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.
a country bumpkin or ignorant person (colloquially known as suaku)
a country bumpkin or ignorant person (colloquially known as suaku)
释义
名词、形容词
- 对没有见过世面的乡巴佬或住在偏远地区的人的鄙称。
- 形容一个人愚昧无知，是井底之蛙。
DEFINITION
Noun , Adjective
- A derogatory term for someone from the countryside who has not seen the world, or someone who lives in a remote area.
- To describe a person who is ill-informed, like a frog in a well.
由来
- 源自福建话中的“山龟”（sua ku）。原指生活在山上并很少到
- 平原地区的乡下人，后来引申出无知愚昧的人的意思，指他如井底之蛙。
- 这个词早在1980年代便在《联合早报》中出现。当时这份报纸的漫画专栏里有一则题为《山龟人》的漫画。
ETYMOLOGY
- The Mandarin term “山龟” originated from the Hokkien term sua ku (literally, “mountain tortoise”). It originally referred to a rural person who lived in the mountains and seldom visited the urban areas on the plains, and was later extended to refer to any ignorant, narrow-minded or backward person.
- Since the 1980s, the term has been used in Singapore’s Chinese media. Lianhe Zaobao’s comics section at the time included a comic strip named “山龟人” (literally, “a suaku person”).
例句
一眼就看出来：比如，大清早就穿着胸口钉上闪亮珠片的蕾丝短袖上衣去巴刹买菜的。比如，以为只要纹眉、饰甲、染发、隆胸整套做齐就能追上时代的。比如，手机铃声响起来传遍三个车厢的。比如，忘记手机其实是靠人造卫星系统传讯而不是光靠一把喉咙来喊的。这些都是一眼就能认出的“山龟”。（《联合早报》， 4/6/2012）
SAMPLE SENTENCE
One can spot a suaku person at a glance. For example, those who go grocery shopping early in the morning dressed in a lacy short-sleeved blouse with glittering beads at the chest; those who think they can keep up with the times by getting their eyebrows tattooed, nails done, hair dyed, and breasts augmented; those who let their mobile phones ring at maximum volume; and those who forget that mobile phones communicate via satellite systems and not through shouting at the top of their lungs. (Lianhe Zaobao, 4/6/2012)
相关资料
- 2017年，时任总理李显龙在群众大会中发表英语演讲时，使用了“山龟”一词来形容对中国电子支付系统普及化的无知，借此强调新加坡还需要更加努力地推进电子支付，以达到成为智慧国的目标。
RELATED INFORMATION
- In his English speech at the National Day Rally in 2017, then Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong used the term suaku to describe the ignorance towards the extensiveness of China’s e-payment system, and to illustrate that Singapore must further promote e-payments to become a Smart Nation.