Warning: This story contains vulgarities which may be offensive to some readers.
What cuts but is not made out of steel? Words, or specifically, curse words!
Throughout human history and civilization, profanities have been used for basically any situation: From expressing anger to pleasure. Vulgarities in the form of swear words are often associated with people who are uncouth or coarse.
However, times are changing and many around the world have at least uttered a swear word at least once in their lifetime. In fact, swear words are so common that people's mindsets about them are evolving too. There was an interesting study done in 2017 that found people who use curse words to be more honest.
So if you're someone who falls in the above category and would love to diversify your vocabulary to include more Southeast Asian curse words, specifically from countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and the Philippines, well, you've come to the right place.
Here are the top 10 curse words from Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and the Philippines, ranked based on their crassness (bookmark this post for reference).
I'm going to be listing these countries in alphabetical order with the curse words ranked based on their level of crassness or pain they inflict upon an opponent. Not to worry, I've also provided examples for their best use scenarios for you babi setans out there.
Indonesia.
5. Anjing (Un-Jeng)
Dog.
Example: "Anjing, don't kill your teammate!" or "Anjing, you're looking good in that batik shirt!"
We're gonna start with the mildest on the list and this, is by far, the mildest in Indonesia. If you're a gamer and play on the Southeast Asian servers, there's an extremely high chance you've come across this curse word. Anjing is often used to express one's dismay or awe. It can also be used as a term of endearment among friends.
4. Jalang (Jha-lang)
Bitch / whore.
Example: "That jalang just cut my queue!" or "You look damn good in that batik pinofore yourself, jalang!"
Of course, since anjing is already a gender neutral term, there must be something that's female oriented. Enter jalang, a curse word that can be used to express anger or surprise. In Indonesia, it's mostly used for the former. However, there have been occasions where women – especially best friends – use it on each other as a term of endearment.
3. Kontol (con-toll)
Dick.
Example: "My husband is such a kontol for giving me herpes."
Kontol is best used to express frustration, disgust, anger, and other kontol-ish negative feelings.
2. Pukimak (Poo-Key-Mack)
Your mother's cunt.
Example: "Woi, pukimak! I was here first!"
Since we've mentioned kontol, it's only fair to mention references to the cunt. But to make it more personal, it's always useful strategic to include parents (especially mothers) for more dramatic effect. Fun fact, this swear word is also popular in Malaysia and Singapore.
1. Bangsat (Bang-sat)
Son of a bitch. It also literally means bed bug.
Example: "That bangsat just took off with my underwear!"
Again, let's involve mothers because the probability of someone loving their mum is higher. Plus, the wounds inflicted by a sword can be healed but nothing can heal a wound inflicted by words, right?
Malaysia.
5. Mangkuk (Mang-cook)
Bowl.
Example: "The men's bathroom is to your right lah, mangkuk!"
A bowl, an object that is hollow on the inside and often used by more than one person – used as a term to describe someone who's so dumb, that there's nothing but emptiness in between their ears.
4. Babi Setan (Bah-bee, Say-Ton)
Devil pig.
Example: "That babi setan politician is the cause of this entire political crisis!"
Since Malaysia is a Muslim-majority nation, the word babi has become synonymous to reference or describe anything that's non-halal. In fact, this word is so popular that it has also become a term of endearment commonly used among close friends to voice their disapproval. But add the word setan (Satan) and it changes its meaning, making it a lot more brutal. Best used to describe out of control situations that are caused by irresponsible parties.
3. Pundek (Poon-deck)
Cunt.
Example: "Dei pundek, where you wanna eat?"
Malaysia is indeed a multi-cultural nation. The advent of Chinese and Indian immigrants during Britain's colonization of the country two centuries ago made Malaysia a melting pot of swear words. Due to this, pundek is in fact a word rooted in Tamil origins. Add the word "dei" (which means "hey") before pundek for added emphasis.
2. Haram jadah (Har-rum, Jay-dah)
Bastard / Damn you / Damn it.
