tiong. An endearing term for Chinese nationals.
  • ai see – (From Hokkien/Teochew 愛死/爱死 ài-sí, Mandarin equivalent: 要死) Used to describe someone on thin ice.
  • ai see buay see – (From Hokkien 愛死袂死/爱死袂死 ài-sí buē-sí, Mandarin equivalent: 要死不死) Used to describe someone on thin ice.
  • ai swee mai m'niah – (From Hokkien, lit. 'love beauty until death') Used of a person who acts cute till he or she becomes obsolete.
  • ai sui – (From Hokkien, lit. 'love beauty') Refers to a person who is beauty conscious. (Usually used of females.).
  • ai tzai – (From Hokkien 愛在/爱在 ài tsāi, lit. 'must be firm, calm and solid') Used in a reassuring manner to calm people down.
  • Aiya(h) / Aiyo(h) – (From Tamil 哎呀 Āiya / 哎唷 Āiyo or Tamil ஐயோ Aiyō) "Oh no!" "Oh dear!"
  • Aiyoyo / Ai-yoh-yoh – (From Tamil ஐயையோ) Extreme of Aiyoh. popularized by the Mediacorp drama series Good Morning, Sir!.
  • akan datang – (From Malay) Means 'coming soon', as seen in movie trailers. Used to reassure an impatient person.
  • alamak – (From Malay) Phonetically close to the Chinese term "Oh, my mother!". It expresses shock or surprise.
  • amacam – (From Malay) A contraction of the Malay word 'Apa macam', which is used as a greeting, similar to "What's up?"
  • ang mo(h) – (From Hokkien 紅毛/红毛 âng-moo, lit. 'red hair') A term for people of European descent.
  • ang mo(h) pai – (From Hokkien 紅毛派/红毛派, lit. 'Red Hair Faction') A term used for Chinese Singaporeans who speak good English but poor Chinese. The term suggests they are more "Red Hair"/Westernised than Chinese.
  • ang pau / ang pow – (From Hokkien/Teochew 紅包/红包. Pronounced hóng bāo in Mandarin) Red packet with money to be given on Chinese New Year or during some occasion like wedding, birthday party and so on as a wish to the receiver. Also hong bao.
  • an zhua? – (From Hokkien 按怎 án-chuáⁿ) Hokkien equivalent of "What's up?"
  • ar – 1. (From Cantonese/Mandarin 啊) (... ar?) Used at the end of a sentence where opinions and affirmations are being sought. 2. (From Hokkien) Used as either a noun or a verb to denote a very cozy, non-sexual relationship with someone that might result in special considerations or leeway not available to anyone else without such a relationship. As in "I ar with the boss because I'm his golf buddy so I can occasionally come to work later without getting into trouble with him." Or "You got ar with him or not?" to inquire as to the status of the relationship between two people. Similar to the American slang expression "having juice with someone."
  • ar bo – (From Hokkien/Teochew 阿無/阿无 á-bô) Means "What else?" or "How else?" Usually used as an answer to a question with an obvious answer.
  • atas – (From Malay, lit. 'above') 1. Used to describe a snobbish and arrogant person. 2. Used to describe a "high class", well-to-do or sophisticated person.
  • ayam – (From Malay, lit. 'chicken') Used to describe someone who is easily intimidated.

B[]

  • balik kampong / balek kampung – (From Malay) Pack up one's things and go home. The term also refers to returning to one's hometown.
  • bakkwa / bak kwa – (From Hokkien 肉乾/肉干 bah-koaⁿ; ròugān in Mandarin) Rougan or roupu (肉脯), a Chinese salty-sweet dried meat product similar to jerky.
  • bao toh – (From Hokkien 包刀, lit. 'bun knife') The act of backstabbing someone, usually in an office or political context.
  • barang barang – (From Malay) Personal belongings.
  • berak – (From Malay) To defecate.
  • belanja – (From Malay) To give someone a treat.
  • bodoh – (From Malay) Idiot, ignorant.[20]
  • bo(h) be(h) zao – (From Hokkien/Teochew 無馬走/无马走 bô bé cháu, lit. 'no horse run') From horse racing jargon. Used to describe something that is without rival. See also "no horse run".
  • bo(h) bian / bo(h) pien – (From Hokkien 無變/无变 bô-piàn) No choice.
  • bo(h) chup – (From Hokkien) Hokkien for to not give a damn.
  • bo(h) eng – (From Hokkien 無閒/无闲 bô-êng, lit. 'no free time') To have little or no time on one's hands.
  • bo(h) gay / bo(h) ge(h) – (From Hokkien/Teochew 無牙/无牙 bô-gê, lit. 'no teeth') Usually used to describe someone with a missing tooth.
  • bo(h) jio / bojio – (From Hokkien/Teochew 無招/无招) You didn't invite me.
  • bo(h) liao – (From Hokkien/Teochew 無聊/无聊 bô-liâu, lit. boredom; Mandarin: wúliáo) A slang expression to describe being in a situation of idleness. Also used to describe an act of doing something silly.
  • bo(h) ta bo lan pa – (From Hokkien 無焦無