leh
Language: English
Part of speech: particle
Pronunciation: note: Senses 3‒6
ipa: /lɛ˨/
ipa: [lɛ(ː)˨]
note: All other senses
ipa: /lɛ˧/
ipa: /le˧/
ipa: [lɛ(ː)˦]
other: /l/
Forms: form: eh
form: lei
Etymology: From Hokkien 咧 (--leh, “declarative particle used for emphasis; interrogative particle used to express doubt”).
Senses: examples: text: Pitch contour: mid [lɛ˧], (interrogative) high-mid [lɛ˦]
text: No leh, it’s right here.
translation: No? It’s right here.
english: No? It’s right here.
bold_translation_offsets: 2
3
text: I counted 30 leh.
translation: But I counted 30.
english: But I counted 30.
bold_translation_offsets: 0
3
text: Why-ah? What happened to the lift-ah. Going up. Going down. But never stop. Door never open some more. Don't know-leh.
ref: 2007, Elangovan, P, Singapore, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 80:
text: You got send [e-mail] meh? I never receive leh.
ref: 2010 August 22, Fiona Chan, The Sunday Times, Singapore, page 13:
text: How come got 81 judges and then the number of votes is 45 vs 47 leh? 45+47 is 92 leh.
ref: 2016 October 8, Chew Hui Min, quoting Lee Kin Mun, “Netizens debate how 81 judges cast 92 votes in Sing! China final”, in The Straits Times, Singapore, archived from the original on 06 Aug 2024:
text: If you’re asked something that would incriminate a fellow colleague, you just say, ‘I don’t know leh,’ and you’re in the clear (conscience-wise). Though seriously, you’re still indirectly complicit.
ref: 2020 January 21, Terry Ng, “Toxic Workplace Cultures in Singapore: Are They More Common Than We Realise?”, in ricemedia.co, archived from the original on 19 Jun 2024:
glosses: Used to convey uncertainty (in response to inconsistent information).
examples: text: Pitch contour: (interrogative) high-mid [lɛ˦]
text: Our appointment leh?
translation: What about our appointment?
english: What about our appointment?
bold_translation_offsets: 0
10
text: OK, this one, leh?
ref: 2002 May 14, Niamh O’Leary, The Straits Times, Singapore, page L2:
glosses: Used to form “what about … ?” questions.
examples: text: Pitch contour: low-mid [lɛ˨]
text: It’s next week leh.
translation: Just so you know, it’s next week.
english: Just so you know, it’s next week.
bold_translation_offsets: 0
16
text: “After I got the degree, I told my dad that I’m going to do an MBA. He said, ‘Eh, no more money leh’. But I said, ‘It’s okay’.”
ref: 2014 July 21, Eddino Abdul Hadi, quoting Eddie Sung, “Former recruitment consultant Eddie Sung wanted to be the first Asian known for rock photography”, in The Straits Times, Singapore, archived from the original on 05 Dec 2023:
qualifier: declarative
glosses: Used to highlight or relay noteworthy information.
examples: text: Pitch contour: low-mid [lɛ˨]
text: Many houses were destroyed leh.
text: Thirty-five thousand jobs, leh. Not something to sneeze at.
ref: 2005 April 22, Lee Kin Mun, Today, Singapore, page 30:
text: Navigating gradients in high heels, she says with a giggle, is “no joke leh”. She is, however, more than adroit and willing to tackle more difficult courses, like blazing new trails for Singapore’s nascent space industry.
ref: 2023 March 5, Wong Kim Hoh, quoting Lynette Tan, The Straits Times, Singapore, archived from the original on 26 Feb 2024:
qualifier: declarative
glosses: Used to highlight the severity or seriousness of a situation.
examples: text: Pitch contour: low-mid [lɛ˨]
text: You all damn noisy leh how to sleep?
text: We put all the poetry packets in a bag and let people rummage through it and pick one at random when they left the house. […] “Amazing leh, I can’t believe it was a random pick,” he texted me later, “This is better than ang pow!”
ref: 2015 March 1, Corrie Tan, “We filled our hongbao with poetry, not cash”, in The Straits Times, Singapore, archived from the original on 05 Dec 2022:
text: “They asked me to do the striptease. I said no,” confessed Bachelor #1. / “Why not? You’re from NDU leh,” I remarked, surprised that even someone from the Naval Diving Unit would be shy about showing his body.
ref: 2015 April 19, Yeo Sam Jo, “Hello, I'm Eligible Bachelor #43”, in The Straits Times, Singapore, archived from the original on 08 Jun 2016:
qualifier: declarative
glosses: Reinforces the truth of a declarative remark.
