Singaporean Mandarin Database

This database contains a collection of Mandarin terms which have cultural, historical or sentimental value unique to Singapore. These terms may be used by Singaporeans in the past or at present. Some of the terms are read in print while others are used in our everyday conversations.

shēng huó
Speech
一般上
yī bān shàng
normally
一级棒
yī jí bàng
excellent
一路来
yī lù lái
always
饮胜
yǐn shèng
cheers (as a toast, colloquially known as yumseng)
一次过
yῑ cì guò
one-off
shè qún/tuán tǐ
Communities/Organisations
亚细安
yà xì ān
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
烟客
yān kè
smoker
银会
yín huì
tontine
永久居民
yǒng jiǔ jū mín
Permanent Resident (PR)
jiāo tōng
Transport
夜猫巴士
yè māo bā shì
Nite Owl
易通卡
yì tōng kǎ
ez-link card
油槽车
yóu cáo chē
tank car
油槽船
yóu cáo chuán
oil tanker
阅卡器
yuè kǎ qì
card reader
fǎ zhèng
Legal/Politics
预先医疗指示
yù xiān yī liáo zhǐ shì
Advance Medical Directive
dì lǐ xiāng guān
Places
亚答屋
yā dá wū
attap house
芽笼
yá lóng
Geylang
芽笼峇鲁
yá lóng bā lǔ
Geylang Bahru
亚洲文明博物馆
yà zhōu wén míng bó wù guǎn
Asian Civilisations Museum
一房式
yī fáng shì
1-Room flats