Slangora

pakat

Pakat is Singlish — Singapore's distinctive English creole — for conspiring, colluding, or scheming together.

ˈpakatSilenthistorical312 viewsLast reviewed Jun 29, 2026+ Add a definition
🗺️ Regional & Other
2 definitions
Community

Seen in the wild

Definitions

UK
#1·Apr 28, 2026UK

Pakat is Singlish — Singapore's distinctive English creole — for conspiring, colluding, or scheming together. If you pakat with someone, you're coordinating behind the scenes, usually to get an advantage or pull something off that might not be entirely above board. It's used casually for everything from harmless coordination ('let's pakat and surprise her') to genuinely shady collusion. The word is common in everyday Singapore speech and pop culture.

Don't pretend you didn't pakat with your sister to make sure you got the bigger room — I know what you two are like.
Origin: From Malay 'pakatan' (agreement, conspiracy, coalition). Singlish naturally borrows and adapts Malay vocabulary, and 'pakat' has been smoothed into everyday Singapore English usage. Editorial expansion authored on Slangora.
For parents

Pakat is Malay/Indonesian/Filipino for "agreed" or "in cahoots," depending on context. Not concerning, just regional vocabulary. If your kid uses it constantly, ask them where they first heard it, not to police their speech but to understand which online community they are in. Most slang of this kind moves through TikTok and group chats, so seeing it in your child's vocabulary just means they are plugged into normal teen internet culture.

For ESL learners

Pakat is a Southeast Asian word (Malay, Indonesian, with related forms in Filipino) meaning "to agree" or "to conspire." Use in Southeast Asian contexts. Formal equivalents: "to agree," "to plot together." Common non-native mistake: confusing with English words. In Singlish and Manglish, pakat often implies conspiratorial agreement, sometimes with negative undertones. Read or listen to the word in context several times before trying it yourself; the right register is harder to learn than the dictionary meaning.

Was this helpful?

Comments

SG-MY
#2·Apr 27, 2026SG-MY

(Singapore, Singlish) To conspire; to collude.

Heard in the wild
  • “Jika artikel atau bagian [tidak disunting dalam beberapa hari](https://id.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pakat&action=history), silakan hapus templat ini.<br>_Jika Anda adalah pengguna yang menambahkan templat ini dan Anda sedang aktif menyunting, pastikan untuk mengganti templat ini dengan `{{sedang ditulis}}` saat hendak menyunting_.”

  • “Musara Pakat telt 222 inwoners (volkstelling 2010).”

Was this helpful?

Comments

For specific readers

Pakat is Malay/Indonesian/Filipino for "agreed" or "in cahoots," depending on context. Not concerning, just regional vocabulary. If your kid uses it constantly, ask them where they first heard it, not to police their speech but to understand which online community they are in. Most slang of this kind moves through TikTok and group chats, so seeing it in your child's vocabulary just means they are plugged into normal teen internet culture.

Why is this section here?

Slang is read by different audiences for very different reasons. The For parents view re-explains the term in plain, non-judgemental language so a caregiver can understand what their child means without needing the surrounding subculture. The For English learners view focuses on register (when it's safe to use), formal alternatives, and common mistakes — what a textbook won't teach you.

Used in

SG-MYUK

Have a better definition?

Add your own interpretation of "pakat".

Add definition

🗺️About Regional & Other slang

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.

See all Regional & Other slang on Slangora.

Tags

Other words near "pakat" (P)

Browse all slang words starting with P.

Related terms

People also read

Semantically related