new ideas...

Dear Folks,

the week has been unfolding at light speed and for a moment at times, it feels like nothing makes sense. But luckily, I have this new mission to try and capture as many "singaporean slangs" as possible in this blog. This week's gems:-

simi wah gko : what's up now, what is the matter ?

dteo beh bpio : literally "strike horse lottery" , i.e strike the lottery

bhuay tahan : as Singaporeans will say " can't stand it no more la" , i.e you are already at your limit.

bhuay gahm wan : feel unjustified, sore about an injustice done to them.

orbbhid : pronounced as you would say "morbid", used to denote fashion tastes that is outdated/too outlandish for current trends / tastes.

manjah : Malay origins, attention seeking

Boh chjap : aloof , in state of apathy, couldn't care less.

ok that's all for today.. until more slangs come my way.. tata for now.

"stressed out" slangs

today was a tough day at work but glad the day is almost over. time for some fun and destressing with more "slangs" update in this blog.


wa lau eh : exclamation uttered in moments of disbelief

tdak boleh dtahan :from malay origins, i.e "I can't take this shit anymore"

jjiak ka gki : literally eat yourself; i.e yresign to your fate, you have no one to depend on but yourself.

mai sian : don't bluff !

jjia hohng : literally eat wind, i.e go for a holiday

lagi : malay origins, used when you want to denote "more" or used to emphasise something.

hmmm thats all for now, work awaits at my "orh peed" ( twang slang for office )tomolo (tomorrow). and its just Monday for goodness sake... TGMG (thank goodness monday's gone).

i shall stop here for now and leave you to your imagination.... until my next post where more slangs come my way... adios nachos! keke

gohngsimi @ work

what are the most common slangs we use in the workplace you might ask.. for the overworked front line staff there is bound to be a slang or two used to good effect in daily grouses about work and your superiors. with influences from a short course i took in conversational korean, i have taken the liberty to add my version of intonation to the dialect slangs. "gk" denotes a stronger "g" sound with a tinge of "k", "kk" denotes a stronger "k" sound than usual. Some subtle inflections can't be reflected in accuracy here but if you have suggestions on how to better reflect the subtle nuances in the common dialects featured here, pls feel free to share your tips.


I have earnestly attempted to clarify and explain some of the common slangs i have heard so far, i don't claim for them to be complete so feel free to suggest a better explanation if you think of something better : -

- bao gka liao (a.k.a bao swahh bao hai): responsible for everything under the sun at work which translates to a job description out of your control to the point of infinity.

- kkio sai : literally picking up shit, i.e cleaning up another's unfavourable mess

- chope seng ah : reserve a seat / place first

- kanasai : an exclamation in instances where crap jobs are being forced upon oneself or when injustice is served.

- ggiam chye miah : literally salted vegetable life, i.e a life destined to slog.

- boh liaoh : when referring to someone who is spouting nonsense, non related subject.

- boh liao : in this lower intonation for "liao",the meaning changes to not having the adequate skills to perform in the job

- sah kah : someone who knows how to curry favor or lick their boss' boots

- jjia gan dahng : in hokkien meaning eat potato, i.e educated with western teachings.

- "yah yah papaya" : used to denote a person who has an arrogant air about them, something like that of an aristocrat.

- jjia zhua : literally eat snake , i.e skive,unofficial time out during working hours

- boh lahng zai : in hokkien translates to "nobody knows".usually used to punctuate an act of "jjia zhua" thinking that nobody knows their unofficial escapades.

- ccao gehng : person who is brilliant at coming up with ways on how to avoid additional jobs/ tasks being delegated to them or always not around when they are most needed.

that's all for today. this list will continually be updated whenever new phrases are discovered or brought to my attention.

de gohng si mi ( wat u say ah) Globlish explained...

this is the first post of what may be a string of hilarious definitions to the local slang (mainly malay, hokkien, cantonese for now)rampantly used in everyday singapore language. i will earnestly attempt and hopefully be able to explain in simple english terms (with maybe a sprinkling of references using other asian languages where applicable) to expound on the various slangs we adopt and domesticate to our convenience unconsciously while speaking to our friends and colleagues day in day out! living in multi-racial singapore definintely has its plus points and the fusion of different languages is just about one of the more beautiful and interesting things to make locals feel more at home. think of it as adding extra "oomph" to what we are trying to express in words.

you are most welcome to contribute your common slang and any new slang / term that might have evolved out of your day to day conversations with your kakis (friends)!


with warmest regards
Gohngsimi-fully yours

gohngsimi-cian (read as you will magician)