T

TAHAN (contributed by J Tai)
Malay term meaning to endure, withstand or tolerate. 
1. "Waiter, where is my duck rice? Cannot tahan already, faster leh!"
2. "I think we tahan his nonsense too long oreddy."
See also: Beh Tah Han

TAI KO (contributed by selena and conrad)
To win by chance. Usually used in a game of pool or snooker to describe a lucky shot.
" Wah lau, that was damn tai ko! "

TAKE YOU GO MARKET AND SELL
The classic Singapore threat to children. Works like a charm every time.
"If you don'ch stop making noise, ah, I tomorrow take you go market and sell!"

TALK COCK/TALK COCK SING SONG
To speak rubbish or nonsense.  Probably originates from the English phrase “cock and bull”. “Sing Song” is added for emphasis. “Talk Cock” by itself also has the more benign meaning of  “casual banter” or “chatting”.
1.  “Ah Beng managed to pass the exam? Don’t talk cock!”
2.  “I met Johnny at the kopi tiam just now, and we were talking cock for a while.”
See also: Kong Chiao Weh

TAN CHIAK/TAN LUI (tun chia'h/tun looi)(contributed by Kevin)
Hokkien term literally translated as "earn to eat". It means  a hardworking act in order to survive or excel in whatever a person is doing (usually in work).
1. "Wah lau, you si peh tan chia'h leh, boots kiwi until so shiny!"
2. "Why I sell kleenex? Have to tan chia'h, what!"
See also: Pian Chiak

TAN CHIAK PENG (tun chia'h peng)
A derogatory term used to describe regular soldiers in the Army.  It is always used somewhat smugly by NSFs, who will ORD one day.

TAN KU KU
Hokkien phrase meaning "Forget it, it won't happen."
"She agree to pak tor with you? Tan ku ku, lah!"
See also: Wait Long-Long

TAPI (tah-pee)
Hokkien contraction of the Malay word "tetapi", meaning "but" or "however".
"Frankie wants a new Marseelis, tapi he boh lui."

TAR PAO
Hokkien term meaning “takeaway” (UK) or “takeout” (US). 
“Can you go and tar-pow some char kway teow on your way home?” 

TAR POR
Hokkien for “man” or “male”.
See: Char Bor   

TAU HONG (contributed by Mike Soo) 
Hokkien for "air in the head", meaning "go mad". 
"Don't think of the girl so much. Wait you tau hong then you know."

TAU TIAH (tao tee-ah)
Hokkien for "headache".  Can also mean troublesome.
1.  "Ask me to do this sort of thing, wah lau eh, gimme tau tiah only."
2.  "Doing this sort of thing, damn tau tiah man." (This task is very troublesome.)   

T'EH (dt'air)
A Hokkien term used to describe gooey, childlike and coquettish behaviour by women designed to elicit sympathy or pampering by men.
"Whenever Ah Lian wants Ah Beng to do something for her, she becomes si beh t'eh."
See also: Manja

T'EH PAO (dt'air pow)
Someone, invariably a young lady, who behaves very "t'eh".
"Have you met Ah Beng's new girlfriend? When she got a paper cut only, she will go over and ask him to kiss-kiss. Damn t'eh pao, man!"
See: T'eh

T'EH LUM PAH CHI SAHT
One of the most graphic expressions in the Lexicon, it is also one of the most inspired.  Literally, it translates from Hokkien as “to commit suicide by squeezing your testicles”.  The Hokkien equivalent of hara-kiri, it expresses profound regret and frustration, and is often said after a confession of having done something monumentally stupid.
“Ah Beng accidentally threw his winning 4D ticket into the incinerator? Wah lau, like that he might as well t’eh lum pah chi saht.”   

TEKAN
Of Malay derivation, it means to beat or hit, but is most commonly used to describe being abused or scolded.
1.  “Uh-oh, the sergeant is off to tekan the recruits again.”
2.  “Why you so cham, always kena tekan by your boss one?” 