examples: text: Pitch contour: low-mid [lɛ˨]
text: Still got risotto in the fridge leh.
translation: There’s still some risotto in the fridge.
english: There’s still some risotto in the fridge.
text: “Today Friday leh, I want to go out!” they imagined Dr Tan thinking.
ref: 2022 February 25, Hariz Baharudin, quoting SGAG, “Exam results, CCAs and Budget memes: What politicians are talking about”, in The Straits Times, Singapore, archived from the original on 27 Nov 2022:
text: I just wanna have a lil dance to some tunes. Tomorrow still got work leh
ref: 2024 April 26, Kimberly Lim, quoting @milotruckdreams, “In Praise of the Early Evening Bash: Inside A 5-10PM Party”, in ricemedia.co, archived from the original on 30 May 2024:
qualifier: declarative
glosses: Indicates a tentative reminder.
examples: text: Pitch contour: mid [lɛ˧]
text: Close the door leh.
translation: Why don’t you close the door?
english: Why don’t you close the door?
bold_translation_offsets: 0
13
28
29
text: Hello Mr Chan — why alone? Where's the better half? Bring her next time eh.
ref: 1983, Stella Kon, Emily of Emerald Hill, →ISBN, Act 1, page 20:
text: Sing us a song, leh.
ref: 1994, C.S. Chong, NS: An Air-Level Story, page 29:
text: It feels like a cheap gimmick to attract environmentalist types, when I don’t see any concrete policies to address that. If you don’t care, then don’t pretend to care leh. If you care, then make sure you got details to back you up, can?
ref: 2020 June 29, Poh Yong Han, “A Regular Singaporean’s Guide To Each Party’s Vision For The Economy”, in ricemedia.co, archived from the original on 23 May 2024:
glosses: Indicates a tentative request.
examples: text: Pitch contour: mid [lɛ˧]
text: — We can try taking the train.
— I don’t think we’ll have enough time leh.
text: Singaporean poet Cyril Wong might have been one of the first home-grown writers to depict sexuality so frankly on the page, but on the occasion of his 16th poetry collection, he laments: “I’m not just a confessional writer leh.”
ref: 2023 August 19, Shawn Hoo, quoting Cyril Wong, “Don’t call him a confessional poet: Cyril Wong on Beachlight, his 16th poetry book”, in The Straits Times, Singapore, archived from the original on 01 Jun 2024:
glosses: Indicates disagreement with an idea or suggestion.
examples: text: Pitch contour: mid [lɛ˧]
text: I don’t think that’s accurate leh.
synonyms: word: what
english: more assertive
translation: more assertive
glosses: Used to soften a disagreeing opinion.
examples: text: Pitch contour: mid [lɛ˧]
text: In my opinion the crème brûlée was so-so only leh.
glosses: Reinforces a tentative opinion and invites agreement.
examples: text: Pitch contour: mid [lɛ˧]
text: I don’t have all day leh.
text: Lester did not want to tell me about his feelings for his friend or his reasons for not talking about this absence of labels because “It’s a very private topic leh”—a telling response in itself.
ref: 2019 May 24, Yeo Boon Ping, quoting Lester, “Finally, An Explanation for Why So Many Singaporeans Can’t Commit Romantically”, in ricemedia.co, archived from the original on 22 Jun 2024:
glosses: Used to suggest that the listener has failed to take something into consideration.
Related terms: word: what
word: lah1–14
word: lor2–3
word: lor1
word: ah6–7
word: leh1–2
word: mah
word: leh3–6
word: one1–3
word: hor1
word: know
word: nia
word: only
word: sia
word: hor2
word: ah1–3
word: hah1–3
word: meh
word: ba2
word: leh7–11
word: ba1
word: liao
word: already
urls: https://doi.org/10.1016%2F0378-2166%2892%2990106-l
word: Gupta
urls: https://doi.org/10.1016%2F0378-2166%2892%2990106-l
word: A. F. (1992)
urls: https://doi.org/10.1016%2F0378-2166%2892%2990106-l
word: in
urls: https://doi.org/10.1016%2F0378-2166%2892%2990106-l
word: volume 18
urls: https://doi.org/10.1016%2F0378-2166%2892%2990106-l
word: number 1
urls: https://doi.org/10.1016%2F0378-2166%2892%2990106-l
word: →DOI
sense: unrelated, from Malay leceh
word: leh chey