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:

buey tahan be tahan beh tahan

buay tahan

Hokkien:

𫧃

poj:

bōe

+

Malay:

tahan

expand for details Detailed etymology

definitions

verb

  1. (transitive, of something or someone) to be unable to withstand or endure; to find intolerable or unbearable
  2. I really buay tahan the heat nowadays... sometimes even aircon is not enough sia.

    synonyms:

  3. (intransitive) to be unable to withstand or endure
  4. Faster find toilet - I buay tahan already!

    synonyms:

  5. to be unable to resist; to find irresistible
  6. That cendol looks so good; I buay tahan, we have to get one.


adjective

  1. unbearable; intolerable
  2. synonyms:


usage notes

While it translates to and is grammatically equivalent to tak boleh tahan, these two words often have nuanced semantic and connoted differences. For example, 'buay tahan' is often used to describe an insufferable person, whereas 'tak boleh tahan' is used less often to describe people, and more for e.g. situations.


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