(Singapore, Malaysia, Singlish) No choice; it cannot be helped; there’s no other way.
(Singapore, Malaysia, Singlish) No choice; it cannot be helped; there’s no other way.
In Singapore, there is no choice being one of the world’s twenty smallest countries. Boh pien ah.
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Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
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Shy, embarrassed, or politely apologetic. From Hokkien 歹勢 (phái-sè), literally "bad situation". Used as an adjective ("so paiseh!"), a feeling-noun ("aiya, paiseh lah"), or even a verb-ish softener when asking a favour or declining one ("paiseh to ask you, but..." / "paiseh, I cannot make it tonight"). One of the most uniquely Singlish emotional concepts: it covers genuine embarrassment, social awkwardness, and the polite reluctance Singaporeans feel about imposing on others. Cannot be cleanly translated into a single English word.