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:

xin jiao sin chiau

sin jiao

Hokkien:

新鸟

poj:

sin-chiáu

expand for details Detailed etymology

definitions

noun

  1. a newbie; a beginner; a novice; an inexperienced person
  2. synonyms:

  3. (literal, humorous) a young bird
  4. just look at how long the trays at tray return stations are being cleared is good enough indication. it basically send a signal to surrounding lao jiao & sin jiao that there're free food available in multiple windows of minutes every hour

    — 2024 January 12, lazyclimb. Hardwarezone, "Nuisance birds at market stealing food". https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/threads/nuisance-birds-at-market-stealing-food.6989373/

    antonyms:


adjective

  1. inexperienced; new; green behind the ears
  2. antonyms: