Test Your Malaysian and Singaporean Slang!

by Athirah Sofea

With Malaysia and Singapore being multicultural countries, we’ve developed our colloquial language, a unique blend of slang and various words pulled from different vernaculars. Although these slangs can be incomprehensible, they are commonly used and understood by locals and tend to be spoken in informal situations with friends and family.

Created on March 30, 2023 By

Athirah

Test Your Malaysian and Singaporean Slang!

To start your journey into this innovative language, test yourself with some of the commonly used slang terms.

1 / 10

What is the term for ‘pretty lady’ that comes from a Cantonese word?

Leng Chai

Amoi

Leng Lui

Ang Moh

2 / 10

‘Kiasu’ is a Hokkien term used for people who have a fiercely competitive spirit, and usually in a negative manner. Which situation below best represent the term ‘kiasu’?

Isaac: Our coach departs at 9:00 am, so I suggest that we should leave the house at 6:00 am, Dominic: 6:00 am is a bit too early. The coach is 15 minutes away! Don’t be so kiasu!

“Marion walked up the escalator at the MRT station to be the first person to enter the train. How kiasu of her.”

“Those kiasu aunties pushed through the crowd for the free goodies.”

All the above

3 / 10

“You are traveling to Japan together? Bo jio!”

When do you use the term ‘bo jio’?

When you find it boring

When you are not invited

You are not interested to be part of the plan

To ask them to have fun

4 / 10

“I have a lot on my plate, and I need to submit this by end of the day. I don’t think I can go out for lunch. Can you _____ for me?”

dabao

shiok

agak-agak

chope

5 / 10

“I’m going to town this weekend. No plans on what I will be doing but I will lepak with my best friend.”
‘Lepak’ means to just chill or to loiter around aimlessly.

True

False

6 / 10

“Karen is so kepoh , she’s always asking very personal questions at work!”
What is the meaning of ‘kepoh’?

Unconcerned

Generous

Selfish

Busybody

7 / 10

“Jo agreed to join our football match this week, but now he is not even answering our call. He better not _____.”

Siao

Go out

FFK

Cincai

8 / 10

Emily: “Oh Paul, we just missed our turn. Can you gostan and turn in again?”
Paul: “No we can’t, you think your grandfather’s road ah? We must abide by the traffic rules!”
What is the meaning of ‘gostan’?

Make a u-turn

Move forward

To reverse

To go in circles

9 / 10

“I was supposed to eat clean for the next 2 weeks, but Chris sabo my diet and invited me to have Char Kuey Teow with him.”
What is the meaning of ‘sabo’?

To support

To give an idea

To ease the process

To jeopardize the plan

10 / 10

"Tony is so atas, his house is on the 10th floor of that flat.”
Answer true or false whether the term ‘atas’ in the statement above is being used correctly.