* The diacritic ◌̃ represents a nasalized vowel.
[ SSS:
kopi kiã ]
kopi kia
→
Hokkien / teochew:
咖啡
poj:
ko-pi
+
囝
poj:
kiáⁿ
Detailed etymology
definitions
noun
- a coffee boy; a child or young person who serves coffee, other drinks, and food items to patrons at a kopitiam
Mr Lim Bee Huat is the "kopi kia" (coffee boy) who had big dreams. At nine, he worked at a coffee shop after school, learning the secrets of the trade ... Now reagrded as the "Kopitiam King", Mr Lim is the managing director of Kopitiam Investment Pte Ltd.
— 1998 May 15. City Weekly, "Kopi kia who became kopitiam king". p.2
usage notes
* The nasal vowel is almost always unmarked by speakers, though it is very important to the pronunciation of the term. In a dipthong or tripthong, the recommended convention is to mark the final vowel, unless it is spelled using a repeated letter, in which case the first-occurring repeated letter is marked.