Singlish Meaning and Explanation
Lah/Leh/Mah Singaporeans like to add these words as a suffix to their sentence as a way to add emphasis.
Example: “You want to make a sponge cake? It is not that difficult lah, just follow the recipe..”
Siao Crazy/Insane. Used as a sarcastic reply when someone says they’re going to do an impossible task or does something stupid.
Example: “You ate five hamburgers and one whole fried chicken?! You siao?”
Blur A person who is confused or slow.
Example: “You got lost again? Why are you so blur?
Can Yes, or okay.
Example: A: “Can I eat the chocolate in the fridge?” B: “Can, can.” A: “Can we have dinner at 6pm?” B: “Can.”
Sian Bored or fed up.
Example: “The queue for the taxi is so long! So sian!”

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Q & A
Vocabulary
맛집영어 온라인 화상영어 교재 구분 이미지

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  • Singlish Meaning and Explanation
    Lah/Leh/Mah Singaporeans like to add these words as a suffix to their sentence as a way to add emphasis.
    Example: “You want to make a sponge cake? It is not that difficult lah, just follow the recipe..”
    Siao Crazy/Insane. Used as a sarcastic reply when someone says they’re going to do an impossible task or does something stupid.
    Example: “You ate five hamburgers and one whole fried chicken?! You siao?”
    Blur A person who is confused or slow.
    Example: “You got lost again? Why are you so blur?
    Can Yes, or okay.
    Example: A: “Can I eat the chocolate in the fridge?” B: “Can, can.” A: “Can we have dinner at 6pm?” B: “Can.”
    Sian Bored or fed up.
    Example: “The queue for the taxi is so long! So sian!”
  • Singapore has four official languages- English, Mandarin, Malay, and Tamil. Malay is listed as the national language of Singapore for historical reasons, but English is the main language spoken. It is the language of the government, businesses, and the main working language. Every Singaporean is brought up speaking at least two languages - English and one of the other three official languages - depending on their ethnic group. English is the language that people from different ethnic groups use to communicate with each other. The English spoken in Singapore is also known as Singlish, a colloquial English spoken in Singapore.

Vocabulary Corner

official historical depending on ethnic communicate colloquial
맛집영어 온라인 화상영어 단어 voca 아이콘

단어를 선택해주세요.

공식적인
역사적인
~에 따라서
민족의
의사소통 하다
구어체의
Q & A
Vocabulary
Q. If you had to choose, which of the Singlish
terms
above would you like to try and why?
A. I think I would like to try ‘sian’ if I have the chance. It seems to be a word that we can use in all kinds of situations. In our busy lives in this modern world, a lot of things can cause us to lose our cool. People can cut us off on the road, bosses can be mean, our colleagues uncooperative, the printer not working, and many other things can get us frustrated if we let them. I think that one word, ‘sian’, can help me to express my frustrated feeling in all those situations without getting angry.
term situation cause mean colleague uncooperative frustrated express

단어를 선택해주세요.

용어
상황
일으키다, 유발하다
인색한
동료
협조적이지 않은
좌절감을 느끼는
표현하다

Useful expression

lose one's cool 흥분하다, 울컥 치밀다
  • After waiting for hours, I lost my cool. 몇 시간이나 기다린 후 난 흥분했다.
  • He started to lose his cool when they mentioned his daughter. 그들이 딸을 들먹이자 그는 흥분하기 시작했다.
  • They didn't lose their cool and played harder to fight back. 그들은 냉정함을 잃지 않았고 반격하려고 더욱 열심히 경기했어요.
mention

단어를 선택해주세요.

언급하다
official 공식적인
historical 역사적인
depending on ~에 따라서
ethnic 민족의
communicate 의사소통 하다
colloquial 구어체의
term 용어
situation 상황
cause 일으키다, 유발하다
mean 인색한
colleague 동료
uncooperative 협조적이지 않은
frustrated 좌절감을 느끼는
express 표현하다
mention 언급하다