Singaporean words - pronounced differently to how it's spelt

Post by **x9200** » Sat, 21 Jul 2012 10:26 am

@sensei_, nakatako was joking.

Post by **sundaymorningstaple** » Sat, 21 Jul 2012 10:33 am

sensei_ wrote:
sundaymorningstaple wrote: Like that couple a few years back who wanted to go to Perth, Australia, but ended up in Perth, Scotland

Multiple names in different states/countries/even towns. But multiple names in the same city? No, I don't get lost easily. And I can understand your defense of naming two places with the same name but in different languages. I reckon imagination wasn't any better back then than it is now.

It's also VERY easy to wind you up, by the way. And you also know what they say about opinions....

Have a good weekend.

revhappy · Post by **revhappy** » Sat, 21 Jul 2012 1:42 pm

Some things that I got hold of while hanging out on local forums:

Wif instead of with. They actually write "wif"

e instead of the. I dont understand that one. For eg they write "I like e book"
They say "I ever went to this mall" they actually mean "I went to this mall sometime ago"

kanna. This one is used to mean screwed or something like that. Typical usage "I got kanna scolded at office today"

v4jr4 · Post by **v4jr4** » Sat, 21 Jul 2012 2:49 pm

revhappy wrote:kanna. This one is used to mean screwed or something like that. Typical usage "I got kanna scolded at office today"

I think it's an adaptation of the word "kena" which comes from Melayu (Bahasa). "Kena" means "get". But I'm not sure about the acronym "kns". Yes, I know what it means, but I don't know if it comes from Hokkian language

zzm9980 · Post by **zzm9980** » Sat, 21 Jul 2012 4:15 pm

Haha, I just read this a week or so ago. There is a whole piece in wikipedia about 'kena'.

Kena
Kena can be used as an auxiliary to mark the passive voice in some varieties of Singlish.[72]

It is derived from a Malay word that means "to encounter or to come into physical contact",[73] and is only used with objects that have a negative effect or connotation. Verbs after kena may appear in the infinitive form (i.e. without tense) or as a past participle. It is similar in meaning to passive markers in Chinese, such as Hokkien tio or Mandarin 被 bèi:
He was scolded. = He got scolded. = He kena scold/scolded.
If you don't listen to me, you will get punished, after which you will know that you were wrong = If u dun listen, later you get punished, and then you know = dun listen, later you kena punish/punished then you know.

Kena is not used with positive things:
*He kena praised.
*He kena lottery.
*He kena jackpot. (huge winnings from playing the slot machine)
Use of kena as in the above examples will not be understood, and may even be greeted with a confused reply: But strike lottery good wat! (But it's a good thing to win the lottery!).

It may be used in vulgar, obscene and offensive contexts[dubious – discuss], such as:
He kena f--ked in the Singtel share buyout. (lost large amounts of money)
He kena defamation imprisonment. (Imprisoned as a result of defamation proceedings)

However, when used in sarcasm, kena can be used in apparently positive circumstances, though this is considered grammatically incorrect by the true natives of Singapore. It is mostly incorrectly used by European expatriates or Hong Kong and Mainlanders trying to integrate and assimilate into Singapore society[dubious – discuss], though with an ironic modicum of success, for example:
He kena jackpot, come back to school after so long den got so much homework! (He received a lot of homework upon returning to school after a long absence.)

When the context is given, Kena may be used without a verb, similar to the colloquial-English construction "I am/you're/he is going to get it."
Better clean the room, otherwise you kena. (You will be punished if you don't tidy the room.)
Dun listen to me, later you kena.

Using another auxiliary verb with kena is perfectly acceptable as well:
Better clean the room, otherwise you will kena.
Dun listen to me, later you will kena.

Some examples of Singlish phrases with Kena:
kena arrow: be assigned an undesirable task. (derives from National Service/military practice of placing arrows on a name list to denote those responsible for a task)
kena bully: get bullied
kena fine: get 'fined', or charged by the police
kena hantam: be hit by something, such as a ball, or to be beaten up (hantam is another Malay word)
kena sabo: become a victim of sabotage or a practical joke
kena sai: literally "hit by shit"; be harmed by an unpleasant event or object
kena tekan: tekan means "press", as in "pressure", in Malay; the phrase means to be physically tortured or punished. Often used in the army, which all male citizens must serve in.
kena whack: be beaten badly, in games or in physical fights
kena ban/silence: one of the newer uses of kena, it means to be banned/silenced in a computer game. The "silence" is only used when silenced from talking in chat by GMs (Game Masters), not having the "silence" effect that stops you from doing spells.
kena zero: getting a zero mark for that paper that he/she was cheating

The word is many a times phonetically mispronounced "kana" by most non-Malays, especially those of the Chinese tongue. Informal Malay will socio-linguistically dictate it be pronounced as kene (as in kernel without the r and l), while the word itself in reality has two different meanings; "to have (to) encounter(ed) something" as how it is explained above or "to have to (do something)":
"Kau kena angkat ni." – You have to carry this.
"Joe kena marah tadi." – Joe just got scolded.
Singlish, however, is only influenced by the latter application of the word.

