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.
Bukit Brown (colloquially known as kopi sua)
Bukit Brown (colloquially known as kopi sua)
释义
名词
- 武吉布朗（Bukit Brown）一带几座旧坟场的统称，位于新加坡中部的山丘地段。
- 快乐山坟场（Mount Pleasant Cemetery）的俗称，位于现今快乐山路（Mount Pleasant Road）和泛岛快速公路（Pan-Island Expressway）支路一带。
DEFINITION
Noun
- The collective name of several old cemeteries around Bukit Brown, located in a hilly area in central Singapore.
- The colloquial name of Mount Pleasant Cemetery, located between Mount Pleasant Road and the Pan-Island Expressway slip road.
由来
- 咖啡山实际上仅为武吉布朗的一部分，其他的坟山包括武吉布朗公坟、老山坟场及王氏家族公坟（俗称“姓王山”）等，总面积约160公顷，有200,000座坟墓，包括许多本地华社先贤的坟墓。武吉布朗曾是中国境外最大的华人墓区。后来，武吉布朗一带的坟场都统称为“咖啡山”（kopi sua）。
- 武吉布朗以一名英国船主乔治•亨利•布朗（George Henry Brown）命名。他在1840年来到新加坡后，买下汤申路（Thomson Road）一带的一大片土地，并命名为“快乐山”。布朗逝世后，这片土地辗转卖给三位福建籍的王姓华社先贤——王有海、王九河及王沧周，并开辟为坟地。
- 有关咖啡山的俗称有两种说法。第一是因为布朗曾尝试在这片土地种植咖啡等植物，因此称为“咖啡山”。第二则是因为布朗居住的地段称为布朗山（Brown's Hill），而由于华人方言里没有“brown”对应的词语，因此便以咖啡色（“brown”在英文里也指褐色）作为代指。
ETYMOLOGY
- Kopi sua technically only refers to one part of the larger “Bukit Brown” cemetery area, namely Mount Pleasant Cemetery. Other cemeteries in the area include the Bukit Brown Municipal Cemetery, the Old Cemetery, and the Ong Family Complex (colloquially known as Seh Ong Cemetery). Spread across a total area of about 160 hectares were some 200,000 graves, including those of many notable Chinese pioneers. Bukit Brown was once the largest ethnic Chinese cemetery outside China. Later, the cemeteries in the Bukit Brown area came to be known collectively called kopi sua.
- Bukit Brown is named after George Henry Brown, an English shipowner. After arriving in Singapore in 1840, Brown bought a large piece of land in the Thomson Road area and named it Mount Pleasant. After his death, the land was sold to three Hokkien businessmen surnamed Ong, namely Ong Ewe Hai, Ong Kew Ho and Ong Chong Chew. The land was then cleared to be used as a cemetery.
- Kopi sua means “coffee hill” in Singaporean Hokkien, and is believed to be so named because Brown tried to grow coffee and other plants there. Another explanation that has been posited is that the area was known in English as Brown’s Hill, but as there was no direct translation for “brown” in Hokkien, the hill came to be referred to by the colour of coffee.
例句
坐落在前警察学院地段的新组屋区，经环境影响研究后调整了原有的道路规划，避开毗邻的咖啡山坟场以及武吉布朗周边的绿地。（《联合早报》， 24/11/2021）
SAMPLE SENTENCE
After the environmental impact study, the roads in the planned housing estate in the Old Police Academy area were rerouted to avoid Bukit Brown cemetery and the surrounding forested areas. (Lianhe Zaobao, 24/11/2021)