guai lan

English

Alternative forms

• kwai lan

Etymology

Derived from Hokkien 怪𡳞 (koài-lān, literally “strange dick”).

Pronunciation

• (Singapore) IPA^(key): /ˈkwaɪ lɑn/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /(ˈ)ɡwaɪ ˈlɑn/, /ˈkwaɪ-/

Adjective

guai lan (comparative more guai lan, superlative most guai lan)

1. (Singapore, informal, colloquial) Hard to please or satisfy; irritating, loathsome.
   • 1999 May 23, “The Loanshark Look”, in The New Paper, Singapore:

     I'd say it's the "kwai lan" (gangster) look.

   • 2003 July 21, Z-Bone, “Triple X Carsticker”, in Google Groups‎^[1]:

     you so guai lan for wat

   • 2005 August 3, Joleen Lim, “guai lan”, in Blogspot‎^[2], archived from the original on 2 February 2017:

     damn guai lan..cannot take it..

   • 2013 March 20, JeevS GOne, “Oppa Guai Lan Style (Oppa Gangnam Style Parady)”, in YouTube‎^[3]:

     Tribute to my “guai lan” friend!

   • 2013 September 3, The Marijuana Chronicles, Singapore:

     After all these years, the bugger still had the same kwai lan air he had even when he was fifteen.