from the The Speak Good English Movement, Singapore website.
"To help Singaporeans speak good English, here is a more complete list with suggestions of other words or phrases that could be used in their place. Many of these Singlish items have been borrowed from other Singaporean languages and dialects.
The source of the Singlish word is indicated in brackets after the word. (M indicates that the source is Malay; H indicates that the source is Hokkien; C indicates that the source is Cantonese; and T indicates that the source is Tamil.)"
agak-agak (M) : to guess or estimate; guesswork
aiyah (C) : oh no! bother!
alamak (M) : oh no!
ang moh (H) : Caucasian; white person; a Westerner
angkat (M) : to curry favour, e.g. instead of 'He always angkat his boss', we should say 'He always curries favour with his boss' or 'He sucks up to his boss'
arrow : to pick on somebody (to perform an unpleasant task)
belanja (M) : to give somebody a treat, e.g. instead of 'I belanja you supper', we should say, 'I will give you a supper treat'
blur : confused; hazy
bochap (H) : easy going; couldn't care less
bodoh (M) : stupid
bo pian (H) : no choice!; can't help it
botak (M) : bald; crew-cut
buaya (M) : a flirt; to flirt
chabut, cabut (M) : to take off; to escape; to leave early (from work or from a party); e.g. instead of 'She chabut after lunch', we should say 'She left after lunch'
chia lat (H) : - see jia lat
chiak chua (H) : to skive
chim, cheem (H) : too complex or sophisticated to be easily understood; e.g. instead of 'That book very chim one', we should say 'That is a very complex book'
chinchai (H) : easy-going; not fussy; laid back
chop : a rubber stamp; to rubber stamp
chope : to reserve
cut : to overtake
fetch : to send; to collect; instead of 'Dad will fetch Mike from school', we should say 'Dad will collect Mike from school'
gabra (M) : to panic; panicky; edgy
garang (M) : fierce; aggressive
gasak (M) : to guess; to do something haphazardly; guesswork; instead of 'I just gasak during the exam', we should say 'I just guessed the answers during the exam'
gila (M) : crazy; mad
goondu (T) : a fool; foolish
gostan (from 'go astern') : to reverse a vehicle
hamsap, humsub (C) : echerous; over-sexed
hantam, hentam (M) : to thrash or trounce someone physically; to bluff one's way through
heng (H) : thank goodness!; fortunate
jaga (M) : a watchman; to watch over
jelak (M) : sated; bored or tired after having too much or something or someone; instead of saying 'I jelak of satay already', we should say 'I've had too much satay already'
jia lat, chia lat (H) : very demanding or stressful
kachau, kacau (M) : to annoy or tease; instead of 'Don't kachau Mei', we should say 'Don't tease Mei'
kaki (M) : a member of a clique or select group
kancheong (C) : over-anxious; nervous
kaypoh (H) :busybody; nosey; to interfere; to stick one's nose into another's affairs
kayu (M) :thick or stupid; incompetent; instead of 'This referee kayu man!', we should say 'This referee is totally incompetent!'
kelong (M) :to fix a (football) match
kena (M) : to be badly treated; to undergo an unpleasant experience; instead of 'You will kena from Dad if you fail', we should say 'You will really get it from Dad if you fail'
ketok, ketuk (M) : to take advantage of
kiasi (H) : overly cautious
kiasu (H) : afraid to lose out; wanting to keep up with the Jones's
kosong (M) : empty; zero; nothing
koyak (M) : poor quality; instead of 'All the boys in my office are koyak', we should say, 'All the boys in my office are lousy'
laku (M) : popular; in high demand
lauyah (H) : shabby; poor quality
lawar (M) : too big for one's boots; too full of oneself
lecheh, leceh (M) : troublesome; tedious
lelong (M) : an informal auction; a sale
lobang (M) : an opening for a job, etc.; an opportunity; instead of 'Got any lobang?' we should say, 'Have you got any openings for me?'
makan (M) : to eat; food; a meal
obiang : not in good fashion taste; out of fashion
pai seh (H) : embarrassed; embarrassing; not in good form
pakat (M) : to plot or co-operate secretly; instead of 'Don't pakat against me!', we should say 'Don't plot against me!'
pantang (M) : superstitious; superstition
pondan (M) : a transvestite; effeminate
ponteng (M) : to play truant; to cut classes
potong jalan (M) : to take advantage of a situation unfairly; instead of 'He potong jalan my girlfriend', we should say 'He very unfairly snatched my girlfriend away from me!'
rojak (M) : substandard or disorganised; a mixed collection or a hotchpotch
rugi (M) : to lose financially; a loss
sabo : to sabotage; to play a trick on somebody
salah (M) : wrong
samseng (C) : a hooligan; a ruffian; a gangster
sayang (M) : a person you love or feel affectionate towards; to love; wasteful or pitiful; instead of 'So sayang to throw away the half- finished Milo tin', we should say 'What a shame to throw away the half-finished Milo tin'
sebok, sibuk (M) : nosey, to be a busybody
shiok : enjoyable
sian (H) : tiresome; boring
siong (H) : very tough-going
skali, sekali (M) : lest; suddenly
suaku, swaku (H) : backward and unsophisticated
tahan (M) : to endure; instead of 'Cannot tahan this nagging', we should say 'I cannot take this nagging'
taroh, taruh (M) : to criticise someone
tarpau, tarpow (C) : to do a take-away; instead of 'I want mee siam, tarpau', we should say 'I want mee siam, to take away'
terbalek, terbalik (M) : reversed or upside down
terok, teruk (M) : terrible; difficult; demanding
tompang, tumpang (M) : to give someone a lift (in a car); to leave something in someone else's care; instead of 'I tompang my shopping in your flat first', we should say 'I'll leave my shopping in your flat first'
towkay (H) : a successful businessman
ulu (M) : remote; rural; backward and unsophisticated
wayang (M) : a street opera; a Chinese opera
yaya (M) : a show-off; to show off
zap : to photocopy
Singlish is a hybrid of all the languages and dialects that Singaporeans are exposed to. Is that the reason why Singlish is something common only to Singaporeans, the people who live alongside their multi-racial and multi-cultural neighbours?
- Julie (:
posted by group1 @ 1:17 AM
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