liao

See also: Liao, liáo, liào, liāo, and liǎo

English

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Hokkien 了 (liáu) and Teochew 了 (liao²). Tone and spelling influenced by the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of Mandarin liǎo.

Alternative forms

leow, (in set phrases) lo, loh

Pronunciation

(Singapore) IPA^(key): [ljaʊ˨˩], (interrogative) [ljaʊ˨], (in fixed expressions from Hokkien) [ljaʊ˦˨]

Particle

liao

(Singlish, Manglish) Indicates action completion (perfective aspect).
Synonym: (Singlish, via semantic loan) already

I run 4 laps liao. ― I just ran 4 laps.

You decorate the cake liao? ― Have you decorated the cake yet?
(Singlish, Manglish) Marks a change in state (inchoative aspect).
Synonym: (Singlish, via semantic loan) already

It’s going to rain liao. ― It’s going to start raining soon.

Reach liao, give me a call. ― Give me a call when you’ve reached.

Damn shag liao, need to go back and sleep. ― I’m really tired now, I need to go back and sleep.

Related terms

Discourse particles in colloquial Singaporean and Malaysian English

⟵ More assertiveLess assertive ⟶

Expressing objection

what

Characterizing

one_1–3

Expressing inevitability

lor_2–3

Expressing resignation

lor₁

Expressing uncertainty

leh_1–2

Explanatory

mah

Assertive

lah_1–14

Intensifying

sia

Agreement-seeking

hor₂

Confirmation-seeking

ah_1–3, hah_1–3

Expressing skepticism

meh

Declarative

leh_3–6, hor₁, know, nia

Speculative

ba₂

Conveying tentativeness

leh_7–11, ba₁

Non-pragmatic

Aspect-marking

liao, already

References
Gupta, A. F. (1992) “The pragmatic particles of Singapore colloquial English”, in Journal of Pragmatics, volume 18, number 1, →DOI

Etymology 2

From Mandarin 料 (liào, “ingredients”).

Pronunciation

(Singapore) IPA^(key): [ljaʊ˦˨]

Noun

liao (uncountable)

(Singapore, colloquial) Meats, vegetables, and other ingredients added to an otherwise plain dish.
- 2012, Tan Tarn How, Fear of Writing, Epigram Books, →ISBN, scene: 35, page 72:
  Bak Chor Mee, less mee, Auntie. No extra liao today.
- 2019 June 18, ieatishootipost, Instagram:
  Had this hearty bowl of bak chor mee today at Blk 58 New Upper Changi Road market. […] This is the $5 bowl with extra liao. […]
- 2019 August 24, Yeo Boon Ping, quoting Zachary Tang, “If Zi Char Dishes Were In A Battle Royale, Which Would Come Out Tops?”, in ricemedia.co‎^[1], archived from the original on 12 July 2024:
  But for all the eggs and liao (ingredients) you have, it isn’t gao (strong).

Usage notes

Mainly used by Chinese Singaporeans and other speakers familiar with Mandarin.

Anagrams

Aloi, Oail, Iola

Mandarin

Romanization

liao

nonstandard spelling of liāo
nonstandard spelling of liáo
nonstandard spelling of liǎo
nonstandard spelling of liào

Usage notes

Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.