TEPI SIKIT (ter-pee see-kit)
Malay term meaning "move aside a little" or "shift to one side". An ego-bursting term usually preceded by invoking the name of someone more impressive than the person you're addressing.
(Said to someone who's playing golf very badly): "Oi, Tiger Woods, tepi sikit." 

TER BAK CHEK
Generic name for a pork butcher. 

TERBALIK
A Malay word meaning “upside down” or “inside out”.  Sometimes used to mean a reversal.  Common Beng mispronunciations include “tombalik” and “tombaling”.
1.  “Eh, you wore your shirt terbalik today. The label's on the outside.”
2.  “You always sabo people, one day terbalik then you tzai si.” (You're always getting people into trouble. One day, the situation will be reversed, then you'll know what it feels like.)   

TERROR
Singlish for "terrifying", "powerful" or "outrageous". Not necessarily derogatory.
1. "Tonight you sure got date with Ah Lian, one. See you dress so terror."
2. "Did you see Paramjeet run the 2.4? Wah lao, damn terror, man."
See also: Heong; Fierce; Powderful

TERUK
Malay for "severe", or "tough".
"The exam was damn teruk, man."  

THAMBI
Yet another racist manner of addressing a Tamil person. "Thamby" itself is innocuous, but when used as a generic appellation for Southern Indians, it is clearly racist.

TIAM (ti-ahm)
From the Malay word "diam", meaning "quiet" or "silent", and co-opted into Singlish Hokkien.
"Tiam lah, I dowan to hear any more kau peh kau bu".
See: Shaddup

TIKAM (tee-kum) (contributed by Bertha)
To tikam means to choose randomly.  From the Malay phrase "tikam-tikam". Commonly used among secondary school kids who need to answer multiple choice questions, or impatient people in the 4D queue.
"Aiyah, the MCQ is si beh difficult, man.  All donno how to do, so I just tikam all the way, lor."

TIU/TIU LEI LO MO/TIU LEI LO MO CHAO HAI
"Tiu" is the Cantonese equivalent of the Hokkien "kan", meaning "fuck".  And "tiu lei lo mo" is "fuck your old mother", and the ultimate is "tiu lei lo mo chao hai", which has the same as that thermonuclear weapon of Hokkien swearing "kan ni na bu chao chee bye".  If you want to be discreet, with the right intonation "tiu lei lo mo chao lo hai" can also mean "throw your mother's smelly old shoes away".
See also: Kan Ni Na Bu Chao Chee Bye

TOH
A Hokkien word meaning “to collapse” or “fall”.  Used to describe failure.
“He set up a bak kut teh stall in the Malay Village? Business sure toh, lah.”   

TOK CHAI TAU (contributed by Sian Tao Ong)
Hokkien phrase literally translated as "Cut Cabbage HEad".  It means to take advantage of a person in order to pay off one's debts."
Ah Lian:  "Eh, let's go and find Ah Beng and tok chai tau him, okay?"

TOK KONG
Hokkien term meaning “superb” or “top of the line”.
1.  “Check out his DVD player. Tok kong, man!”
2.  “Wah lau eh, Ah Lian’s body is si beh tok kong.”

TOK SAD (tok sahd) (contributed by UMC-Nazzster)
Of unknown derivation, this means "castrate".
"Wah lau, if you can pok Mei Yee, ah, I immediately tok sad one!"

TOLONG
Malay for "help". Can sometimes be used in the sense of "give me a break".
1. "Eh, this thing is damn heavy. Tolong, can or not?"
2. "You want me to go with you to watch the NDP? Tolong, lah."

TONG KENG (contributed by Keefe)
Local billiard/snooker/pool term which means to park, place or position a ball such that the next player can score easily.  It is usually used to indicate that someone has been fortuitously granted an advantage.
"Piang eh! That girl bend down like that, tong keng for you, you waiting for what?"

TOO LAN
Rather rude Hokkien term meaning “disgruntled" or "pissed off".
“I lend him so much money, now he treat me like that, I damn too lan one."

