Singlish to American/Canadian English Decoder: Translate Lah to North

Confused by “lah” or “shiok”? Our Singlish to American/Canadian English Decoder got you covered lah! Toggle between 105+ terms from SG to Up North or back—cos whether it’s makan or eat, we make it swee sia. Search below, don’t blur lah!

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Singlish to American/Canadian English

Singlish Term	American/Canadian Term	Example Sentence
Abit lah	A little	Wait *abit lah*, I’m coming.
Agak-agak	Roughly	*Agak-agak* lah, about 5 minutes.
Ah beng	Gangster	That *ah beng* so loud lah.
Ah lian	Flashy girl	She dress like *ah lian* sia.
Aiyah	Oh no	*Aiyah*, forgot my wallet!
Alamak	Oh crap	*Alamak*, I’m late lah!
Ang moh	White person	That *ang moh* tourist lost lah.
Atas	Fancy	This place so *atas* sia.
Blur lah	Clueless	He *blur lah*, don’t know anything.
Bo jio	Didn’t invite	You go party *bo jio* me lah!
Bo liao	Boring	This show *bo liao* lah.
Bo pian	No choice	*Bo pian*, must finish tonight.
Buey tahan	Can’t stand it	This heat *buey tahan* lah.
Can lah	Sure	*Can lah*, I’ll help you.
Cannot lah	No way	*Cannot lah*, too tired sia.
Char siew	Roast pork	This *char siew* damn shiok.
Cheem	Complicated	His talk so *cheem* lah.
Chendol	Dessert drink	Hot day, drink *chendol* lah.
Chill lah	Relax	*Chill lah*, no need rush.
Chio	Pretty	She damn *chio* sia.
Chope	Reserve	*Chope* this seat for me lah.
Confirm lah	Definitely	*Confirm lah*, I’ll be there.
Die lah	I’m screwed	Late again, *die lah*.
Diam lah	Shut up	*Diam lah*, so noisy!
Dua kang	Bluff	He *dua kang* me sia.
Eat already	Done eating	I *eat already*, so full lah.
Eh, steady lah	Hey, calm down	*Eh, steady lah*, don’t panic.
Gahmen	Government	*Gahmen* say must stay home.
Gila	Crazy	You *gila* lah, so daring!
Go lah	Go ahead	*Go lah*, don’t wait for me.
Goondu	Idiot	He so *goondu* lah.
Got lah	Yes, there is	*Got lah*, don’t worry.
Hafta lah	Have to	I *hafta lah*, no choice.
Hantu	Ghost	This place got *hantu* sia.
Hao lian	Show off	She always *hao lian* lah.
Hawker	Food stall	Go *hawker* makan lah.
Heng	Lucky	*Heng* lah, didn’t get caught.
Hokkien mee	Noodle dish	This *hokkien mee* damn nice.
Hoot lah	Hit it	*Hoot lah*, finish it fast!
Huat lah	Good luck	*Huat lah*, win big sia!
Jalan	Walk	Let’s *jalan* around lah.
Jialat	Trouble	*Jialat* lah, boss angry.
Jin	Very	*Jin* hot lah today.
Kampong	Village	Old days got *kampong* sia.
