9 'sounds' Singaporeans use but probably have no idea where they come from

'He stressed until his head chibabom already.'

Jonathan Lim| August 12, 02:35 PM

Although Singlish is known to borrow words from Malay, Chinese, Tamil and English, there are some words or 'sounds' we use that can't be found in any dictionaries.

But these words are so pervasive in our everyday language use that we really should figure out where they actually come from.

Any readers have any ideas?

1.Neh

 

2.nor

 

3.nah

Some people say this one originates from the Chinese word 拿 which means 'take'.

 

4.duu

Before Facebook poking came along, there was 'duu'.

As in 'Don't make me hor! I duu you then you know!'

 

5. doo

This is the slightly cuter version of 'Neh' and 'Nor'. Could it have evolved from the Malay word 'itu'?

 

6. bingbing biangbiang

 

7. pompom

 

8.

'Boom' is understandable for an explosion. But how it evolved into 'chibabom' in Singlish will remain a mystery unless someone explains it. And of course there is an alternate version of this word - Terbabom.

 

9.piak

It can be used as onomatopoeia (words that imitate the sounds they read like) or, here, as a verb for slapping.

In recent times, when you say 'piak piak' instead, it means something that happens in the bedroom. If you know what I mean.

 

If you love Singapore's unique use of language, you'd like these:

16 terms that are gibberish in English but have rich meaning in Singlish

17 Singlish words that offer so much more than their English equivalents

 

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