* 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:
gor jiam tua kuay gu chia leng gor ziam dua kuay gu chia leng gor ziam tua kuay gu chia leng gor chiam tua kuay gu chia leng gor chiam tua kuay gu chia lian goh chiam tua kuey gu chia leng
gor jiam dua kuay gu chia leng
→
Hokkien / teochew:
五占大过牛车辇
五占大過牛車輦
poj / peng'im:
gō͘-chiam tōa-kòe gû-chhia-lêng2
definitions
expression
- (idiom) thinking one's money is worth more than it is; describing someone who lowballs or offers to pay a laughably low amount for something
One youth in Singapore is carrying out a coin-collecting campaign to prove that five cents is indeed bigger than a bullock cart's wheel (i.e. gor chiam tua kuay gu chia leng).
— 2019 June 4, Belmont Lay. Mothership, "S'porean youth collecting 5-cent coins from everyone in S'pore to feed the poor & hungry". https://mothership.sg/2019/06/five-cents-coin-collection-singapore-charity/
A proverb in Penang Hokkien lampoons this sort of miserliness — gor chiam tua kuay gu chia lian ... Bullock cart wheels, in the past, were gargantuan. It was depressing that Bee had become such a scrooge.
— 2023, Lee Su Kim. Sarong Secrets 2023. Marshall Cavendish International Asia Pte Ltd. ISBN: 9789815113518