Kancheong	Anxious	Don’t so *kancheong* lah.
Kaya	Coconut jam	Toast with *kaya* so shiok.
Kaypoh	Nosy	She so *kaypoh* lah.
Kena	Got hit	I *kena* fine lah, sian.
Kia su	Afraid to lose	He so *kia su*, always first.
Kia si	Scared to death	I *kia si* lah, so dark!
Kopi	Coffee	One *kopi* please lah.
Kopi-o	Black coffee	I like *kopi-o* sia.
Koyak	Broken	My phone *koyak* lah.
Lah	Okay	No problem *lah*.
Lai lah	Come on	*Lai lah*, don’t shy!
Laksa	Spicy soup	This *laksa* jin spicy.
Leceh	Hassle	Do this so *leceh* lah.
Liddat	Like that	Why *liddat* lah?
Lobang	Opportunity	Got good *lobang* sia.
Lor	Oh well	Too late *lor*, never mind.
Makan	Eat	Time to *makan* lah.
Malu	Embarrassed	I so *malu* lah.
Mee goreng	Fried noodles	*Mee goreng* here damn good.
Nabei	Damn it	*Nabei*, why like this!
No lah	No way	*No lah*, I won’t do it.
Obiang	Tacky	His shirt so *obiang* sia.
One kind lah	Weird	He *one kind lah*, so funny.
Paiseh	Shy	I *paiseh* lah, don’t ask.
Paktor	Dating	They *paktor* every weekend.
Pantang	Superstitious	She so *pantang* lah.
Peh cheh	Annoying	He so *peh cheh* sia.
Pok kai	Broke	I *pok kai* lah, no money.
Powderful	Powerful	This car *powderful* sia.
Relak lah	Chill out	*Relak lah*, take it easy.
Rojak	Mixed up	Everything so *rojak* lah.
Saboh	Mess up	Don’t *saboh* my plan lah.
Sai kang	Dirty work	Always I do *sai kang*.
Sampat	Crazy	You *sampat* lah, so wild!
Satay	Grilled skewers	*Satay* with peanut sauce shiok.
See lah	Look	*See lah*, so nice sia.
Sian	Bored	So *sian* lah, nothing to do.
Siao	Nuts	You *siao* lah, so loud!
Sia lah	Oh man	*Sia lah*, so tiring.
Simi	What	*Simi* you talking about?
Sotong	Clueless	He so *sotong* lah.
Suaku	Naive	Don’t so *suaku* lah.
Swee	Perfect	Everything *swee* lah.
Tahan	Endure	Must *tahan* the pain lah.
Tak boleh tahan	Can’t take it	This noise *tak boleh tahan*.
Talk cock	Nonsense	Don’t *talk cock* lah.
Tapao	Takeout	I *tapao* food lah.
Teh	Tea	One *teh* please sia.
Tio	Got it	I *tio* the job lah.
Tokoh	Talk rubbish	He always *tokoh* sia.
Tulan	Pissed off	I *tulan* lah, so fed up.
Ulu	Remote	This place so *ulu* sia.
Wah lao	Holy crap	*Wah lao*, so expensive!
Walau eh	Oh wow	*Walau eh*, so cool lah!
Wayang	Act	He *wayang* only lah.
Whack lah	Go hard	*Whack lah*, don’t hold back!
Xian	Sick of it	I *xian* lah, so boring.
Yah lah	Yeah	*Yah lah*, I agree sia.
Yaya	Arrogant	She so *yaya* lah.
Zai	Awesome	You *zai* lah, so good!
Zhun	Accurate	Your guess *zhun* sia.

