Singapore Stereotypes

I hail from a tiny island in Southeast Asia called Singapore. This little island has made itself famous for a variety of things; most recently appearing in Hollywood in a movie called "Crazy Rich Asians".

However, "Crazy Rich Asians" is not a good portrayal of Singapore or Singaporeans. The not so crazy rich Singaporeans use a lot of slang when we speak; slang that is usually understood by Singaporeans and Malaysians. Recently, I had to send a couple of postcards to some postcrossers. Instead of the usual scenery of Singapore (i.e. Gardens By The Bay, Marina Bay Sands, Esplanade, Merlion), I chose postcards that included some of the slang words that we use in our daily lives.

Here are two postcards:

1) Stylo Milo: to describe someone who is trying too hard to be fashionable. How do you use it in a sentence? Maybe someone with a strange fashion sense walked past. You will point to the person and tell your friend, "wah, that person so stylo milo."

Fun fact: Milo is a real drink originated from Australia. However, we are not describing the drink when we use that phrase. How did both words come together then? If my memory serves me right, the phrase was coined in a Singapore movie. I believe the words are put together because they rhyme.

2) Bao Ka Liao: to describe someone who is doing everything and covering all the roles. How do you use it in a sentence? "My teammates suck, I everything also bao ka liao. They did nothing!"

Fun fact: the bun is featured in the postcard because bao means bun in Mandarin. Bao Ka Liao is actually a term in Hokkien dialect.

Hope you learn something interesting about Singapore today!

C