Read How Singaporeans Use These Five Malay Words Differently

We fight about almost everything under the sun, like history, food, people, even down to the language, but in a non-violent way lah (at least we can both agree to the usage of this word).

We're familiar with our own Manglish (Malay and English) words that non-Malaysians will never understand because besides combining typical Malay and English terms, we also throw in other dialects like Cantonese, Hokkien or Mandarin.

For example, 'chun' (pretty), 'lan si' (arrogant), 'potong stim' (killjoy), and our personal favourite 'mempersiasuikan' (to embarrass), etc.

Since our neighbours down south pretty much speak the same languages and dialects as we do, they also have their own set of borrowed words which they dub as Singlish (Singaporean English), particularly Malay words.

But the problem is, Singlish contains borrowed words which has a completely different meaning in Malay, which annoys some Malaysians.

Recently, the South China Morning Post tested Google Home to see if the device understands Singlish. And lo and behold, it understood the word 'kaki' as 'friend' because it's a common slang in Singapore. But some people were triggered because the origin of the Malay words means 'leg'.

So to add oil to fire, the daily found a few more Malay words that are used differently in Singapore. We got to say, some of them will raise eyebrows.

Kantang

Malay: potato (originally spelled kentang in Malay) Singlish: Westernised Singaporean

Singaporeans use the word 'kantang' to describe someone who can only speak English and not their mother tongue.

Karung guni

Malay: gunny sack Singlish: rag-and-bone man

It used to be common to see rag-and-bone men who would go round housing estates collecting unwanted household items or newspapers while carrying a gunny sack and cart. The term 'karung guni' was used to describe these older men.

Kayu

Malay: wood Singlish: being unfair or stupid

Here's a word that has a different meaning in Manglish as well. We use 'kayu' to describe someone who is not flexible or has no expression. But in Singapore, 'kayu' refers to someone who is making an unfair decision, like a referee at a football match.

Kelong

Malay: offshore fishing platform Singlish: match fixing or cheating

This is a strange one. For example, if the results of a football game seems suspicious, Singaporeans will say that it's kelong because the player may have been bribed or the match could have been fixed beforehand.

Goondu

Malay: marble (originally spelled gundu in Malay) Singlish: idiotic

In Singapore, they call someone who is stupid a gundu, because the Malay word also means something hard and heavy.