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.

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A - Z PINYIN LISTING

鸡

jī

婆

pó

busybody (colloquially known as kaypoh)

Speech

生活用语

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busybody (colloquially known as kaypoh)

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Photo courtesy of Yumcha Studios & Colin Goh
Speech

生活用语

Speech

释义

名词、形容词

  1. 多管闲事的人，属贬义词。
  2. 喜欢搬弄是非、说张家长，李家短的人。
  3. 形容好管闲事或搬弄是非。

DEFINITION

Noun , Adjective

  1. Derogatory term for a nosy person.
  2. A person who is meddlesome and loves to gossip.
  3. Used to describe a person who is nosy or meddlesome.

由来
  • “鸡婆”一词源自福建话（闽南话）词语“牙婆”，福建话发音为kay poh。“牙婆”在古代是以人口买卖为业的妇女，专门替官员或大户人家纳妾或购买婢女等。“牙婆”在古代被归为“三姑六婆”。
ETYMOLOGY
  • Kay poh or ”鸡婆” originated from the Hokkien (Minnan) term “牙婆”. In the olden days, “牙婆” referred to women who were involved in human trafficking and helped court officials find concubines or hand servants.
例句
整条马路被封多时，罗厘被指大喇喇开进来还违例停车，跑步经过的工程师好奇盯着司机看，却引起司机不满按车笛示威，工程师被气得要拍照举报，遭对方骂他"鸡婆"，两人当街大吵起来，司机一拳猛击工程师胸口后离去，工程师怒极报警。(《联合早报》，31/3/2019)
SAMPLE SENTENCE
The entire road was closed for several hours, but the lorry came right through and parked illegally on the side of the road. An engineer who happened to be jogging by looked at the lorry driver with curiosity, which in turn irritated the driver who sounded his lorry’s horn. The engineer was so angered by the driver that he wanted to take a photo of the driver to report to the authorities. The driver scolded the engineer “kaypoh”, and the two started arguing on the street. Before leaving, the driver struck the engineer’s chest hard and the enraged engineer reported the incident to the police. (Lianhe Zaobao, 31/3/2019)
其他地区用语

三姑六婆（大陆、台、马）

TERMS USED IN OTHER REGIONS

三姑六婆 (Mainland China, Taiwan, Malaysia)

相关资料

  • 马来语kay poh，印尼语拼写为kepo，英语拼写为kaypoh，这些词语都在传媒和民间广泛使用。

    • RELATED INFORMATION

  • The Malay term is kay poh, the Bahasa Indonesia term is spelt kepo, while the English phonetic is spelt kaypoh. All these terms are commonly used both in print and colloquially.

    • 参考资料
    点击查看鸡婆的参考资料
    REFERENCES

    Click here to view references for busybody (colloquially known as kaypoh)

     

     

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