Last part underlined and bolded by me, relevant to Revhappy's post above :p

therat · Post by **therat** » Sat, 21 Jul 2012 4:18 pm

KNS is kena sai

kena is Malay mean get
sai is Hockkien mean shit.

Depend how you use KNS.
eg..
if your friend ask you how is your new job.
You reply KNS

Mean.. like shit

eg2.
Someone ask you.. how is the new colleague working attitude
Reply: KNS
mean.. suck

*He kena lottery.
*He kena jackpot. (huge winnings from playing the slot machine)

Above 2 cannot use kena. Must be tio

he tio lottery
he tio jackpot

zzm9980 · Post by **zzm9980** » Sat, 21 Jul 2012 4:21 pm

therat wrote:KNS is kena sai

kena is Malay mean get
sai is Hockkien mean shit.

Depend how you use KNS.
eg..
if your friend ask you how is your new job.
You reply KNS

Mean.. like shit

*He kena lottery.
*He kena jackpot. (huge winnings from playing the slot machine)

Above 2 cannot use kena. Must be tio

he tio lottery
he tio jackpot

kena sai: literally "hit by shit"; be harmed by an unpleasant event or object

Read the post. The article used those as examples of how you can't use 'kena'

Kena is not used with positive things:
*He kena praised.
*He kena lottery.
*He kena jackpot. (huge winnings from playing the slot machine)
Use of kena as in the above examples will not be understood, and may even be greeted with a confused reply: But strike lottery good wat! (But it's a good thing to win the lottery!).

The whole article, quite entertaining:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singlish

therat · Post by **therat** » Sat, 21 Jul 2012 4:27 pm

zzm9980, I'm local.

I know what is KNS.

As I say early.. depend how you use
can be hit by shit
like shit
suck

basically simple word is suck or something not good. cannot make it.

zzm9980 · Post by **zzm9980** » Sat, 21 Jul 2012 4:29 pm

therat wrote:zzm9980, I'm local.

I know what is KNS.

Sorry, wasn't implying you were wrong, was just doing that because we posted it at almost the same exact time.

Although, I guess that explains why you didn't see the disclaimers directly above and below those positive uses of 'kena' you called out

(joking, relax)

v4jr4 · Post by **v4jr4** » Sat, 21 Jul 2012 5:27 pm

How about "jio" then? Is it something like "treat"?
For example, "Let me jio you beer." = "Let me treat you beer."

JR8 · Post by **JR8** » Sat, 21 Jul 2012 7:39 pm

sensei_ wrote: You dont happen to be those who get lost because there are places with the same name in multiple places? Like that couple a few years back who wanted to go to Perth, Australia, but ended up in Perth, Scotland

Whoosh!!!

the lynx · Post by **the lynx** » Sat, 21 Jul 2012 8:11 pm

I'm not sure about the explanation for KNS.

In Hokkien, kanna (not kena) mean 'just' or 'only', like for example:

E: it is just two dollars.
H: kanna neng koh.

So KNS is used to describe how simply bad the object in question is, like 'it was just crap'.

For the other poster, 'jio' means 'to invite'.

A: I went to the Gardens by the Bay.
B: Bo jio! (how come you didn't ask/invite me to join you?!)

Or 'Hey, come to my house for BBQ this weekend. I jio you.'

v4jr4 · Post by **v4jr4** » Sat, 21 Jul 2012 8:56 pm

I think I have to be careful with this "jio". Not to mention "pang jio"

therat · Post by **therat** » Sun, 22 Jul 2012 12:12 am

v4jr4 wrote:How about "jio" then? Is it something like "treat"?
For example, "Let me jio you beer." = "Let me treat you beer."

jio is asking.

Like
English: You go party last night. Why never invite me.
Local: wah liao,u go party last night. never jio wo.

your example
English: Let me treat you beer.
Local: I "plant-cha" you beer

therat · Post by **therat** » Sun, 22 Jul 2012 12:15 am

v4jr4 wrote:I think I have to be careful with this "jio". Not to mention "pang jio"

Pang jio is pass urine.

This is hockkien

In Singapore, we expose to alot of dialect and language. Hence we cross using the dialect and language very offen.

Eg..
If you order Lipton Tea in coffee shop.
In local coffee shop term, it was call as "fishing"
During our grandparent time, not everyone know English or educated. So.. they invented word base on what they saw.

"Fishing" b'coz of the action of making a Lipton Tea.

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Singaporean words - pronounced differently to how it's spelt

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