Singlish is a unique Singaporean blend of English, Malay [M], Hokkien [H] (a Chinese dialect) and a bit of Chinese [C] and Indian [I]. Some slangs also are used because they rhyme, such as yaya papaya. Singlish is also notorious for cutting out unnecessary words such as verbs, e.g. What you want?
FUNNY SINGLISH PHRASES
These are only funny and unique non-vulgar variations, alphabetically sorted.
Abuden / Arbo / Arboden - [M] Then what or Obviously, used in a sarcastic manner - e.g. A: So no money then cannot go concert already ah? B: Abuden, or ask your mother treat ah?
Act Blur
Arrow / Kena Arrowed - Assigned an unpleasant task, extra work or responsibility, like being struck by an arrow - [M] Kena means to get, mostly in a negative scenario aka suffer
Ba Long Long - Following the crowd, blurly following others - Possible Origin: The Ba Long Long fruit comes in bunches like grapes
Bak Chiu Tak Stamp - [H] Eyes pasted with stamps, blinded in a metaphorical sense - 1st Gen - e.g. She kena sweet talked by scammer till bak chiu tak stamp all the warning signs
Beethoven - [C] Bei Duo Fen - Back More Points - Refers to someone who looks very pretty from the back view but not from the front - Origin: Beethoven phonetically sounds like Bei Duo Fen
Blur Sotong - Blur person - [M] sotong probably because squid have crazy directionless eyes
Bak Chiu Tak Stamp - [H] Eyes pasted with stamps, blinded in a metaphorical sense - 1st Gen - e.g. She kena sweet talked by scammer till bak chiu tak stamp all the warning signs
Beethoven - [C] Bei Duo Fen - Back More Points - Refers to someone who looks very pretty from the back view but not from the front - Origin: Beethoven phonetically sounds like Bei Duo Fen
Blur Sotong - Blur person - [M] sotong probably because squid have crazy directionless eyes
BMW - Bus, MRT, Walk - Self-deprecating and humourous way of saying to take public transport, not driving the continental car
Bring You Guang Hua Yuan - Bring you to walk the garden - Beat around the bush
Catch No Ball - Don't get it
Catch No Ball - Don't get it
Chinese Helicopter - Chinese educated, limited English knowledge
Chop Chop Curry Pok - Do it quickly, combines the UK term Chop Chop with an SG snack Curry Pok
Chut Pattern - [H] Bad or underhanded behaviour, pattern refers to many different ways and tricks of fooling victims
Claypot - Opposite of jackpot, used in a humourous manner, Origin: Claypot dishes are common in Chinese cooking
Cockanathan - [I] Idiot - Possible Origin: Cock refers to a fool in Singlish, Nathan refers to a lord in Tamil, so it means cock lord
Confirm Plus Chop - Guaranteed
Die Die - No matter what - e.g. John Wick just die die wont die / The stock just die die don't want to go up
Die Cock Stand - Screw up big time or in big trouble
Don’t hurry for the curry - Don't rush for something mediocre - 1st Gen
Eat Snake - Slacking - Possible Origin: If you slack off farming, when harvest time comes you have nothing to eat and have to catch snakes for food
Eat Snake - Slacking - Possible Origin: If you slack off farming, when harvest time comes you have nothing to eat and have to catch snakes for food
Eat Your Medicine - Indicating a crazy person, because they're saying or doing something stupid
Eye Got Stamp - Blinded in a metaphorical sense - Similar to Bak Chiu Tak Stamp
Eye Power - Never help, just watch
Eye Got Stamp - Blinded in a metaphorical sense - Similar to Bak Chiu Tak Stamp
Eye Power - Never help, just watch
Fast Hand Fast Leg - Be quick to capitalise on a situation - e.g. If you don't fast hand fast leg, the Labubu will all be sold out
Flip Prata - Always change his/her mind often - e.g. Trump met Xi today and flip prata on tariffs, China must be very happy again
Gong Jiao Wei / GJW / GJWW - [H] Talk bird language, Talk rubbish
Goreng - [M] Fry or stir-fry - Evolved to mean manipulating the situation - e.g. The scammer goreng her till she transferred her life savings over OR Today DBS share go up so much, big boys and hedge funds really goreng the stock like crazy
If you cannot you must can - Famous Singapore Army (SAF) inspirational quote, to achieve the impossible or never say never
Kancheong / Kancheong Spider
Kelong - [M] Cheating or rigged - Origin: Kelong refers to a wooden offshore platform used by fishermen. And similar to a faulty fishing net lets fish escape, a player can be bribed to throw a sports match, often football/soccer
Kio Sai / Kio Liu Lian - [H] Snatch Shit / Snatch Durian
Lam Pa Pa Lan / LPPL - [H] Banging your balls against your dick, in a no-win situation
Like Nobody Business - Doing very badly - e.g. After her main customers boycott the salon, her business drop like nobody business
Lim Kopi - [H] Drink coffee
LLST - Lan Lan Suck Thumb
Kancheong / Kancheong Spider
Kelong - [M] Cheating or rigged - Origin: Kelong refers to a wooden offshore platform used by fishermen. And similar to a faulty fishing net lets fish escape, a player can be bribed to throw a sports match, often football/soccer
