Hi, Catchy here.

Singapore is an amazing multicultural city-state and a home to many beautiful languages. One of the most spoken languages is Hokkien and I myself love to incorporate some words into my daily conversations. 

Because Hokkien saves me so much time.

As a firm believer in conserving energy, I wish to put the most minimum effort into everything I do at all cost. And what better way to effectively communicate whatever I want to say into shorter sentences, or even in one word, than through speaking Hokkien.

If you want to be a cat of few words like me, let me teach you some Hokkien shortcuts.

1. Diam

It means “keep quiet” or when you want to be rude, “shut up”. I use it when Pecky won’t stop talking. 

2. Tan

“Wait a minute.” or “Please hold on.” Often used when I’m trying to buy some time and sleep more.

3. Lai

“Please come here.” Well. Self-explanatory. You may have heard this too many times in your lifetime whenever someone beckons you.

4. Wu

“Yes there is.” You say when, yes, there, in fact, is. What else do I have to say. 

5.  Bo

“No, there isn’t.” Opposite of Wu. You got it.

6. Kiang

Means “smart” or “knowledgeable”. Leony fits this definition the most. Though you can argue being smart can mean different things. For example, Cheeky knows how to make a joke out of everything. That’s pretty kiang. 

7. Gia

“Let’s go.” When you’re ready to embark on an adventure…or just anywhere – hawker, KTV, movies, home to sleep. 

8. Agar

An estimation. Like: “How long is this table?” “3 feet.” “How you know?” “Agar-agar loh!”  We’re not sure if you’re accurate, but hey, we appreciate the effort.

You call it lazy, we call it big brain communication.

That’s about it for our crash course! You’re welcome. Now, I’ll go back to sleep.

Good Night,

Catchy