TOR HWEE (contributed by Edward Tew)
Literally meaning "vomit blood", this is a Hokkien phrase which is used as an expression for extreme difficulty, intense suffering, or great irritation.
Ah Beng: "Yesterday, hor, I teach my son Maths, teach until tor hwee."
See also: Vomit Blood

TSAO
Hokkien for "to run".  Can also mean to dodge or skive. Curiously, nowadays, it's also used very much like "goodbye" a la the Italian "ciao", which sounds very similar.
1.  "When a mad dog chases you - tsao like siao, man!"
2.  "Want to tsao class today?"
See also: Pontang; Siam, Tuang.

TSAO K'NG
Hokkien term meaning to expose one's underwear unintentionally.
"Don't look! Jane tsao k'ng again."

TUA (too-ah) (contributed by Yong Kuan)
A Hokkien term which is the equivalent of the African-American term "diss". A word which describes showing or being shown a lack of respect.
1. "Eh, I waited one hour for you but you ne'er turn up! Tua me, is it?"
2. "I ne'er do anything to you, why you go and tua me like that?" 

TUA KANG (doo-ah kahng) (contributed by Minglun)
Hokkien phrase literally meaning "big hole".  Used to describe someone telling an exaggerated story, usually involving the teller doing something extraordinary.

TUA KEE (1)
Hokkien for "big shot".
"You lan copler only, what! Why you act so tua kee?" (You're only a lance corporal. How dare you act like such a big shot?"

TUA KEE (2) (contribution by Jonathan Ng)
Hokkien phrase meaning "to wind up in deep trouble".
"Seow liao, my new boss is that bastard occifer from my BMT company! Like that I tua kee oreddy, lah!"

TUA PIANG SIAN (contributed by Sian Tao Ong)
Hokkien phrase literally meaning "Big Bluff God".  Describes someone who's extremely proficient in bullshitting or conning people.
1. "Tua Piang Sian come oreddy, be careful your money"
2. "Here comes the Tua Piang Sian. Let's hear what cock he wants to talk today."
See also: Sian Tao Ong

TUA TAO (twah tau)
Literally, Hokkien for "big head".  A term for a gang leader.

TUA TEOW (contributed by "Crow")
To encounter great trouble.
"Wah lao, Ah Beng just knock somebody down with his motor bike! Damn tua teow, man..."

TUANG (twahng)
To skive. 
"I'm supposed to be in class, but I've decided to tuang."
See also: Chiak Tsua; Pontang; Siam; Tsao. 

TUANG KING
An accomplished skiver.

TUM SIM
Hokkien for “greedy”.
“He got so many marbles, still do’wan to share. Why so tum sim one?” 

TUMPANG (tome-pahng)
A Malay word meaning “to hitch a ride” or “piggyback”. Can also mean asking someone to do a favour for you while they are doing something else.  Note: If you’re a serious Ah Beng, you’ll pronounce this “lompang”.
1.  “Eh, my wife took my car today. Can I tumpang your car to work?”
2.  “Eh, since you’re going to the post office, can I tumpang you to buy some stamps?”   

TUP PAI (Contributed by UMC-Nazzster) 
A Hokkien term meaning "everytime" or "always". 
1. "Aiyah... he tup pai one lah." (Sigh... He's always like that.)
2. "He tup pai go Sim Lim to buy pirated VCDs."

TZAI
A compliment about one’s coolness.  
“Ah Lian agreed to go out with him? Since when he so tzai one?” 
See also: Can; Steady

TZAI CHIU (contributed by Ah-Li)
Hokkien for "steady hand".  Means to be good at or capable of executing tasks well.
"Eh, this sort of thing better go and ask Ah Beng to handle.  He NS that time in the Bomb Disposal Unit, sure damn tzai chiu one."

TZAI SI
Hokkien admonishment meaning “to know death”. From the Hokkien phrase “Mm Tzai Si”.
See: Mm Tzai Si.   

TZAO KNG (chao k'ng) (contributed by Alvin Teo)
A Hokkien phrase meaning to accidentally expose oneself to others.
1. " She wear such a short skirt, sit down, stand up, sure tzao kng one....."
2. Ah Seng: "Eh, why your eyes red-red?"
    Ah Beng: "I saw Ah Lien tzao kng, lor."