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Our Way of Life

The Singapore story

Curious about what makes Singaporeans tick? Here’s a tongue-in-cheek guide to our nation’s quirks, passions and pastimes.

Playtime in the heartlands.
A boy and his grandfather playing chess

What we love, what we do and what we say – it’s these little quirks that make us who we are.

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We’re a nation of taste-obsessed foodies and shoppers with an uncanny instinct for great deals. Feasting and shopping are two of our most beloved national pastimes, and you’ll find a trove of hawker food, local wares and world-class eats all across our island.

Singapore food culture: Singaporeans are fanatical about food
Singapore food culture: Explore our heritage through your tastebuds
Shopping is Singapore's national past-time: Shopping in Singapore is an experience in itself


We may be a global metropolis, but Singaporeans still remember our kampong [traditional village] roots. Lepak (relax) with us at our void decks, queue with us for great deals at shopping malls and chope (reserve) your seat at our bustling hawker centres to experience our city like a true-blue Singaporean.

'Singaporean Culture: How to 'Chope' seats in busy hawker centres Singapore Culture: Singaporeans love to queue - We tell the quality of the food stall by the length of it's queue
'Singaporean Culture: 'Chope' or reserve seats in crowded hawker centres with a tissue paper pack Singapore street names are inspired by our history, heritage and unique observations of daily life Multiculturalism flourishes in Singapore's neighbourhoods, with cultural festivals to celebrate together all year round.


If you want to be seen as kaki nang (Teochew dialect for ‘one of us’ or ‘a close friend’), learning to speak our local lingo will go a long way in endearing you to Singaporeans. Singlish can be hard for to comprehend, but it’s colourful, concise and addictively fun to use.

Singlish: How to order coffee or 'Kopi' in Singapore in 12 different ways like, 'kopi c', 'kopi siew dai', 'kopi o'
What is Singlish: Singapore's colloquial English, influenced by our multicultural background Singaporean slang and Singlish phrases translated to English: 'Bojio' and 'Makan'
How to speak Singlish: Convey much more with a few Singlish words like 'Shiok', 'Alamak', 'Can Lah'

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