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
怕输
pà shū
afraid of losing to others (colloquially known as kiasu)
拍拖
pāi tuō
To date somebody (colloquially known as paktor)
骗话
piàn huà
lies
屏门
píng mén
platform screen door
坡底
pō dǐ
downtown