Singlish
English (Singapore)
Germanic
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
31 core words in English (Singapore)
Water
water
/ˈwɔːtə/
Fire
fire
/fajə/
Sun
sun
/san/
Moon
moon
/muːn/
Star
star
/staː/
Mother
mother
/ˈmadə/
Father
father
/ˈfadə/
I
I
/aɪ/
You
you
/ju/
Name
name
/nem/
Eye
eye
/aɪ/
Hand
hand
/hɛn/
Heart
heart
/hat/
Love
love
/laf/
Tree
tree
/tɹiː/
House
house
/haʊs/
Dog
dog
/dɔk/
Cat
cat
/kɛt/
Eat
eat
/iːt/
Drink
drink
/dɹɪŋk/
One
one
/wan/
Two
two
/tu/
Hello
hello lah
/hɛlo lɑː/
Thank you
thanks
/tɛŋks/
Good
good
/ɡʊt/
Cuckoo
cuckoo
/ˈkʊkuː/
Computer
computer
/kɔmˈpjutə/
Sushi
sushi
/ˈsuʃi/
At sign (@)
at
/ɛt/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Germanic languages
| Meaning | English (Singapore) | English (Malaysia) | English (Nigerian) | English (Kenyan) | English (Philippine) | English (Ghana) | English (Welsh) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | water /ˈwɔːtə/ | water /ˈwɔːtə/ | water /ˈwɔːtə/ | water /ˈwɑːtə/ | water /ˈwɔːtə/ | water /ˈwɔːtə/ | water /ˈwɔːtə/ |
| Fire | fire /fajə/ | fire /faɪə/ | fire /ˈfaɪə/ | fire /faɪə/ | fire /ˈfaɪə/ | fire /faɪə/ | fire /faɪə/ |
| Sun | sun /san/ | sun /san/ | sun /sʌn/ | 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 /sta/ | star /staː/ | star /stɑr/ | star /staː/ | star /staː/ |
| Mother | mother /ˈmadə/ | mother /ˈmadə/ | mother /ˈmɔðə/ | mother /ˈmɔðə/ | mother /ˈmʌðə/ | mother /ˈmʌðə/ | mother /ˈmʌðə/ |
| Father | father /ˈfadə/ | father /ˈfadə/ | father /ˈfɑːðə/ | father /ˈfɑːðə/ | father /ˈfɑðə/ | father /ˈfaːðə/ | father /ˈfɑːðə/ |
| I | I /aɪ/ | I /aɪ/ | I /aɪ/ | I /aɪ/ | I /aɪ/ | I /aɪ/ | I /aɪ/ |
| You | you /ju/ | you /juː/ | you /ju/ | you /ju/ | you /ju/ | you /juː/ | you /juː/ |
| Name | name /nem/ | name /neɪm/ | name /nem/ | name /neːm/ | name /neɪm/ | name /neɪm/ | name /neːm/ |
| Eye | eye /aɪ/ | eye /aɪ/ | eye /aɪ/ | eye /aɪ/ | eye /aɪ/ | eye /aɪ/ | eye /aɪ/ |
| Hand | hand /hɛn/ | hand /hæn/ | hand /hænd/ | hand /hænd/ | hand /hænd/ | hand /hænd/ | hand /hand/ |
| Heart | heart /hat/ | heart /hat/ | heart /hɑːt/ | heart /hɑːt/ | heart /hɑːt/ | heart /haːt/ | heart /hɑːt/ |
| Love | love /laf/ | love /laf/ | love /lɔv/ | love /lʌv/ | love /lʌv/ | love /lʌv/ | love /lʌv/ |
| Tree | tree /tɹiː/ | tree /tɹiː/ | tree /tɹiː/ | tree /tɹiː/ | tree /tɹiː/ | tree /triː/ | tree /tɹiː/ |
| House | house /haʊs/ | house /haʊs/ | house /haʊs/ | house /haʊs/ | house /haʊs/ | house /haʊs/ | house /haʊs/ |
| Dog | dog /dɔk/ | dog /dɔk/ | dog /dɔɡ/ | dog /dɔɡ/ | dog /dɔg/ | dog /dɔɡ/ | dog /dɒɡ/ |
| Cat | cat /kɛt/ | cat /kæt/ | cat /kæt/ | cat /kæt/ | cat /kæt/ | cat /kæt/ | cat /kʰat/ |
| Eat | eat /iːt/ | eat /iːt/ | eat /iːt/ | eat /iːt/ | eat /iːt/ | eat /iːt/ | eat /iːt/ |
