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:

clever to

clever

English:

clever

Malay:

pandai

expand for details Detailed etymology

definitions

adjective

  1. (before an infinitive adverbial phrase) good (at); able; skillful; crafty; smart
  2. He is very clever to fix computers, I always ask him to help when I got problem.

  3. wont; inclined; accustomed
  4. My colleagues all very clever to jiak zua, end up they siam everything until I kena all the sai kang.


usage notes

Always used before an infinitive adverbial phrase which describes the thing at which the subject is good, able, skillful, wont to, inclined to, etc., e.g. 'He is very clever to eat chilli' ("He is good at eating chilli", implying the subject can take spice well).


related: