lah
Language: English
Part of speech: particle
Pronunciation: ipa: /lɑː/
rhymes: -ɑː
ipa: [lä(ː)]
ipa: [lɑh˨]
ipa: /lɑː/
rhymes: -ɑː
Forms: form: la
form: lar
Etymology: From Malay lah, Cantonese 啦 (laa¹) and Hokkien 啦 (--la). Doublet of la.
Senses: examples: text: Pitch contour: low-mid [lɑ(ː)˨], mid-falling [lɑː˧˨]
text: Don’t do it lah, it’s not worth it.
translation: Disapproval
english: Disapproval
text: Hurry up, lah!
translation: Impatience
english: Impatience
text: Don’t know lah […] this is very hard to say.
ref: 1978, Leong Choon Cheong, Youth in the Army, Singapore: Federal Publications, →OCLC, page 75:
text: Even if you don't know, just pretend as if you know-lah Mike. You are embarrassing me you know.
ref: 2007, Elangovan, P, Singapore, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 47:
text: Please lah, you want to save me, save me the headache.
ref: 2020, Stephanie Street, Dragonflies, Epigram Books, →ISBN, Act 2, scene 2, page 110:
text: In a few months that have been both dispiriting and heartening with regard to public art […] is it any wonder that one of the most earnest things one can say to Singapore right now is: “Stop complaining, lah”?
ref: 2024 July 16, Clement Yong, “Theatre review: National Day Charade mimes familiar criticisms of NDP but doles out a lesson or two”, in The Straits Times, Singapore: Singapore Press Holdings Limited:
glosses: Placed at the end of a sentence to accentuate the mood or attitude of the speaker.
examples: text: Pitch contour: low-mid [lɑ(ː)˨], mid-falling [lɑː˧˨]
text: You won’t drown one lah. The water is very shallow.
text: Don’t worry lah. We’ll meet the deadline.
ref: 1999, Alfian Sa'at, Corridor, Singapore: SNP Editions, →OCLC, page 15:
glosses: Placed at the end of a sentence to convey reassurance or express solidarity.
examples: text: Pitch contour: low-mid [lɑ(ː)˨]
text: Just try your best lah, and don’t think too much about it.
text: I mean, I didn’t want to break the law, and I honestly went down to find out whether that place was OK to park or not. Let’s be fair lah, you can’t expect me to see one sign saying something and still go a long way to see if there is another one saying something else.
ref: 1990, Pao Kun Kuo, “No Parking On Odd Days”, in The Coffin Is Too Big For The Hole and Other Plays, →OCLC, page 63:
text: I had Malay friends who were just turned away like that. It’s quite bad lah.
ref: 2016, Junjia Ye, quoting Jayakumar, chapter 5, in Class Inequality in the Global City: Migrants, Workers and Cosmopolitanism in Singapore, Palgrave Macmillan UK, →ISBN, pages 139–140:
text: You know that for tattooing, we are supposed to use disposable needles, right? Well, Joseph (Rough Face) will tell us not to throw them away after use. The next morning when I come into the studio, the needle box is always full again but the needles are without their original seal. You know why lah.
ref: 2022, Hunter Ng, As Coarse as Emporium, Jettison Books, →ISBN:
text: Aiyah, we will always chat or message what... We’ll keep in touch lah, hor?
ref: 2024, Jojo Chia, Afternoon Yuan Yang Club, Epigram Books, →ISBN:
glosses: Indicates an attempt at expressing sympathy, being sincere, conveying informality or establishing a rapport with the listener.
examples: text: Pitch contour: low-mid [lɑ(ː)˨], mid-falling [lɑː˧˨]
text: — I don’t think you should be cutting corners, at least put in some effort and make it look legit.
— They won’t care one lah... I don’t have all day...
text: “No lah,” she had said, almost casually to his proposal. He was flabbergasted.
ref: 2011, Robert Yeo, The Adventures of Holden Heng, Epigram Books, →ISBN:
text: Don’t bother about him lah. Let’s pack up and get some sleep as we have a long day ahead.
ref: 2011, Siong Chye Sim, Once Bitten, Never Shy: Confessions of a Backpacking Diplomat, Armour, →ISBN, page 63:
text: No lah, they must look at it this way... even though the founder (Colonel Harland Sanders) of KFC has died, his recipe lives on.
ref: 2012 March 25, Maureen Koh, quoting Ha Wai Kay, “Her luck is in the duck”, in The Straits Times, Singapore: Singapore Press Holdings Limited, PEOPLE, pages 6–7:
text: “Papa, I’m telling you—the property was immense. It was like the Istana. The driveway itself went on for miles.”
“Cannot be! Two or three acres I might believe, but fifty? No such thing, lah.”
ref: 2013, Kevin Kwan, chapter 3, in Crazy Rich Asians, Doubleday, →ISBN:
glosses: Placed at the end of an assertive statement to express denial or dismissiveness.
examples: text: Pitch contour: low-mid [lɑ(ː)˨], mid-falling [lɑː˧˨]
text: These shoes are too small lah.
text: No need to count lah. I’m sure the number is right.
text: Eleven, eleven thirty, same same lah.
ref: 1997, Eric Khoo, James Toh, 00:27:01 from the start, in 12 Storeys:
text: Every once in a long while when someone asked why, he said: “No time-lah. So busy-leh.”
ref: 2007, Michael Vatikiotis, Singapore Ground Zero, Talisman, →ISBN, page 3:
text: “Keretapi Tanah Melayu means railway lah thanggachi [தங்கச்சி (taṅkacci), term of address for a younger woman],” the man went on. “Means Malay Land Railway. Malay Land that means Malaysia lah [Sense 6], thanggachi, that also you don’t know ah? […]
ref: 2008, Preeta Samarasan, Evening Is the Whole Day, Fourth Estate, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 116:
glosses: Used after an assertive statement to reinforce its authoritativeness, or to show that the speaker is confident with what they are saying.
examples: text: Pitch contour: falling [lɑ(ː)˦˨]
text: Near-synonym: lor (sense 2)
text: Get a whiteboard marker and write over it lah.
text: They’re not wrong lah... But they’re only taking themselves into consideration.
text: Mud you can clean up. Cobwebs you can sweep away. Stains, use bleach lah!
ref: 2009, Jean Tay, Boom, Epigram Books, →ISBN, Act I, scene v, page 30:
text: Nadirah: You never told me Sally was leaving. I didn't even have the chance to say goodbye.
Sahirah: You visit her lah when you go to KL.
ref: 2009, Alfian Sa'at, “Nadirah”, in Collected Plays Three, Singapore, →ISBN, Scene ii, page 57:
glosses: Asserts that something is clear, obvious or straightforward.
examples: text: Pitch contour: falling [lɑ(ː)˦˨]
text: I remember my friends telling me, 'People already say you're an artist, then be one lah.'
ref: 2013 June 18, Huang Lijie, quoting Samantha Lo, “Sticking to budding artist label”, in The Straits Times, Singapore: Singapore Press Holdings Limited, LIFE! Arts, page 2:
glosses: Used to tone down an imperative sentence, so it sounds more like a request or suggestion.
examples: text: Pitch contour: mid-falling [lɑː˧˨]
text: Don’t waste your time there lah.
text: […] I say politely, No thank you, it’s okay. But he insists, Take lah, never mind, no need to pai-seh!
ref: 2014, Danielle Lim, The Sound of SCH: A Mental Breakdown, A Life Journey, Ethos Books, →ISBN:
glosses: Indicates strong persuasion at the end of an imperative sentence.
examples: text: Pitch contour: low-mid [lɑ(ː)˨], mid-falling [lɑː˧˨]
text: — Not many people would think of using a pressure cooker.
