Singaporean Mandarin Database

This database contains a collection of Mandarin terms which have cultural, historical or sentimental value unique to Singapore. These terms may be used by Singaporeans in the past or at present. Some of the terms are read in print while others are used in our everyday conversations.

shēng huó
Speech
插车
chā chē
forklift
吃风
chī fēng
to travel or have a vacation overseas (colloquially known as jiak hong)
吃蛇
chī shé
skiving off (colloquially known as jiak tsua)
冲凉
chōng liáng
to take a shower
臭酸
chòu suān
rotten smell (colloquially known as cao sng)
打包
dă bāo
takeaway
打底
dǎ dĭ
at least
打书
dǎ shū
to promote a new book
调头
diào tóu
to make a U-turn
顶限
dǐng xiàn
limit
放电
fàng diàn
to mesmerize
敢敢
gǎn gǎn
daringly and boldy
搞掂
gǎo diān
to get something done (colloquially known as gao dim)
割车
gē chē
overtake
公司
gōng sī
clan associations or organisations (colloquially known as kong see))
固打
gù dǎ
quota
好彩
hǎo cǎi
luckily
好命
hǎo mìng
to have a good life
红色炸弹
hóng sè zhà dàn
wedding invitation
huán
to pay