‘You are very chio sia’: Chinese actor Lin Yi learns Singlish pick-up lines

Chinese actor Lin Yi came back with a new drama The Tale of Rose last month, and in a recent promotional video with Viu, he learned a few pick-up lines in Singlish.

The first one was yan dao, meaning handsome guy in Hokkien.

“Oh in reverse, it means the director (dao yan in Mandarin) is very handsome,” the 25-year-old joked.

“I am very yan dao! The director and I are very yan dao.”

Next was ai stead mai, the Singaporean version of “Do you want to be my girlfriend?”

Appearing a little confused, Lin Yi repeated the words a few times before looking into the camera confidently.

“Hey mei nv (beautiful girl), ai stead mai?”

He then learned how to cutely ask for a girl’s number: “Paiseh leng lui (excuse me beautiful girl), can I have your number please?”

The following term, le jin swee, was the only one Lin Yi was familiar with, which excited him.

“Oh I know this! It means very beautiful, very nice!” he smiled before looking into the camera with a thumbs-up and repeating, “Le jin swee!”

He struggled a bit with the final one.

Practising his pronunciation, his first attempt sounded more like “churros”.

“Qiu? Qiu xia (autumn prawn)?” he remarked playfully.

Awkwardly posing, he said: “Wa! You are very chio sia.”

It seemed the lesson was still a success as Lin Yi promoted the drama with the Singlish words he learned.

“Yan dao, leng lui, please watch The Tale of Rose! Swee!”

The Tale of Rose, which also stars Liu Yifei, Tong Dawei, Wan Qian, Wallace Huo, Lin Gengxin and Peng Guanying, is available on Viu.

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syarifahsn@asiaone.com

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