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:

mah

ma

→

General chinese:

嘛

pinyin:

ma

expand for details Detailed etymology

definitions

particle

  1. used to point out that a reason is obvious, self-evident, or must logically follow from a previous condition

    2. - Why we must wait here so long?
    - The light still red ma.


usage notes

Differs from the very similar lor in that 'ma' highlights that a reason is self-evident (because), whereas 'lor' can be used for other things, such as a solution or statement of fact.


related:

bo he hae ma ho lah1 lor

categories:

particles

entries starting with

'ma'