Part Singapore travelogue, part classic romantic comedy, the Warner Bros. movie “Crazy Rich Asians” is exciting audiences everywhere. But before you purchase your ticket, you may want to brush up on your “Singlish” (Singaporean English). And what better way to learn than directly from the “Crazy Rich Asian” cast themselves.
During a recent sit-down with Variety, stars Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh, and Ken Jeong played a game of “Do you speak Singlish?” Golding and Yeoh, who play a mother-son duo from a wealthy Singaporean family in the film, passed the test with flying colors, while Wu and Jeong had a little more trouble with certain terms.
The word ‘shiok,’ Yeoh explained, means “Wow, I feel good,” while Wu had an alternate definition.
“Is that like when people will say, ‘I’m shook,’ but it’s like one above?” she joked. “I’m not just ‘shook,’ I’m ‘shiok.’”
Golding and Yeoh also offered their expertise on vocabulary like “lah,” which can be used as a term of endearment, and “makan,” which means “eat.”
“You chill with your friends, and you usually ‘makan,'” Golding said.
Meanwhile, Jeong poked fun at Golding’s fluent Singlish, joking, ‘It’s, ‘to eat.’ And we all knew that, and I knew that from the beginning, Henry.”
Wu who, like Jeong, doesn’t consider herself a Singlish pro, also deferred to humor when presented with the Singaporean delicacy “chili crab.”
“Well, I’m gonna guess that’s a crab with chili,” Wu mused. “Or it’s a crab that’s really cold.”
“Crazy Rich Asians” hits theaters Wednesday.