— I mean, it’s pretty unconventional lah, I have to admit.
text: Oh well, it was xiong, but overall OK, lah.
ref: 1994, C. S. Chong, NS: An Air-Level Story, Singapore: Times Books International, →ISBN, page 58:
text: He said that in the past, […] a teacher might admonish a noisy class and say: “4N(T), keep quiet!” Immediately, all the N(T) students felt that they were singled out. Today, the teacher would say: “NCC, keep quiet!” and the Normal stream students feel: “Okay lah.”
ref: 2019 March 5, Ong Ye Kung, “Committee of Supply – Head K (Ministry of Education)”, in Parliamentary Debates: Official Report (Parliament of Singapore), volume 94:
text: Different priorities lah these days.
ref: 2021 December 9, Ilyas Sholihyn, Rainer Cheung, quoting Syed, “20 Years On, What Do Singaporeans Remember About JI’s Failed Bomb Plot?”, in ricemedia.co, archived from the original on 09 Dec 2024:
text: Interviewer: But what is expensive to your parents? Like $50 for a dress?
Lola: Er ... it’s not that bad lah.
ref: 2022, Bernice Loh, chapter 4, in Tween Girls' Dressing and Young Femininity in Singapore: Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast?, Springer Nature Singapore, →ISBN, page 94:
glosses: Indicates a retrospective remark, a reassessment of one’s opinion, or an attempt at finding a middle ground.
examples: text: Pitch contour: low-mid [lɑ(ː)˨], mid-falling [lɑː˧˨]
text: The nearest train station is 15 minutes away. I think we take the bus lah, hor?
text: Use the mittens lah.
glosses: Reinforces a suggestion with the implication that it is the more practical option.
examples: text: Pitch contour: falling [lɑː˦˨]
text: In other words, you’re the one who started it lah!
text: “Huh? SAP school? Oh, you mean Chinese schools lah.”
ref: 2019 June 4, Ethel Pang, “As Long As SAP Schools Exist, ‘Chinese Elitism’ in Singapore Will Exist”, in ricemedia.co, archived from the original on 10 Feb 2025:
glosses: Indicates confirmation-seeking at the end of an inferential statement.
examples: text: Pitch contour: falling [lɑː˦˨]
text: So in the end it wasn’t my fault lah!
text: Do it yourself lah! Always need me to help is it?
text: When Richard was going to join Anglo-Chinese School I expected the father to bring him to see the Headmaster, after all he was from ACS himself, but he couldn't be bothered. (Emily imitates Kheong's brusque brush-off) 'You look after it, you arrange it lah!'
ref: 1983, Stella Kon, Emily of Emerald Hill, →ISBN, Act 1, page 14:
glosses: Used to express realisation, or vexation when something is already obvious.
examples: text: Pitch contour: mid-rising [lɑ(ː)˧˦]
text: Oh wait it’s not today, lah. It’s on Sunday.
glosses: Reinforces the factuality of an assertive statement made to correct an inaccurate, underlying assumption.
examples: Pitch contour: mid-rising [lɑ(ː)˧˦]
glosses: Used to convey a slight sense of dissatisfaction or irritation.
examples: text: Pitch contour: mid [lɑː˧]
text: He teach them how to cook lah, learn computer lah... […]
ref: 2010, Haresh Sharma, Those Who Can't, Teach, Epigram Books, Act I, scene ii:
glosses: Used for enumeration (when listing examples).
examples: text: Pitch contour: low-mid [lɑ(ː)˨]
text: No fun lah, you.
translation: You’re no fun.
english: You’re no fun.
text: “Who lah that Panjali? A real ‘number nine’ [From Tamil ஒன்பது (oṉpatu), a derogatory term for a transgender person].”
“You don’t play a fool you know. He is not a ‘number nine’, not a hermaphrodite, but a man. He is the one who has been cross-dressing and performing the role of Panjali for many years.”
ref: 2014, Latha [K. Kanagalatha], The Goddesses in the Living Room, Singapore: Epigram Books, →ISBN, page 102:
glosses: An assertive separator, used to reverse the order of the usual topic–comment structure of a sentence.
raw_tags: in Singapore
examples: text: Pitch contour: low-mid [lɑː˨], (in the example below) high-mid [lɑ(ː)˦]
text: No lah, no lah.
translation: No, definitely not. (sarcastic reply)
english: No, definitely not. (sarcastic reply)
glosses: Used sarcastically.
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