particle, phrase — 3 senses
Singapore [ɔ˨ nɔt˨]
Etymology Calque of Hokkien 抑無 /抑无 (a̍h-bô / á-bô, literally “or not; or no; or none”). See also Hokkien 是毋是 (sī-m̄-sī / sǐ-m̄-sǐ, “whether or not”), 是抑毋是 (sī á-m̄-sī / sǐ á-m̄-sǐ, “isn't?”, literally “is it? or is it not?”), Mandarin 是不是 (shìbùshì, “whether or not”), forming a question, and similar interrogative expressions with 不, 無 /无, 唔 and other dialectal synonyms.
Malaysia, Singapore, Colloquial Final interrogative particle, forming a yes/no question from a declarative statement.
Emphasizes that a particular claim or idea makes no difference regarding what can or has happened.
A sardonic response to a new event that contradicts what the speaker has just stated.
Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.