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.

jiào yù
Education
品格与公民教育
pǐn gé yǔ gōng mín jiào yù
Character and Citizenship Education (CCE)
普通源流课程
pǔ tōng yuán liú kè chéng
Normal course
shè huì
Social
派对
pài duì
party
拼图
pīn tú
photofit / identikit
平行入口
píng xíng rù kǒu
parallel import
shí wù/zhí wù
Food/Plants
碰饼
pèng bǐng
pong piah
葡萄桑
pú tao sāng
pulasan (colloquially known as pu tou san)
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
jiāo tōng
Transport
屏门
píng mén
platform screen door
普通自动售票机
pǔ tōng zì dòng shòu piào jī
General Ticketing Machine
fǎ zhèng
Legal/Politics
判词
pàn cí
verdict
dì lǐ xiāng guān
Places
排屋
pái wū
terrace house
坡底
pō dǐ
downtown (colloquially known as po duei)
普通级
pǔ tōng jí
General (film rating)