American/Canadian to Singlish

American/Canadian Term	Singlish Term	Example Sentence
A little	Abit lah	It’s just *a little* hot today.
Accurate	Zhun	Your answer is *accurate*.
Afraid to lose	Kia su	She’s so *afraid to lose*.
Annoying	Peh cheh	He’s so *annoying*.
Anxious	Kancheong	Don’t be so *anxious*.
Arrogant	Yaya	She’s too *arrogant*.
Awesome	Zai	You’re *awesome* at this!
Black coffee	Kopi-o	I’ll take *black coffee*.
Bluff	Dua kang	Don’t *bluff* me!
Bored	Sian	I’m so *bored* today.
Boring	Bo liao	This is so *boring*.
Broke	Pok kai	I’m *broke* this month.
Broken	Koyak	My phone is *broken*.
Can’t stand it	Buey tahan	I *can’t stand it* anymore.
Can’t take it	Tak boleh tahan	I *can’t take it*, too much!
Chill out	Relak lah	*Chill out*, no stress.
Clueless	Blur lah	He’s so *clueless*.
Coconut jam	Kaya	Spread some *coconut jam*.
Coffee	Kopi	I need *coffee* now.
Come on	Lai lah	*Come on*, let’s go!
Complicated	Cheem	This is too *complicated*.
Crazy	Siao	You’re *crazy* to try that!
Damn it	Nabei	*Damn it*, I messed up!
Dating	Paktor	They’re *dating* now.
Definitely	Confirm lah	It’s *definitely* happening.
Dessert drink	Chendol	I’ll have a *dessert drink*.
Didn’t invite	Bo jio	You *didn’t invite* me!
Dirty work	Sai kang	I hate doing *dirty work*.
Done eating	Eat already	I’m *done eating* now.
Eat	Makan	Let’s *eat* dinner.
Embarrassed	Malu	I’m so *embarrassed*.
Endure	Tahan	Just *endure* it.
Fancy	Atas	This place is too *fancy*.
Flashy girl	Ah lian	She’s a *flashy girl*.
Food stall	Hawker	Let’s eat at a *food stall*.
Fried noodles	Mee goreng	I love *fried noodles*.
Gangster	Ah beng	He acts like a *gangster*.
Ghost	Hantu	I saw a *ghost* last night!
Go ahead	Go lah	*Go ahead*, I’ll follow.
Go hard	Whack lah	Let’s *go hard* on this!
Good luck	Huat lah	*Good luck* on your test!
Got hit	Kena	I *got hit* by a fine.
Got it	Tio	I *got it*, no problem.
Government	Gahmen	The *government* made rules.
Grilled skewers	Satay	Let’s have *grilled skewers*.
Hassle	Leceh	This is such a *hassle*.
Have to	Hafta lah	I *have to* finish this.
Hey, calm down	Eh, steady lah	*Hey, calm down*, relax!
Hit it	Hoot lah	Let’s *hit it* now!
Holy crap	Wah lao	*Holy crap*, that’s insane!
I’m screwed	Die lah	*I’m screwed*, missed the bus!
Idiot	Goondu	You’re such an *idiot*.
Like that	Liddat	Why is it *like that*?
Look	See lah	*Look* at this!
Lucky	Heng	I’m so *lucky* today.
Mess up	Saboh	Don’t *mess up* my stuff.
Mixed up	Rojak	Everything’s *mixed up*.
Naive	Suaku	Don’t be so *naive*.
No choice	Bo pian	I’ve got *no choice*.
No way	Cannot lah	*No way*, I’m not going!
Nonsense	Talk cock	Stop saying *nonsense*.
Noodle dish	Hokkien mee	I’ll order a *noodle dish*.
Nosy	Kaypoh	She’s so *nosy*.
Nuts	Siao	You’re *nuts* to do that!
Oh crap	Alamak	*Oh crap*, I forgot!
Oh man	Sia lah	*Oh man*, so tiring.
Oh no	Aiyah	*Oh no*, I’m late!
Oh well	Lor	*Oh well*, can’t help it.
Oh wow	Walau eh	*Oh wow*, that’s cool!
Okay	Lah	It’s *okay*, no worries.
Opportunity	Lobang	Found a good *opportunity*.
Perfect	Swee	This is *perfect*.
Pissed off	Tulan	I’m so *pissed off*.
Powerful	Powderful	This is so *powerful*.
Pretty	Chio	She’s really *pretty*.
Relax	Chill lah	*Relax*, take it easy.
Remote	Ulu	This place is so *remote*.
Reserve	Chope	*Reserve* this spot.
Roast pork	Char siew	I love *roast pork*.
Roughly	Agak-agak	It’s *roughly* 10 bucks.
Scared to death	Kia si	I was *scared to death*.
Show off	Hao lian	She loves to *show off*.
Shut up	Diam lah	*Shut up*, too noisy!
Shy	Paiseh	I’m too *shy* to ask.
Sick of it	Xian	I’m *sick of it*.
Spicy soup	Laksa	This *spicy soup* is good.
Superstitious	Pantang	She’s so *superstitious*.
Sure	Can lah	*Sure*, I’ll do it.
Tacky	Obiang	That shirt is *tacky*.
Takeout	Tapao	Let’s get *takeout*.
Talk rubbish	Tokoh	He always *talks rubbish*.
Tea	Teh	I’ll have some *tea*.
Trouble	Jialat	I’m in *trouble* now.
Very	Jin	It’s *very* hot today.
Village	Kampong	I miss the old *village*.
Walk	Jalan	Let’s *walk* around.
Weird	One kind lah	He’s so *weird*.
What	Simi	*What* are you saying?
White person	Ang moh	That *white person* is lost.
Yeah	Yah lah	*Yeah*, I get it.
Act	Wayang	He’s just *acting* cool.
Clueless	Sotong	She’s totally *clueless*.
Crazy	Gila	You’re *crazy* to jump!
Crazy	Sampat	He’s *crazy* and wild.
Yes, there is	Got lah	*Yes, there is* food here.