English Loanwords in Penang Hokkien

Penang Hokkien has liberally borrowed many words from English. Some of these words continue to retain their original meaning while a few have evolved to a new meaning. There are also a few derivative words that are of English origin, but exists only in Penang Hokkien. View also the list of English Loanwords via Malay. Direct loans
The following are commonly used words in Penang Hokkien that retain their meaning in English. Such words are spelled as in English, without the inclusion of any tone marks. They appear regularly in every day conversations. Indirect loans
These words are derived from English by way of Malay. Those that may appear as a direct loan are also spelled in their English form in brackets

1. bas1: bus
   
   
2. le1sen1 [lɛ-sɛn] : license
   
   
3. tek1si4: taxi
   
   

English derivative
These are words derived from English. They may retain their original English meaning or may have evolved somewhat.

1. action [ɛk-ʃən]: (verb) to show off
   
   
2. go1stan4 [go-stan] : (verb) to reverse
   
   
3. moto [mo-to]: (noun) motorcycle

View full list of Penang Hokkien Vocabulary

Learn Penang Hokkien with Memrise

Now you can use the most user-friendly tool on the web to learn Penang Hokkien. It helps you to listen, understand and memorise. Go to Memrise, and learn Penang Hokkien at your own pace.

Return to Penang Hokkien Resources

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

Map of Roads in Penang

Looking for information on Penang? Use this Map of Roads in Penang to zoom in on information about Penang, brought to you road by road.

Disclaimer

Please use the information on this page as guidance only. The author endeavours to update the information on this page from time to time, but regrets any inaccuracies if there be any.

About this website

Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.

Copyright © 2003-2024 Timothy Tye. All Rights Reserved.

Terms & Condition of Use | Privacy Policy