Three words I’ve been thinking about:
Mooi or moi (no not you Mooiness). Dutch. Said by M’s family at different occasions.
While eating:
GD: (licking his fingers after eating something particularly delectable) Mmm, zeer moi!
Everybody: Ya, moie!
Looking at something pleasing – scenery, a nice outfit:
SC: (prancing around the room, she’s only six) Look at my dress!
TD: Yes darling, it’s very pretty. Pa, look at S!
Opa: Ohh moi!
As a greeting:
WW: Right, I’m off then, bye!
WW Senior: Moie!
WW: Moie!
Everybody: Moie!
Babelfish translates this word as beautiful. M’s family speak a Dutch dialect, Gronings or Grunnengs, so it is likely that it is not a standard Dutch word. I have no idea how to spell this word – but have just found it on Gronings voor beginners, which suggests that moi is the word for hello.
(There’s actually another Dutch word I’d love to write about but I can’t work out how to spell it, and I haven’t been able to find it in the dictionary either. It too could be a dialect word, which is why it is not in my standard Dutch dictionary. The closest English equivalent I can find is stir crazy. M will know what word I mean!)
On to languages I am more familiar with:
Geram. Malay. I love this word, which has two definitions.
1. angry, annoyed. 2. like or love; be drawn or attracted to.
In the first sense it’s quite straightforward. Saya naik geram kerana dia cuba menyindir saya. “I was angry because he tried to insult me.†Or, “I became geram because he tried to insult me.â€
In the second sense it’s a little less conventional, in English, at any rate. Azizah geram benar melihat kanak-kanak yang tembam dan cerdik itu. “Seeing the chubby and smart child, Azizah felt really geram.†Dictionary definitions never say it, but it is the feeling women in particular have which drives them to pinch a child’s chubby cheeks. We still say it from time to time, particularly when referring to cute and chubby babies – “Ohhhh so geramlah!â€
–lah. Malaysian (or Singaporean) English. Not strictly a word, it’s a suffix which indicates the attitude of the speaker.
From Malaysiana:
Some of the many applications of “lah”
Coaxing Come on-lah; don’t be like that-lah; please-lah
Forceful Shut up-lah; get out-lah; go to hell-lah
Apologetic Sorry-lah
Fed up Enough-lah
Really fed up ****-lah
Definite Of course-lah; sure-lah
Generous Take some more-lah
Unyielding Cannot-lah
Dumbfounded What-lah
Reluctant Dowan-lah! (A contraction of “don’t want-lah”)
Suggestive Try-lah
Agreeable Okay-lah
Disagreeable Your head-lah
Categories: language, culture, translation
12 Comments
Yes I know it wasn’t about me. Hahah I’m not that narcissistic. I actually looked up that word once before. 🙂
And I love “your head lah!” To a traditional English speaking person, that’d be like huh?!
Not too sure about the Dutch dialects. But here’s a link (on TalkingCock.com) to the definition of lah. You can also find definitions for other Singlish words.
Hahaha…. ‘lah’ makes me laugh all the time. Especially when Caucasians try to use it. The tones just get all mangled.
It’s spelt “mooi” and is a standard Dutch word. And “stircrazy” is, in my dictionary given as “bajesmaf”. Which is interesting, because the root “maf” means “slow, heavy or dull” and “maffen” means to snooze.
Some of the many applications of “eh”
Coaxing Come on-eh; don’t be like that-eh; please-eh
Forceful Shut up-eh; get out-eh; go to hell-eh
Apologetic Sorry-eh
Fed up Enough-eh
Really fed up ****-eh
Definite Of course-eh; sure-eh
Generous Take some more-eh
Unyielding Cannot-eh
Dumbfounded What-eh
Reluctant Dowan-eh! (A contraction of “don’t want-eh”)
Suggestive Try-eh
Agreeable Okay-eh
Disagreeable Your head-eh
Ahhh Canada :p
Mooiness, I like your head-lah too 🙂
Thanks Isaak. Talking Cock is a great site!
Oh, you’re right Cherry, I forgot to mention the tones!
Hello Geoff! Thanks for confirming that mooi is a standard Dutch word. As for bajesmaf, that’s actually not the word I was looking for. I have no idea how to spell it but it’s something like verwoendegh?? I can’t actually even get the sounds correctly – it only sounds right when my husband M says it!
Kris, so are you sounding Canadian now? Or are you learning French?
J’apprends francais, mais ce va lentement 😉 J’ai une exam demain soir! J’etude beaucoup!
But I am sounding Canadian… I’ve always said “hey” at the end of sentences a lot, so now I lose the H and I fit right in :p
CW, ok, how about “verwoedheid” – fury, rage, fierceness? That sounds like your word. It’s derived from “woede”, meaning [blind] fury, [white with] rage…
Well Kris it will be good to catch up when you’re next back in town, you call show off your French skills and your Canadian ‘ehs’! 🙂
Geoff that looks like it could be the word!! M and his family use it to describe a person’s behaviour when s/he is bored and doing and saying silly things because of the boredom (which is where I got the rough equivalent of stir crazy from)! Thanks very much 🙂 I’m starting to think I should learn Dutch!
For sure! I can’t wait to get back for a visit 🙂 I’m planning on January 2007… still so far away!
It’ll be January before you know it, Kris! That’s the scary part…