Singlish

Singapore English

Germanic

FamilyGermanic Speakers~3.4M ScriptLatin CountriesSingapore Official inSingapore (Standard English is co-official) Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3eng

Singapore English (Singlish, Standard Singapore English / SSE) is the variety of English in Singapore, with ~3.4M speakers across two registers: Standard Singapore English (formal, intelligible globally) and Singlish (basilectal, distinct grammar with Hokkien/Malay/Tamil substrate features). Singlish features: utterance-final particles (lah/leh/lor/meh), zero copula, topic-prominence. Government discourages Singlish in formal use; widely embraced as cultural identity.

Where it is spoken

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87 core words in Singapore English

Water

water

ˈwɔːtə

Fire

fire

fajə

Sun

sun

san

Moon

moon

muːn

Star

star

staː

Night

night

naɪt

Rain

rain

reːn

Snow

snow

snoʊ

Wind

wind

wɪnd

Earth

earth

ɜːt

Stone

stone

stoːn

Mountain

mountain

ˈmaʊntɪn

Sea

sea

siː

Mother

mother

ˈmadə

Father

father

ˈfadə

Daughter

daughter

ˈdɔːtə

I

I

aɪ

You

you

ju

We

we

wi

Name

name

nem

Person

person

ˈpɜːsən

Head

head

hɛd

Eye

eye

aɪ

Ear

ear

iə

Nose

nose

noʊs

Mouth

mouth

maʊt

Tooth

tooth

tuːt

Tongue

tongue

tʌŋ

Hand

hand

hɛn

Foot

foot

fʊt

Heart

heart

hat

Bone

bone

boːn

Blood

blood

blʌd

Poop

poop

puːp

Love

love

laf

Tree

tree

tɹiː

Dog

dog

dɔk

Cat

cat

kɛt

Fish

fish

fɪʃ

Bird

bird

bɜːd

Butterfly

butterfly

ˈbatəflaɪ

Egg

egg

ɛɡ

Bear

bear

bɛə

Horse

horse

hɔs

House

house

haʊs

Milk

milk

mɪlk

Honey

honey

ˈhʌni

Salt

salt

sɔlt

Wine

wine

waɪn

Rice

rice

ɹaɪs

Chocolate

chocolate

ˈtʃɔklət

Iron

iron

ˈajən

Wheel

wheel

wiːl

Silk

silk

sɪlk

Book

book

bʊk

Eat

eat

iːt

Drink

drink

dɹɪŋk

Sleep

sleep

sliːp

One

one

wan

Two

two

tu

Three

three

tɹiː

Four

four

fɔː

Five

five

faɪv

Hundred

hundred

ˈhʌndɹəd

Hello

hello lah

hɛlo lɑː

Thank you

thanks

tɛŋks

Good

good

ɡʊt

New

new

nju

Red

red

ɹɛd

White

white

waɪt

Black

black

blɛk

Green

green

ɡɹiːn

Blue

blue

blu

Cuckoo

cuckoo

ˈkʊkuː

Woof

woof

wʊf

Cock-a-doodle-doo

cock-a-doodle-doo

ˌkɔkəduːdlˈduː

Computer

computer

kɔmˈpjutə

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi

ˈwaɪfaɪ

Sushi

sushi

ˈsuʃi

Tea

tea

tiː

Coffee

coffee

ˈkɔfi

Sugar

sugar

ˈʃʊɡə

Orange

orange

ˈɔrɪndʒ

Ninety-nine

ninety-nine

ˈnaɪnti ˈnaɪn

Dopamine

dopamine

ˈdəʊpəmiːn

At sign

at

ɛt

Sources

Words compared

Compared with languages in the same classification: Germanic

Meaning Singapore EnglishMalaysian EnglishNigerian EnglishGhanaian EnglishKenyan EnglishWelsh EnglishPhilippine English
Water water /ˈwɔːtə/ water /ˈwɔːtə/ water /ˈwɔːtə/ water /ˈwɔːtə/ water /ˈwɔːtə/ water /ˈwɔːtə/ water /ˈwɔtɚ/
Fire fire /fajə/ fire /faɪə/ fire /faɪə/ fire /faɪə/ fire /faɪə/ fire /faɪə/ fire /faɪɚ/
Sun sun /san/ sun /san/ sun /sɔn/ sun /sʌn/ sun /sʌn/ sun /sʌn/ sun /sʌn/
Moon moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/
Star star /staː/ star /staː/ star /staː/ star /staː/ star /staː/ star /staː/ star /stɑr/
Night night /naɪt/ night /naɪt/ night /naɪt/ night /naɪt/ night /naɪt/ night /naɪt/ night /naɪt/
Rain rain /reːn/ rain /ɹeːn/ rain /ɹeːn/ rain /ɹeːn/ rain /ɹeːn/ rain /ɾeɪn/ rain /ɹeɪn/
Snow snow /snoʊ/ snow /snoː/ snow /snoː/ snow /snoː/ snow /snoː/ snow /snoʊ/ snow /snoʊ/
Page 1/11

Word order compared

Compare with major world languages

I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Ich möchte einen Anzug anprobieren den ich in einem Geschäft gegenüber vom Hotel gesehen habe
Singapore English
I want try the suit I saw at the shop opposite the hotel
मैं होटल के सामने एक दुकान में देखा सूट को पहनकर देखना चाहता हूँ
私は ホテルの 向かいの お店 で 見た スーツを 試着 したいです
我 想 试穿 酒店 对面的 商店 里 看到的 那套西装
أنا أريد أن أجرب بدلة رأيتها في محل مقابل الفندق
Я хочу примерить костюм который я увидел в магазине напротив отеля

Compare with languages in the same classification

I wanna try on a suit I seen ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Ek wil 'n pak aanpas wat ek gesien het ‌in 'n winkel oorkant die hotel
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Jeg vil prøve et jakkesæt som jeg så i en butik overfor hotellet
Singapore English
I want try the suit I saw at the shop opposite the hotel

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