90 Singlish phrases to help you navigate everyday life in Singapore
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Planning to move to Singapore? Here are some quick Singlish phrases that you should know. Singlish is a unique form of English that is spoken in Singapore. It combines English with Malay, Chinese, and Tamil. Singlish is very different from traditional English, so it may take some time to get used to it.
However, Singlish is a very useful language to know if you want to live in Singapore. In this blog post, we will give you 90 Singlish phrases that will help you get by in everyday life!
Here are some quick Singlish phrases for you to pick up:
Food and Beverages
Singlish Terms | Meanings |
Jelak | Heavy and overwhelming taste |
Q / QQ | Chewy and springy |
Sedap | Delicious |
Wok Hei | Pleasant, charred smokiness |
Bao Jiak | Guaranteed delicious, for durians |
Chao Ta | Burnt |
Chao Cho / Qi | Foul-smelling Seafood |
Hiam | Spicy |
Da Bao | Takeaway your order |
Shiok | Very enjoyable |
Bagus | Very good |
Makan | Eat |
Teh | Tea |
Kopi | Coffee |
The art of ordering coffee and tea in Singapore
Coffee | Tea | Milo | |
Original | Kopi | Teh | Milo |
Cold version | Kopi Peng | Teh Peng | Milo Peng |
Evaporated milk and sugar | Kopi C | Teh C | |
No milk with sugar | Kopi O | Teh O | Milo O |
No milk no sugar | Kopi O Kosong | Teh O Kosong | Milo O Kosong |
Less sweet | Kopi Siew Dai | Teh Siew Dai | Milo Siew Dai |
No milk, less sugar | Kopi O Siew Dai | Teh O Siew Dai | |
More sugar | Kopi Gah Dai | Teh Gah Dai | Milo Gah Dai |
Strong (more powder) | Kopi Gao | Milo Gao | |
Strong with sugar but no milk | Kopi O Gao | Milo O Gao | |
Less caffeine | Kopi Po | ||
Extra strong caffeine | Kopi Di Lo | ||
Butter | Kopi Gu You | ||
With Egg | Kopi Ga Kweh Nrng | ||
With room temperature water | Kopi Pua Sio |
Tarik (pulled) version
Kopi | Teh | |
Pulled version (with condensed milk and sugar) | Kopi Tarik | Teh Tarik |
With sugar | Kopi O Tarik | Teh O Tarik |
Milo Dinosaur and Godzilla
Milo Dinosaur: Ice version with condensed milk and sugar and lots of milo powder on top
Milo Godzilla: Ice version with condensed milk and sugar PLUS a scoop of ice cream and lots of topping
Descriptions
Singlish Terms | Meanings |
Act blur | To play the innocent card or act ignorant |
Agak agak | Rough estimate |
Aiyoh | An expression of surprise, and/or annoyance |
Alamak | Singlish equivalent of “oh my gosh” or “oh man” |
Arrow | To dump a task on someone else, rather than complete it yourself |
Atas | To be posh or of high social status |
Bo liao | Feeling bored or idle like there’s nothing better to do |
Boleh | A Malay word for ‘can’, or ‘possible’ |
Can or not | A way of asking if something is possible or can be achieved |
Catch no ball | To be absolutely clueless |
Chiong | To rush, to hurry, or to give your all to complete something |
Chope | To reserve a place or call dibs on something |
Eye power | Someone who doesn’t extend help. Instead, they stand around and stare as if their eyes can offer assistance |
Lepak | Chilling without a care in the world or loitering around aimlessly |
Common Singaporean Phrases
Phrases | Meanings |
Don’t spoil market | What you say when you want someone to maintain the status quo and not raise the bar, thus making it hard for you and others to compete |
Confirm plus chop | Super sure |
Lim Kopi | Grab a coffee and hang out |
Got lobang? | Are there any opportunities |
Die Die Must Try | Must Try no matter what |
Talk Cock | Untrue stories |
Don’t sabo me please | Don’t sabotage me |
Blur like Sotong | Someone who is slow at catching on or just generally clueless |
On the ball | Top at their job |
Own time own target | Do things at your own pace |
Boh jio | Why didn’t you invite me |
Don’t kaypoh lah | Stop being such a busybody |
Abuden | A sarcastic way of saying you don’t say |
Bo chup | Used to describe someone who does not care |
Chop chop | Singlish term used to hurry people |
CMI | Short form for cannot make it. Can be used to turn down someone or to describe a person as less than satisfactory (derogatory) |
Don’t play play | Used to tell someone not to fool around or to take a matter seriously |
Hao lian | Describes someone who likes to show off. Hao lian bo la liang, is a longer form of this phrase. |
Lah, leh, lor, liao, hor, mah, meh, sia
Doesn’t it sound like a whole new language? It might seem extremely confusing when you first arrive in Singapore. But after a few weeks, you will realise that it’s not that complicated. In fact, it’s just a way of shortening most British English sentences with some punctured grammar.
It’s like a little abbreviation secret code, you know? And hey, it gets the point across, right? Sure, you might sound a bit silly using it at first, but after a while, you’ll start to enjoy it.
Lah
Adding “Lah” to any sentence just adds that extra oomph of confidence.
- Queen’s English: I’m sure the coffee will taste alright!
- Singlish: The kopi here okay one lah!
Leh
You’re not feeling too sure about this whole situation
- Queen’s English: I’m not too sure how to order a coffee in Singapore.
- Singlish: I not sure how to order kopi leh.
Lor
Accepting a situation that is not within your control.
- Queen’s English: The coffee is out of stock.
- Singlish: The kopi boh liao lor.
Hor
Usually, a question that requires agreement.
- Queen’s English: Are you sure you would like a cup of coffee and not tea?
- Singlish: You sure you want kopi hor?
Mah
Confident or referring to the obvious. Mildly attempting to persuade.
- Queen’s English: Would you like to try the coffee from this shop?
- Singlish: You want to try the kopi from this shop mah?
Meh
Use when in doubt about other things or people.
- Queen’s English: Are you sure they sell coffee?
- Singlish: They got sell kopi meh?
Sia
Use at the end of the sentence when one is genuinely surprised.
- Queen’s English: The coffee is really expensive.
- Singlish: The kopi sibeh expensive sia.
Moving to Singapore?
At this point, you’ve already brushed up on your Singlish! As an expat, after going through the process of relocating and adjusting to a new country like understanding Singlish, there might be one final challenge – how do you send money back home? Traditional banks can be costly, leaving you with fewer funds.
That’s where Instarem comes in.
With no hidden fees and competitive exchange rates, we make it easy to send money home.
*rates are for display purposes only.
Try Instarem for your next transfer by downloading the app or sign up here.
Disclaimer: This article is intended for informational purposes only. All details are accurate at the time of publishing. Instarem has no affiliation or relationship with products or vendors mentioned.
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