Kio Sai / Kio Liu Lian - [H] Snatch Shit / Snatch Durian
Lam Pa Pa Lan / LPPL - [H] Banging your balls against your dick, in a no-win situation
Like Nobody Business - Doing very badly - e.g. After her main customers boycott the salon, her business drop like nobody business
Lim Kopi - [H] Drink coffee
LLST - Lan Lan Suck Thumb
Lose Till Numb - Emphasis for losing a lot - e.g. Crypto market crash so much I lose till numb
Mai La / Mai La Mai La Wa Mai / MLMLWM
My English Very Private Limited - Humourous way of saying a person's English is very limited, Origin: Private Limited is a business entity, abbreviated as Pte. Ltd. in Singapore, the private is added in the sentence for added humour
My One - Mine
No Eye See - Very terrible, don't dare to look at it
No Head No Tail - Don't get it, confused
No Horse Run
No Horse Run
No Link - No connection - e.g. You talk about porridge, then suddenly talk about
Ownself Check Ownself - No checks and balances, usually within a corporate setting
Ownself Check Ownself - No checks and balances, usually within a corporate setting
Pattern more than badminton - Bad or underhanded behaviour, pattern refers to many different ways and tricks of fooling victims - Similar to Chut pattern
PCC / Pa Chew Cheng - [H] Fire handgun - Masturbate
Play Backside / Wash Backside / Wash Backside Clean Clean - Anal sex, can indicate becoming a gay prostitute
PCC / Pa Chew Cheng - [H] Fire handgun - Masturbate
Play Backside / Wash Backside / Wash Backside Clean Clean - Anal sex, can indicate becoming a gay prostitute
Pok Kai
Run Road
See See Look Look
Sell Backside - Become a gay prostitute - e.g. If I get fired, then no choice go sell backside lor - Similar to Play Backside
Shoot Warm Barley - Ejaculate, Origin: Semen looks similar to barley drink, a common beverage in SG
Show Half Ball - Refers to a girl wearing a low cut top, essentially revealing half a ball's worth of breasts (quarter on each boob)
Song Song Gao Jurong / Song Song Gao Joolong - [H] Happy until go Jurong, meaning very happy or delighted - Jurong is just there for the rhyme, sometimes purposely mispronounced as Joo-long
Song Song Gao Jurong / Song Song Gao Joolong - [H] Happy until go Jurong, meaning very happy or delighted - Jurong is just there for the rhyme, sometimes purposely mispronounced as Joo-long
Steady / Steady Pom Pi Pi / Steady Bom Pi Pi - [H] Calm and levelheaded, or can indicate approval
Stir Shit / Shit Stirrer - Create trouble, troublemaker - e.g. Everybody trying to forget this, yet you must come out today and stir shit
Stun Like Vegetable - Shocked
Stylo Milo - Stylish person - Origin: Milo is a popular Singapore chocolate malt drink which rhymes with stylo
Taichi / Taichi Master - Martial arts, but meant to mean deflecting or pushing work/responsibilities away - e.g. He kena arrowed for this task, but he try to taichi away to his colleague
Talk Dragon Talk Phoenix - Talking rubbish and exaggerating until akin to conjouring a dragon and phoenix from thin air
Tan Ku Ku
Talk Cock Sing Song Play Mahjong
Tan Ku Ku
Talk Cock Sing Song Play Mahjong
Up Lorry / Steady Steady Up The Lorry - Die - Possible Origins: When the Japanese purged the Chinese population during WWII, they loaded the condemned men on lorries to send to obscure places to be executed, OR In the late 1960s to 1980s, Singapore was not so rich and the dead were loaded on to lorries for transport to crematoriums instead of hearses
Vomit Blood - Terrible - e.g. Boss keep making me work OT this whole week, really can vomit blood
Wait Long Long - Not going to happen - e.g. You think CEO price going to drop back to $70,000, wait long long lah!
Wake Up Your Idea - Stop fantasising and get back to reality
Walk With Wind - Have a proud or confident aura - e.g. I heard Sam just hooked up with some Hong Kong actress, that why everyday see him walk with wind
Wayang - [M] Theatre or play, now referred to as putting up an act - e.g. When the big boss fly down from USA, all the staff here all quickly wayang
Where Got
Yaya Papaya - [M] An arrogant person, papaya was added for the rhyming effect
Your Head / Your Mother - Similar to saying Idiot, Wrong, Stupid - 1st Gen
Zhuo Hua Ping - Be a flower vase - Decorative only but no substance; a pretty dumbass
Walk With Wind - Have a proud or confident aura - e.g. I heard Sam just hooked up with some Hong Kong actress, that why everyday see him walk with wind
Wayang - [M] Theatre or play, now referred to as putting up an act - e.g. When the big boss fly down from USA, all the staff here all quickly wayang
Where Got
Yaya Papaya - [M] An arrogant person, papaya was added for the rhyming effect
Your Head / Your Mother - Similar to saying Idiot, Wrong, Stupid - 1st Gen
Zhuo Hua Ping - Be a flower vase - Decorative only but no substance; a pretty dumbass
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