“Alamak” – an expression of shock or dismay – is the most commonly used Singlish word here, an inaugural study of slang used in Singapore has found.

“Makan”, which means to eat, and the common fillers “lah”, “lor”, “meh” and “leh”, typically used for emphasis, also ranked among the top three terms, according to the survey of more than 1,500 Singaporeans aged between 16 and in their 50s, conducted by language-learning company Preply from Ukraine.