| Drink | drink /dɹɪŋk/ | drink /dɹɪŋk/ | drink /dɹɪŋk/ | drink /dɹɪŋk/ | drink /dɹɪŋk/ | drink /drɪŋk/ | drink /dɹɪŋk/ |
| One | one /wan/ | one /wan/ | one /wʌn/ | one /wʌn/ | one /wʌn/ | one /wʌn/ | one /wʌn/ |
| Two | two /tu/ | two /tuː/ | two /tu/ | two /tu/ | two /tu/ | two /tuː/ | two /tuː/ |
| Hello | hello lah /hɛlo lɑː/ | hello /həˈlo/ | hello /həˈlɔ/ | hello /həˈlo/ | hello /həˈloː/ | hello /həˈloː/ | hello /həˈləʊ/ |
| Thank you | thanks /tɛŋks/ | thanks /tɛŋks/ | thanks /θæŋks/ | thank you /tæŋk juː/ | thanks /θæŋks/ | thanks /θæŋks/ | thanks /θaŋks/ |
| Good | good /ɡʊt/ | good /ɡʊt/ | good /ɡʊd/ | good /ɡʊd/ | good /ɡʊd/ | good /ɡʊd/ | good /ɡʊd/ |
| Cuckoo | cuckoo /ˈkʊkuː/ | cuckoo /ˈkʊkuː/ | cuckoo /ˈkʊkuː/ | cuckoo /ˈkʊkuː/ | cuckoo /ˈkʊkuː/ | cuckoo /ˈkʊkuː/ | cuckoo /ˈkʊkuː/ |
| Computer | computer /kɔmˈpjutə/ | — | computer /kɔmˈpjuːta/ | computer /kɔmˈpjuːta/ | computer /komˈpjuter/ | — | computer /kəmˈpjuːtər/ |
| Sushi | sushi /ˈsuʃi/ | — | sushi /ˈsuʃi/ | sushi /ˈsuʃi/ | sushi /ˈsuʃi/ | — | sushi /ˈsuːʃi/ |
| At sign (@) | at /ɛt/ | — | — | — | at /at/ | — | — |
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Word order compared
Compare with major world languages
I
want to
try on
a suit
I
saw
in
a shop
across from
the hotel
English (Singapore)
I
want
try
the suit
I
saw
at
the shop
opposite
the hotel
Ich
möchte
einen Anzug
anprobieren
den
ich
in einem
Geschäft
gegenüber vom
Hotel
gesehen habe
أنا
أريد
أن أجرب
بدلة
رأيتها
في
محل
مقابل
الفندق
我
想
试穿
酒店
对面的
商店
里
看到的
那套西装
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
Я
хочу
примерить
костюм
который
я увидел
в
магазине
напротив
отеля
My
name
is
Tanaka
English (Singapore)
My
name
is
Tanaka lah
Mein
Name
ist
Tanaka
اسمي
هو
تاناكا
我的
名字
是
田中
मेरा
नाम
तनाका
है
私の
名前は
田中
です
Моё
имя
—
Танака
I
eat
breakfast
every morning
at 7 o'clock
English (Singapore)
I
eat
breakfast
every morning
seven o'clock one
Ich
frühstücke
jeden Morgen
um 7 Uhr
أتناول
أنا
الإفطار
كل صباح
الساعة السابعة
我
每天早上
七点
吃
早饭
मैं
हर सुबह
7 बजे
नाश्ता
करता हूँ
毎朝
7時に
朝ごはんを
食べます
Я
завтракаю
каждое утро
в 7 часов
Where
is
the nearest
station
English (Singapore)
The nearest
station
where
ah
Wo
ist
der nächste
Bahnhof
أين
تقع
أقرب
محطة
最近的
车站
在
哪里
सबसे नज़दीकी
स्टेशन
कहाँ
है
一番近い
駅は
どこ
です
か
Где
находится
ближайшая
станция
This
coffee
is
very
delicious
English (Singapore)
This
kopi
very
shiok lah
Dieser
Kaffee
ist
sehr
lecker
هذه
القهوة
لذيذة
جداً
这
咖啡
很
好喝
यह
कॉफ़ी
बहुत
स्वादिष्ट है
この
コーヒーは
とても
おいしいです
Этот
кофе
очень
вкусный
I
study
Japanese
at university
English (Singapore)
I
study
Japanese
at uni lah
Ich
studiere
Japanisch
an der Universität
أنا
أدرس
اللغة اليابانية
في الجامعة
我
在大学
学
日语
मैं
विश्वविद्यालय में
जापानी
पढ़ता हूँ
私は
大学で
日本語を
勉強しています
Я
изучаю
японский язык
в университете
Tomorrow's
weather
will be
sunny
English (Singapore)
