Singaporean Hokkien is the largest non-Mandarin Chinese variety spoken in Singapore. As such, it exerts the greatest influence on Colloquial Singaporean Mandarin, resulting in a Hokkien-style Singaporean Mandarin widely spoken in the country.
Influences on phonology
Some Hokkien Singaporeans are unable to accurately pronounce the sounds of Standard Mandarin due to influences from their Hokkien mother tongue. These include consonants such as f, z, zh, s, r. They also pronounce some vowels and rhymes such as i, e, en, eng differently. In terms of tone, they often bring the checked tone () of Hokkien into Mandarin.
Hokkien-derived vocabulary
The use of Hokkien vocabulary in Singaporean Mandarin can be categorized as such: Use of Hokkien words in lieu of standard Mandarin words (loanwords) Use of Hokkien monosyllabic words in lieu of standard disyllabic Mandarin words (calques) Replacing of Mandarin morphemes with Hokkien morphemes Use of Hokkien word order (in vocabulary) in lieu of standard Mandarin word order Modifying the meaning of Mandarin word using Hokkien words (loaned meaning)
Hokkien borrowings
Some Hokkien words with the same meaning are used to replace standard Mandarin words.
Singaporean Mandarin (Hokkien loan words)Standard MandarinDefinition miàn pén liǎn pénWashbasin lóng gōu shuǐ gōuDitch shāo shuǐ rè shuǐHot water fēng tāi chē tāiTire zhǔ fàn shāo fàn or zuò fànCooking yī lù lái xiàng lái or yī zhíAll along
Monosyllabic borrowings
Some Hokkien mono-syllabic words are used instead of two-syllable words in Mandarin.
Omission of Mandarin words' suffixes
The suffix of certain Mandarin words might be omitted in colloquial Singaporean Mandarin due to the use of Hokkien mono-syllabic words. For instance, the suffix " " is commonly omitted in colloquial Singaporean Mandarin.
Colloquial Singaporean Mandarin (Hokkien mono-syllabic word)Standard MandarinDefinitionExample of Usage (Singaporean Mandarin) yā yā ziDuck (I bought a duck) wèi wèi ziSeat (No more seats) qún qún ziSkirt (Your skirt is too long.) lǐng lǐng ziCollar (Your collar is very dirty.) shí shí touStone (This stone is very big.)
Replacing Mandarin morpheme with Hokkien morpheme
A morpheme in Mandarin is removed from a two-syllable word, leaving a one-syllable word, which is used in Hokkien.
Colloquial Singaporean Mandarin (Hokkien morpheme)Standard MandarinDefinitionExample of Usage (Singaporean Mandarin) sè yán sèColour (What colour is this cloth?) lì lì qi or lì liangStrength (I have no more strength) gōng gōng zuòWork (go and find a work) míng míng baiUnderstand (Once you say it, I've understood it) xiāo tuī xiāoSell (He helps me to sell many books)
Same meaning, different word order
Some multi-syllable words in Standard Mandarin might be used with a different word order (reversed or changed) in Hokkien, and the latter's word order is adopted into Singaporean Mandarin.
Colloquial Singaporean Mandarin (Hokkien word order)Standard MandarinDefinition miàn xiàn xiàn miànRice noodle rén kè kè rénGuest fàn hé hé fànSmall box of meal
Modifying the meaning of Mandarin using Hokkien words
Certain words in Standard Mandarin have a different meaning in Hokkien, and this difference is adopted by Singaporean Mandarin.
Some examples of these are listed below.
Colloquial Singaporean Mandarin (Hokkien loan word)Standard MandarinDefinitionUsageNotes féi pàngFat (You've been fatter recently)The Mandarin word "肥" is not originally used for a person. Instead, Standard Mandarin uses the word "胖" esp. when referring to a fat person. shuǎng tòng kuaiHappy/Joyful (play joyfully)The Mandarin word "爽" originally means "cool". Here it has been modified to mean "happy". huì néngAble to (Is the car able to cross?)The word "會" in Standard Mandarin does not mean an action that can probably be realized. "能", which indicates a possibility, is usually used instead. běn shì yǒu běn shìCapable (He is capable)The word "本事" in Standard Mandarin is a 'noun'.
Influences on grammar
Singaporean Hokkien has influenced Singaporean Mandarin Grammar in 5 main areas.
