singkek
English
Noun
singkek
- (slang, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore) A laborer who has recently arrived from China.
- Coordinate term: totok
Indonesian
Etymology
From Hokkien 新客 (sin-kheeh, literally “new guest”), a term used to refer to relatively new Chinese arrivals in Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia (as opposed to Peranakan) around the 1800s to 1900s, as compound of 新 (sin, “new; recently”) + 客 (kheh, “guest”). Compare Malay sengkek, Tagalog singki.
Pronunciation
- (Standard Indonesian) IPA(key): /ˈsiŋkeʔ/ [ˈsiŋ.kɛʔ]
- Rhymes: -iŋkeʔ
- Syllabification: sing‧kek
Noun
singkék
- (ethnic slur, offensive) Chinese pure blood (as opposed to a Peranakan)
- Synonym: totok
- (ethnic slur, offensive) Chinaman, Chink (person of Chinese descent)
Usage notes
- Considered a stronger ethnic slur than Cina.
Alternative forms
- sengkek, singkeh
Hypernyms
Adjective
singkék
- (colloquial) stingy
- dasar singkek
- (please add an English translation of this usage example)
Further reading
- “singkek” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.
Malay
Alternative forms
- sengkek
- singke
- singkeh
Etymology
Borrowed from Hokkien 新客 (sin-kheeh / sin-kheh, “newcomer”, literally “new guest”), a term used to refer to relatively new Chinese arrivals in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia (as opposed to Peranakan) around the 1800s to 1900s, as compound of 新 (sin, “new; recently”) + 客 (kheh, “guest”). Compare Indonesian singkek, Tagalog singki.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈsiŋkek/ [ˈsiŋ.keʔ]
- Hyphenation: sing‧kek
Noun
singkek
- alternative form of sengkek
Hypernyms
Further reading
- Wilkinson, Richard James (1932) A Malay-English dictionary (Romanised)[1], volume 2, Mytilene (Greece): Salavopoulos and Kinderlis Art - Printers, pages 477-478
Minangkabau
Etymology
Cognate with Malay singkat (“short; brief; concise”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈsɪŋ.kɛʔ/
- Hyphenation: sing‧kek
Adjective
singkek