Commonly found variants; note these may range from acceptable alternatives to non-standard forms or incorrect spellings*.
* Singlish is a largely spoken creole, and as such descriptivism (recording forms that reflect actual pronunciation in spoken language, or as appearing in the linguistic corpus) is more pertinent than strict prescriptivism. Nevertheless, the use of more standard forms (or for words originating in languages with Latin script, such as Malay, accurate to the original spelling) is recommended and encouraged.

also can:

aiya ai yah ai ya

aiyah

General chinese:

哎呀

pinyin:

āiyā

+

Tamil:

ஐயோ

aiyō

expand for details Detailed etymology

definitions

interjection

  1. oh dear; oh no; ouch; alas; exclamation of distress, pain, admiration, etc.
  2. Aiya, I missed the bus again... now I'll be late for work.