Word order
The word order refers to the order or sequence of how words are arranged in combination. Because of influence from Singaporean Hokkien, the word order in certain phrases are replaced by that of Singaporean Hokkien, or are simultaneously used with that of Singaporean Mandarin.
"Verb/object + complement" structure
In Standard Mandarin, certain object in predicate structure are put after a complement. However, the "verb/object + complement" structure is used in Singaporean Mandarin.
Examples are shown in the table below:
Colloquial Singaporean MandarinStandard MandarinTranslationGrammar Notes nǐ shàng kè wán zài qù ba nǐ shàng wán kè zài qù baYou go only after you've finished lessons!The object "課" is put before the complement "完", instead of after. kǎo shì wán nǐ zài lái kǎo wán shì nǐ zài láiCome only after you've finished the exam!The object "試" is put before the complement "完", instead of after. nǐ chī fàn le zài xiě hǎo ma nǐ chī liǎo fàn zài xiě hǎo maCan you write after you've finished your meal?The object "飯" is put before the complement "了", instead of after.
Changes in overlapping word order
Overlapping word order in Singaporean Mandarin sometimes differ from that of Standard Mandarin.
Examples are shown in the table below:
Singaporean Mandarin (overlapping words)Standard Mandarin (overlapping words)Translation xiǎng dōng xiǎng xī dōng xiǎng xī xiǎngAnyhow think gǎo qī gǎo bā qī gǎo bā gǎoAnyhow mess around
Overlapping of words
Certain mono-syllabic adjectives and verbs or two-syllable adjectives and verbs in Singaporean Hokkien have entered into Singaporean Mandarin. These are used together with their counterparts in Standard Mandarin.
Examples are shown in the table below:
Singaporean MandarinStandard MandarinTranslation huā hóng hóng hěn hǎo kàn huā hóng hóng de hěn hǎo kànThe flower is reddish and looks great. nǐ shì kàn kan nǐ shì shì kànJust try it. chī kàn kàn la chī chī kàn laJust try eating it. bǎ gōng kè zuò wán bǎ gōng kè dōu zuò wánFinish all of the homework. zhè xie nǐ chī chī diào hǎo ma zhè xie nǐ dōu chī diào hǎo maCan you finish eating all these? dà jiā dōu zuò hǎo hǎo dà jiā dōu zuò hǎo hǎo deEveryone is sitting properly. tā pǎo kuài kuài lái ná dōng xi tā hěn kuài de pǎo lái ná dōng xiHe runs here quickly to take the thing. tā yìng yìng yào qù tā yìng (shì) yào qùHe insists on going. bù yào luàn luàn xiě bù yào luàn xiěDon't anyhow write. nǐ jiǔ jiǔ cái lái yī cì nǐ hěn jiǔ cái lái yī cìHe came only once after a long time. chī bǎo fàn chū qù sàn bù sàn bù chī bǎo fàn chū qù sàn sàn bùGo for a stroll after you've finished your meal. dà jiā jiàn miàn jiàn miàn yī xià yě hǎo dà jiā jiàn jiàn miàn yě hǎo or dà jiā jiàn yī xià miàn yě hǎoIt's good everyone of us meet for a while
Omission
Certain components of a sentence that are used in Standard Mandarin are omitted in colloquial Singaporean Mandarin, due to Hokkien influence on the latter.
Omission of directional verbs
Certain directional verbs are omitted or dropped in Singaporean Mandarin.
Examples are shown in the table below:
Singaporean Mandarin (Hokkien-style omission)Standard MandarinTranslationNotes chē zǐ tài dà, bù néng jìn chē zǐ tài dà, bù néng jìn qùThe car is too big, it cannot get in.The directional verb "去" has been omitted. kǎo shì chéng jī hái méi chū kǎo shì chéng jī hái méi chū laiThe exam results haven't come out.The directional verb "來" has been omitted.
Omission of the word "得"
The word "得" used in the sentence structure between a verb and a complement has been omitted in colloquial Singaporean Mandarin
Examples are shown in the table below:
Singaporean Mandarin (omission of the word "得")Standard MandarinTranslation nǐ chī hěn màn nǐ chī de hěn mànYou eat very slowly. zhè zhǒng shì wǒ jiàn tài duō le zhè zhǒng shì wǒ jiàn dé tài duō leI've seen this thing too many times.
Omission of certain numbers
Certain numbers, which are expressed in Standard Mandarin, are omitted in colloquial Singaporean Mandarin.
