siew dai

English

Alternative forms

siu dai

Etymology

From Chinese, though ultimate source language unascertained. Apparently 少底, literally "less base", from 少 (“less”) + 底 (“base; bottom”) in Cantonese pronunciation, referring to the condensed milk, used for sweetening, that sits at the bottom of the cup. In Cantonese this would be pronounced siu2 dai2, but the compound has not been traced in Cantonese.

Pronunciation

(Singapore) IPA^(key): [sjuː˧˦ tɑɪ˨]
- The [t] is unaspirated.

Adjective

siew dai (not comparable)

(Singapore, colloquial, informal) Less sweet (as a preference when ordering coffee or tea).
- 2007, iwatch_ueat, “Tong Ya coffee: super crispy kaya toast!”, in ishootieatipost‎^[1], retrieved 2016-04-01:
  Ordering a cup of Kopi C Siew Dai (Coffee with evaporated milk and less sugar) makes you feel very Singaporean.
- 2009, Dominic, “Hello, Google!”, in blog.gothere.sg‎^[2], retrieved 2016-04-01:
  But nothing beats that cup of kopi-o siu dai from the nearby kopitiam uncle who knows you best.
- 2012, Low Kay Hwa, I Believe You:
  “I like coffee better.” He smiled. “Kopi-O siew dai.
- 2015, Wong Kim Hoh, “Former kopi boy's still full of beans”, in The Straits Times (Singapore)‎^[3], retrieved 2016-04-01:
  Before he opens it, he asks what I would like to drink, then shouts out to a woman stirring a cup of Milo vigorously: “One kopi peng siew dai, and one teh si for me.”

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