Special: Why some Singapore Hokkien words sound so similar to Malay words

by | Oct 31, 2019 | Hokkien, Hokkien - How Do You Say

Listen to Podcast | Special: Why some Singapore Hokkien words sound so similar to Malay words


New Words

EnglishHokkienOur Romanization
Ma ta
Gao yin
Go for a holiday食(吃)风Jiak hong

Podcast Transcript | Special: Why some Singapore Hokkien words sound so similar to Malay words

Hello! My name is Eugene and thanks for tuning into our Hokkien – How Do You Say Podcast. Speaking of Singapore Hokkien, did you notice that there are many words that sound similar to the Malay language? A few words that comes immediately to mind are “Salah” and “Suka“, which we have learnt in the previous episodes. Are these words purely a coincidence between the 2 languages? Nope, in fact, these are indeed Malay words that the Hokkien language has borrowed from. Personally, I think this is what makes Singapore Hokkien so unique! As such, in today’s podcast, I would like to deviate from our typical sharing of pure Hokkien words and bring you this special edition of Malay loan words.

First up, my favourite line, “Mata 来了!”, which literally means “police come already”. This is commonly heard, especially in the past, when policemen went after the illegal street hawkers in Singapore. Today, we hear it more in the context of vehicle parking. For example, when the parking officer comes to check for illegal parking, especially around popular eateries where parking is often difficult to find. When someone spots the parking officer, I love the cooperative vibe that comes immediately after. Almost everyone starts chanting “Mata 来了! Mata 来了!” to signify that the parking attendants have arrived, and for those who have illegally parked their vehicle, they know what to do.

So why “mata”? Did you know that in the Malay language, “mata” refers to “eyes”, the window to our souls? In the olden days, Singapore Hokkiens viewed police as a pair of eyes, which was constantly watching their moves. Hence, they used “mata” to describe the police and this term is still retained, even until today. Isn’t that fascinating?

Another local slang that you’ll often hear is “我 bueh tahan 了”. “Tahan” is actually a Malay word that means “endure” or “hold out”. So “我 bueh tahan 了” means “I cannot hold it any longer”.

You may also have heard of Hokkiens in Singapore referring to going for a holiday as 食风. Again, this comes from the Malay words – makan angin – which literally means “eating wind”, or metaphorically, chasing the breeze.

How many other Malay-influenced Hokkien words can you think of? Leave us a comment below and we would love to share it in our upcoming podcasts. I’m Eugene from and till our next podcast!


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