sibeh

English

Alternative forms

• sibei

Etymology

From Singapore Hokkien 死爸 (sí-pē, “very; quite”, literally “die father”), from Singapore Teochew 死爸 (si² bê⁶, “very; quite”, literally “die father”), in the sense of being to the extent that one’s father dies. The spelling is influenced by Mandarin Pinyin.

Pronunciation

• (Singapore) IPA^(key): [ˈsiː˨˦.peː˨], [-beː˨]

Adverb

sibeh (not comparable)

1. (Manglish, Singlish) An intensifier word, very
   • 2015 November 22, Denise Chong, “Pinning down the elusive S'pore identity”, in The Straits Times‎^[1]:

     It does seem to be a pity, though, to let go of an identity that we have formed at last, something we have had printed in posters, something we can point to and say, "Wah, sibeh Singaporean, lah".

   • 2017 October 26, Jewel Stolarchuk, “Ho Ching’s sloppy sandals make an appearance during official US trip once again”, in The Independent‎^[2], archived from the original on 20 April 2019:

     The netizen above, Bruce Wee, shared a screenshot of Ho Ching’s footwear during her official visit to the US last year and commented, “Not again? Sibeh Sia Suay!”

   • 2021, Namewee (lyrics and music), “You Know Who Is My Father?”, in Ghosician:

     I'm sibeh damn rich / I'm very very rich / I can buy anything when Limpeh happy

Anagrams

• shibe