Singlish for making friends
New to Singapore, or just new to making friends here? These are the words you’ll hear when someone wants to be your kaki.
- Kaki · KAH-kee
- A friend or companion you do something with. Makan kaki, kopi kaki, gym kaki, mahjong kaki.“He's my badminton kaki every Wednesday.”
- Makan · MAH-kahn
- Malay for eat or food. A makan kaki is your food buddy.“Want to go makan after work?”
- Kopi · KOH-pee
- Local coffee, usually from a kopitiam. Kopi O is black with sugar, kopi C has evaporated milk, kopi kosong has no sugar.“Kopi at the usual place, 9am?”
- Kopitiam · koh-pee-TIAM
- A traditional coffee shop with drinks and food stalls. The easiest first meet-up in Singapore.“Let's meet at the kopitiam near the MRT.”
- Chope · CHOHP
- To reserve a seat, usually with a tissue packet on the table at a hawker centre.“I'll chope a table, you queue for the chicken rice.”
- Lepak · leh-PAHK
- To hang out and relax with no particular plan.“Just lepak at East Coast this Sunday?”
- Jio · JEE-oh
- Hokkien for invite. "Never jio" is the classic complaint about being left out.“Why you never jio me?”
- Paiseh · PIE-seh
- Hokkien for embarrassed or sorry, used for small apologies.“Paiseh, running ten minutes late!”
- Shiok · SHEE-ok
- Wonderful, very satisfying. Often about food.“That laksa was shiok.”
- Can or not?
- Is that possible? Will that work? Answer: can, cannot, or can lah.“Saturday 10am, can or not?”
- Lah, leh, lor
- Sentence endings that soften or add tone. Lah reassures, leh pleads a little, lor shrugs.“Come lah, it'll be fun.”
- Hawker centre
- An open-air food centre with many stalls. UNESCO-listed culture and the heart of making friends over food.“Maxwell or Lau Pa Sat?”
- CCA
- Co-curricular activity. Adults use it jokingly for any regular hobby group.“Running is my adult CCA.”
- Atas · AH-tahs
- Fancy or upmarket, sometimes teasing.“This café a bit atas, but the cake is good.”
- 搭子 (dazi) · DAH-zuh
- Mandarin for a buddy for one specific activity: a meal dazi, gym dazi or travel dazi. Close to kaki.“我在找饭搭子 (I'm looking for a meal buddy).”