My Singapore

This Singapore category is an archive of posts on Singapore. My home, my country, warts and all.

I am a true-blue Singaporean, born and bred here. It seems superfluous to say this but there are many foreigners in Singapore because Singapore welcomes them. Many of them are also Chinese.

Some people do not believe me when I tell them that I’m born in Singapore. They think I am from China because I can speak Mandarin fairly well. I guess I am a minority group in Singapore. We grew up listening to Chinese music, reading Chinese books and newspapers, and watching drama in Mandarin.

It is true that Singaporeans may or may not speak Mandarin well, but most of them understand it perfectly.

Most important of all, all of us can speak perfect Singlish. Do you know that…

Can + lah = Yes
Can + leh = Yes. Of course.
Can + lor = Yes. I think so.
Can + hah? = Are you sure?
Can + hor = Are you sure then?
Can + meh? = Are you certain?
Can + bo? = Can or not?
Can + can = Confirm
Can + gua = Should be okay
Can + liao = Already done
Can + wor = Yea
Can + liao lah! = Ok, enough!

That’s how you spot a true Singaporean. By our Singlish.

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