Examples are shown in the table below:
Singaporean Mandarin (omission of certain numbers)Standard MandarinTranslationNotes kuài bàn yī kuài wǔ máoOne dollar and fifty cents (money)The number "一" (one) has been omitted chǐ èr yī chǐ èr1.2 feet (length)The number "一" (one) has been omitted bǎi sān yī bǎi sān shíOne hundred and thirtyThe number "一" (one) has been omitted liǎng wàn wǔ yuán liǎng wàn wǔ qiān yuánTwenty five thousand dollarsThe number "千" (thousand) has been omitted
Word groupings and arrangements
Certain word groupings and arrangements in colloquial Singaporean Mandarin sentences are greatly influenced by Hokkien.
Use of the words "有" and "無"
In Mandarin, the words "有" and "無" generally do not act as complementary verbs. But due to influence from Hokkien, colloquial Singaporean Mandarin uses them as complementary verbs.
Examples are shown in the table below:
Singaporean Mandarin (Hokkien influenced)Standard MandarinTranslation nǐ tīng yǒu ma? wǒ tīng yǒu. nǐ tīng dé dǒng ma? wǒ tīng dé dǒngDo you understand me? tā kàn yǒu wǒ kàn méi yǒu tā kàn dé jiàn, wǒ kàn bú jiànHe could see, I cannot see. zhè běn shū wǒ zhǎo yǒu le zhè běn shū wǒ zhǎo dào leI found this book
Use of the word "到" in lieu of "得"
In a "verb+complement" sentence structure, standard Mandarin uses the word 得 to link the verb and complement. Singapore Mandarin, due to influence from Hokkien, uses the word 到 instead.
Examples are shown in the table below:
Singaporean Mandarin (Hokkien influenced)Standard MandarinTranslation wǒ qì dào bàn sǐ wǒ qì dé bàn sǐI am so angry half-dead. hài dào wǒ bái máng yī cháng hài dé wǒ bái máng yī chángIt wastes all my effort. wǒ bèi tā nòng dào hěn bù hǎo yì si wǒ bèi tā nòng dé hěn bù hǎo yì siHe makes me feel embarrassed.
Use of the word "去"
Certain Singapore Mandarin sentence structures use the word as the resultative complement, where another character (such as ) might be used in Standard Mandarin.
Examples are shown in the table below:
Singaporean Mandarin (Hokkien influenced)Standard MandarinTranslation bēi zi pò qù le bēi zi pò diào leThe cup has broken. qián yòng qù le qián yòng diào le or qián yòng wán leThe money is used up. yǐ zi yǐ jīng huài qù yǐ zi yǐ jīng huài diàoThe chair has been broken
Use of Hokkien classifiers
A classifier (measure words) which is used with a certain noun in Hokkien might also be used similarly in Singapore Mandarin with the same noun, whereas another classifier might be used for that same word in Standard Mandarin.
Examples are shown in the table below:
Singaporean Mandarin (Hokkien measure word)Standard MandarinTranslationNotes yī lì qiú yī gè qiúA ballThe word "粒" (lì) is a Hokkien measure word yī zhī fēi jī yī jià fēi jīAn aeroplaneThe word "只" (zhī) is a Hokkien measure word yī zhī dāo yī bǎ dāoA knifeThe word "支" (zhī) is a Hokkien measure word
Sentences
Certain sentence structures used in Singapore Mandarin are influenced by Hokkien, and differ from their Standard Mandarin counterparts.
Some cases are listed in the following sub-sections.
Use of the word "有"
The word "" (yǒu) is usually added in front of a verb or verb predicate to indicate an existing action or completed status.
Singaporean Mandarin (Hokkien influenced)Standard MandarinTranslation wǒ yǒu kàn jiàn tā wǒ kàn jiàn tā leI saw him yǒu zài jiā ma zài jiā maAt home? wǒ míng míng yǒu gěi nǐ wǒ míng míng gěi le nǐI obviously gave you
Use of the word "會"
The use of word "" (huì) [literally "can"] is used in colloquial Singaporean Hokkien, and such a use has entered Singapore Mandarin. The sense of as "can" in Standard Mandarin is generally limited to knowledge or skilled ability, such as ability to speak a language, but in Singaporean Mandarin it is broader and closer to the meaning of "" in English, which indicates possibility or ability generally.