Last Updated on 2016-06-23 , 12:28 pm
Remember those days when you and your class/school mates would fling phrases at each other to convey what you intended to do or thought about doing?
For example, if you got into an argument with your friend, you would say something like “I don’t want to friend you liao!”.
If this has started to bring back a flood of memories, here are 10 phrases that’re going to be even more nostalgic (including the one above).
“Don’t friend you liao!”
As above, this phrase means that you don’t wish to be friends with the person in question any longer and usually comes after a petty argument or if the other person does something you didn’t like or got you into trouble. Technically, it’s supposed to be said as “I dowan to friend you anymore!” There, Singlish at its finest.
“Orbi good”
I think most of us still use this phrase even if we are mostly in our 30s by now (don’t try to hide your age 90s kids!). This basically means serves you right when someone does something that they shouldn’t have done.
Many parents use this on their kids and if you haven’t been well initiated in the world of Singlish, just hang around any neighbourhood or mall in Singapore and listen in on what local parents say when their kids fall down or hurt themselves (in a non-serious way).
You may just catch them saying this in this way “Ah orbi la! Orbi!” The “good” is negligible.
“Copy cat, kiss the rat, go home let your mother slap”
Funnily enough, this just means that you are a copy cat and that your mother will punish you if she finds out, which usually means when you go home after school.
This phrase doesn’t stop here by the way. It goes on to say “Sister say nevermind, father say go and die”. Yes, kids can be cruel.
“Neh neh ni poo poo”
Usually used when you and your friends play “catching”. And yes, “catching” is a legitimate game where you and your friends, well, chase each other and try to catch one another.
The person who gets caught becomes the chaser. You say “Neh neh ni poo poo” while putting your thumbs pointed towards your cheeks and the rest of your fingers flared up and waving them like you are saying come here, and of course, with all Singlish phrases, it doesn’t end at “boo”. The rest of the phrase is “you cannot catch me!”
Hey, we say this during a game of “catching”!
“Abuden”
This ‘word’ is (surprise surprise), derived from the Hokkien words “ah boh” that means “of course”. It slowly got simplified by us to end up as “abuden”. Usually used to retort to a silly question, this is widely used by Singaporeans and finished with a look of “are you serious?”
“Chicken feet”
“Aiya the English exam chicken feet la!” How many of us have said this or heard this phrase before in school? It’s used to describe an activity or situation being easy to solve or do but sometimes, we use it in a sarcastic manner even when we know it’s not as easy to do as many thinks. “This maths question chicken feet la! Even Einstein also cannot solve.”
“Stylo milo”
Honestly, we seldom add in the milo at the end but sometimes we do. And we end it off with a “sia” to make it sound more…flowing? This was, and still is, used to describe a very stylish and probably good-looking person.
“Han nah han nah!”
Remember using this on your mother when she tried to tell you again and again to do your homework? It just means “Yes I understand. Stop nagging!” But of course as kids, we manage to shorten the entire phrase to just two syllables, multiplied by two. “Han nah han nah, still got two more phrases la!”
“So cheem”
Typical comment after examinations, “cheem” means super difficult and deep. This phrase was, and still is, used to describe a tough theoretical test or a very deep thought from a friend. And if there was a whole theory that was super deep, we call it “cheemalogy”. Get it?
“Ponteng class”
As students, we all had those days when we preferred to stay home to watch cartoons and slack. We would try to fake illness to see if we could convince our mother if we could get away with it, only for her to say “Eh, you don’t try and pretend to be sick and ponteng school ah!”
Ponteng means to skip class/school/work but not with a legitimate reason. And talking about skipping, we call it “chao keng” but that’s a story for another time.
Top Image: imtmphoto / Shutterstock.com
This article was first published on goodyfeed.com
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