Singlish & chope culture brought up as most uniquely Singaporean thing netizens had to explain to foreigners
Singapore definitely has a unique culture moulded by our history, island location, and multiculturalism, but what exactly is the most uniquely Singaporean thing?
Curious netizens debated on which fit the bill the best, ranging from Singlish to COE.
Singlish brought up as most uniquely Singaporean thing
The discussion started on 15 Nov on the r/askSingapore subreddit when the original poster (OP) talked about the culture shock experienced by an overseas colleague visiting Singapore.
The OP had to spend 20 minutes explaining the culture of choping a table with tissue packets.
Source: A Brit in Amsterdam on Blogspot
“They were completely baffled by the concept and kept asking, ‘But what if someone just takes it?’,” the OP said.
To this, one commenter brought up an anecdote where they choped a table with a tissue packet, only for an uncle from China to mistakenly assume it was free tissue paper.
Source: Reddit
Others pointed to Singlish, noting the difficulty in explaining the differences between inflections such as:
- No lah.
- No meh?
- No wor.
- No leh.
- No sia!
The OP then noted that these responses all mean “no”, just with different “emotional stages of denial”.
Source: Reddit
Coffee orders confuse foreign friend
Coffee orders at hawker centres and coffeeshops also posed a challenge, with one local commenter having to order it for their foreign friend.
Image by MS News
They eventually asked their friend to memorise one order so he wouldn’t get confused.
Source: Reddit
Another Singaporean commenter listed out several examples of kopi and teh orders, admitting that even they don’t remember all the meanings.
Source: Reddit
Another netizen brought up the concept of helpers in Singapore.
While living overseas, the netizen mentioned that they had a “maid”, shocking foreign flatmates due to the perceived costliness of such hires.
Source: Reddit
American assumes Singapore is about skyscrapers and crazy rich lifestyle
On the other hand, one commenter shared that their American colleague initially had gotten the wrong impression of Singapore as “glamorous skyscrapers, supercars, and the ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ lifestyle”.
Image by MS News
As such, the American assumed that several Singaporean colleagues were poor as they lived with parents in subsidised housing, didn’t own a car, and ate hawker food.
Source: Reddit
“I once tried to explain the HDB racial quota. They were extremely baffled,” another netizen claimed.
Source: Reddit
Ending things on a lighter note, one commenter shared that their Western friend had no idea what cuisine “Western food” stalls in coffee shops actually sell.
Source: TL Koh on Facebook, for illustration purposes only
One user compared it to the “Asian food” found in America.
Source: Reddit
Also read: ‘Never eaten Maggi goreng’: Locals reveal uniquely S’porean things they’ve never tried
‘Never eaten Maggi goreng’: Locals reveal uniquely S’porean things they’ve never tried
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from A Brit in Amsterdam on Blogspot and by MS News.
