Singlish

Singlish is English with a Singaporean accent mixed with Malay, Hokkien (Chinese dialect), and Mandarin words. Grammar is optional. Sometimes subjects or verbs are missing. Here are some examples.

Example 1)

I ordered noodle soup with my favorite rice noodle, kway teow, for lunch one day. The guy answered:

Kway teow no more. Bee hoon can.

He meant that there is no more kway teow but he still has bee hoon.

Example 2)

When one of Wes' colleagues was looking for an apartment with a real estate agent, the agent told him:

Can also can, cannot also can.

This means it is OK (can) to accept (can) or to reject (cannot) the apartment. Singaporeans use the word can often. For instance, if you ask "Can you ..?", their response will be "Caaan!" for yes or "Can-not'" for no.

Example 3)

Excerpts from a random chat room.

"btw, wat happened to the guy just now?"
(English) "By the way, what happened to the guy just now?"

"dunno. aiyah, neber mind lah"
(English) "I don't know. Well, never mind."
(They add "lah" or "lor" at the end of the sentense often, but they do not seem to have any meaning.)

"fyi, I wun be here next week"
(English) "For your information, I will not be here next week."

"y leh? Then I sure veri lonely wan"
(English) "Why? For sure, I will be very lonely."

"how abt thurs?"
(English) "How about Thursday?"

"muz intro some frens to him"
(English) "I (You?) must introduce some (female?) friends to him."

"wah lao, u should knoe"
(English) "Hey! You should know what I mean."
(wah lao is an exclamation.)

"tomolo, I'm going to catch runaway bride"
(English) "I am going to see Runaway Bride tomorrow."

"neber jio"
(English) "Why didn't you ask me along?"

"u got lessons mah"
(English) "I thought you had classes."

"can skip 1 wat"
(English) "I can skip one class."

Example 4

The e-mail from a coworker.

Haloo sir.... this email hv been sent loa gu liao???? pls refer to the latest email. CUN BO???????? everytime say say 1 n end out never turn up.... hey P; make sure you turn up this time... ons 31/7/99 next Saturday... no x-cuse okiee... n pls invite more G!!!.... haahahahahh... C U there......

(English) Hello sir. This mail has been sent quite a while ago?? Please refer to the latest mail. Are you sure? Everytime you promise something, you end up not showing up. Hey P, make sure you show up this time. It will be on next Saturday July 31, 1999. No excuse, OK? And please invite more girls!! Hahahaha. See you there.

Wa lau, u waiting belly long for the 'B' issit??? Ok, here comes the 'B' esp for U!!! I think u deserve it ... no need to thanx me *-). Organise pub u say not "gum" u ... then organise seafood and bowling u oso not "gum" meh???? u more picky then me hor ;-) this time u neber say yes, not oni me will "KNN" U!!!! ROFL!!!

(English) Hey! You are waiting very long for the 'B', aren't you? OK, here it comes. The 'B' especially for you!!! I think you deserve it. No need to thank me *-) If I organize to go to the pub, you say it does not suit you. If I organize to go to the seafood restaurant and the bowling, you still say it does not suit you. You are so picky. You will never say yes. I will not be the only one who will "KNN" you!!! ROFL (rolling on the floor laughing)!!!

The Singlish text is provided by Jimmy and Mark.