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:

ak ka liau ar ka liau ak kah liao ak ka liao

ar ka liao

Hokkien:

poj:

a̍h

+

poj:

kah

+

poj:

liáu

expand for details Detailed etymology

definitions

verb

  1. to attempt to curry favour until one is in someone's good books; to work hard to become close to somebody

adjective

  1. (of two or more people) very close friends
  2. After working together for almost three years, Ajay and Ismail were ar ka liau.

  3. describing someone who is susceptible to flattery and easy to curry favour with; someone very argable.
  4. synonyms:


categories: