General note: All the 'lah', 'leh', 'oi', 'har', 'aiya', etc. added to the dialogue are part of the Singlish vocabulary to accentuate the meaning of the sentence.
A levels: An examination held annually in Singapore, conducted jointly by Singapore's Ministry of Education and the University of Cambridge.
ACS: Anglo-Chinese School, one of Singapore's top high schools.
Chiarong, or 佳容: Chloe's Chinese name. The first character means "good, auspicious, beautiful" while the second means "appearance, form". So essentially, a good and beautiful girl.
Chio: Pretty in Hokkien.
Chiobu: Pretty girl in Hokkien.
CCA: Co-curricular activity. Used to be known as extracurricular activity, but the name is changed in Singapore. It's a non-academic activity that is required for all students to undertake as part of their education.
EC: eye candy. Meaning: someone you find superficially attractive to look at, but not necessarily crushing or interested romantically. It's a Singaporean slang used among Junior College students. It can also be used as a verb.
Example usage 1: "Who is your EC?" "Jon!"
Example usage 2: "Omg let me tell you a secret... I EC Jon."
HDB: Housing Development Board, Singapore's public housing. They are subsidized housing built and managed by the government.
Hokkien: A common Chinese dialect spoken in Singapore
Hyuna: Popular solo artist in South Korea.
Is it?: A variation of "Really?" Usually appended to a sentence.
Jay Chou: Jay Chou is the king of MandoPop.
JC: Junior College. High school equivalent in Singapore.
One: Sometimes added to the end of a sentence to emphasize it. It has Mandarin roots to it, and a Reddit discussion is linked in the comments -->
Siao: Crazy in Hokkien.
Wah lao: A Hokkien curse word commonly used.
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Cherry On Top
Teen FictionA forbidden relationship with the most popular girl in school is the last thing Chloe Lee expects when she begins bartending. Especially when she doesn't even realize she's gay herself. Desperate for money for her mother's surgery, Singaporean stud...