Example: "Haram jadah, are you drinking wine on the first day of Ramadhan?!"
Haram jadah has its roots in Arabic. Haram is often used to describe non-halal things or objects. According to its Malay definition, haram jadah is used for extreme non-halal situations. It's also used to express shock or frustration and anger.
1. Ham Ka Chan (Hum-Car-Chan)
Curse your family go die / Go to hell / Fuck off.
Example: "I'm not voting for Mahathir again, ham ka chan!"
Ham ka chan is Cantonese and it's a pretty brutal curse word due to the meaning it carries. I mean, this is one curse word that not only drags in your mother, but your father, brother, sister, aunty, uncle, grandmother, grandfather, daughter, son, nephew... you get the idea.
Philippines.
5. Tae (Ta-ek)
Shit.
Example: "You invited me for lunch just so you can sell me insurance? Eat tae!"
No profanity list is complete without any reference to poop. This one is in Tagalog.
4. Bobo (Bo-bo)
Stupid.
Example: "Hey bobo, what are you doing in the women's toilet? The men's toilet is to your right!"
After defecation, we're getting personal here. The usage of bobo is mostly to insult the other party in Tagalog.
3. Pakshet (Park-Shit)
Fuck shit.
Example: "Pakshet! I'm pregnant.."
This is by far my favorite curse word because it's a combination of the words "fuck" and "shit" that's given a local twist. You can also use the words on their own to express disbelief, disgust, or surprise.
2. Punyeta (Poon-yay-tah)
Asshole / Wanker
Example: "My wife just left me. My life is such a punyeta!" or "Give me back my umbrella, punyeta!"
Punyeta has its roots in Spain since its Spanish definition means "wanker". But the word is also frequently used to voice frustration, anger, and even misery. It's also used to insult someone.
1. Putang Ina Mo (Poo-tung-ee-nah-moh)
Your mother is a whore.
Example: "Pope, putang ina mo, go home!"
Apart from his bloody drug raids, former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte would probably be best remembered for popularizing this word that has found its place among Fortnite gamers on Southeast Asian servers.
Singapore.
5. Cibai (Chee-bye)
Cunt.
Example: "Don't be a cibai, come let's go drink."
In Hokkien, cibai references a woman's private parts. However, the word has also been conveniently shortened to CB. For added emphasis, you can also say chao cibai (chao-chee-bye) which means smelly cunt. Some Singaporeans often use it to express shock, surprise, disgust, anger, and the word is also used as a term of endearment.
4. Lanjiao (Lanh-gee-ow)
Dick.
Example: "Ehh lanjiao, I dowan go drink lah."
Similar to cibai, adding the word chao at the front of lanjiao turns the word to smelly dick. Again, the word is used to express oneself as well as a term of endearment (by this point, you'll already notice that the majority of the words on this list can be used as terms of endearment).
3. Kan ni na (Cun-nee-nah)
Fuck you lah.
Example: "Kan ni na, don't liddat. Just come lah, so long never go out dy."
Kan is Cantonese for "fuck" and ni means "you". Saying kan ni na means "fuck you lah!".
2. Kan ni nabu (Cun-nee-nah-boo)
Fuck your mother lah.
Example: "Kan ni nabu, you think money grow on tree is it? I told you I got no money."
So we've established what kan ni na means, but what if we want to dial it up to another level? Simply add anything related to one's mother.
1. Kan ni nabu chao cibai (Cun-nee-nah-boo-chao-chee-bye)
Fuck your mother's smelly cunt lah.
Example: "Okay lah, okay lah! I pay for you go drink. Come lah, kan ni nabu chao cibai.."
Notice how combining one or more curse words like LEGO pieces puts all of the magical spells in Harry Potter to shame? Kan ni nabu chao cibai tops this list not only for its complexity but its sheer ability to express annoyance or anger in the most authentic Singaporean way possible.
If you found this list helpful, bookmark this post for future references and.. err research. Until then, don't be a kontol, pukimak!
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Cover image sourced from Dany Kurniawan / Pexels.
