To eat, from Hokkien 食 (chiā̍h).
To eat, from Hokkien 食 (chiā̍h). One of the most-used Singlish verbs after "makan", with the same basic meaning but a slightly more casual, Hokkien-flavoured register. Forms many compounds: "jiak chuah" (lazy at school, literally "eat snake"), "jiak liao bee" (a freeloader, literally "one who has eaten the rice"), "jiak buay liao" (cannot finish eating). Used both literally ("jiak already?" — have you eaten?) and figuratively in the compound forms above.
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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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Emphatic Penang-Malaysian variant of "jiak" (to eat), with a tacked-on suffix that adds urgency or emphasis. Used in northern Malaysian Hokkien-influenced English the way "eat up!" or "tuck in!" might be used in British English. More forceful than plain "jiak"; often heard from aunties pressing food on guests, or from friends rallying a tableful of people to actually start the meal before the food gets cold.
(Singlish, Manglish) To eat.
(Singlish, of food, literally) despite having great presentation.
(colloquial, Singapore, Malaysia, Singlish, Manglish) Food which makes one feel satiated, disgusted, because the taste is too overwhelming.
Jiak already or not? Want to go for supper?
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