Tomorrow
weather
confirm
sunny
one lah
Morgen
wird
das Wetter
sonnig
sein
سيكون
الطقس
غداً
مشمساً
明天
天气
会
晴天
कल
मौसम
धूप वाला
होगा
明日の
天気は
晴れ
でしょう
Завтра
погода
будет
солнечной
My mother
cooks
dinner
every day
English (Singapore)
My mother
cook
dinner
every day one
Meine Mutter
kocht
jeden Tag
Abendessen
تطبخ
أمي
العشاء
كل يوم
我妈妈
每天
做
晚饭
मेरी माँ
हर रोज़
रात का खाना
बनाती है
お母さんは
毎日
夕食を
作ります
Моя мама
готовит
ужин
каждый день
I
want to
go
to
Japan
next
year
English (Singapore)
I
want
go
to
Japan
next
year
Ich
möchte
nächstes
Jahr
nach
Japan
fahren
أنا
أريد
أن أذهب
إلى
اليابان
العام
القادم
我
明
年
想
去
日本
मैं
अगले
साल
जापान
जाना
चाहता हूँ
私は
来
年
日本
に
行き
たいです
Я
хочу
поехать
в
Японию
в следующем
году
Can
you
speak
English
English (Singapore)
You
can speak
English
or not
Können
Sie
Englisch
sprechen
هل
تستطيع
التحدث
باللغة الإنجليزية
你
会
说
英语
吗
आप
अंग्रेज़ी
बोल
सकते हैं
あなたは
英語が
話せ
ます
か
Вы
умеете
говорить
по-английски
Compare with closely-related languages
Ek
wil
'n pak
aanpas
wat
ek
gesien het
in
'n winkel
oorkant
die hotel
Jeg
vil
prøve
et jakkesæt
som
jeg
så
i
en butik
overfor
hotellet
Ik
wil
een pak
passen
dat
ik
zag
in
een winkel
tegenover
het hotel
I
want to
try on
a suit
I
saw
in
a shop
across from
the hotel
English (Singapore)
I
want
try
the suit
I
saw
at
the shop
opposite
the hotel
My
naam
is
Tanaka
Mit
navn
er
Tanaka
Mijn
naam
is
Tanaka
My
name
is
Tanaka
English (Singapore)
My
name
is
Tanaka lah
Ek
eet
elke oggend
om 7-uur
ontbyt
Jeg
spiser
morgenmad
hver morgen
klokken 7
Ik
eet
elke ochtend
om 7 uur
ontbijt
I
eat
breakfast
every morning
at 7 o'clock
English (Singapore)
I
eat
breakfast
every morning
seven o'clock one
Waar
is
die naaste
stasie
Hvor
er
den nærmeste
station
Waar
is
het dichtstbijzijnde
station
Where
is
the nearest
station
English (Singapore)
The nearest
station
where
ah
Hierdie
koffie
is
baie
lekker
Denne
kaffe
er
meget
lækker
Deze
koffie
is
heel
lekker
This
coffee
is
very
delicious
English (Singapore)
This
kopi
very
shiok lah
Ek
studeer
Japannees
by die universiteit
Jeg
studerer
japansk
på universitetet
Ik
studeer
Japans
aan de universiteit
I
study
Japanese
at university
English (Singapore)
I
study
Japanese
at uni lah
Môre se
weer
sal
sonnig wees
Morgendagens
vejr
bliver
solrigt
Morgen
wordt
het weer
zonnig
Tomorrow's
weather
will be
sunny
English (Singapore)
Tomorrow
weather
confirm
sunny
one lah
My ma
maak
aandete
elke dag
Min mor
laver
aftensmad
hver dag
Mijn moeder
kookt
elke dag
avondeten
My mother
cooks
dinner
every day
English (Singapore)
My mother
cook
dinner
every day one
Ek
wil
volgende
jaar
na
Japan
gaan
Jeg
vil gerne
rejse
til
Japan
næste
år
Ik
wil
volgend
jaar
naar
Japan
gaan
I
want to
go
to
Japan
next
year
English (Singapore)
I
want
go
to
Japan
next
year
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