Problem
What is chope? It is on my Kleenex box.
Chope is putting down a pack of tissues or other item to reserve a table or chair when queing at a hawker center (food court).
When I first arrived in Singapore and saw tissues on the table I thought they were left there by the management of the hawker centre for customers to wipe their hands clean!
British people from Europe are familiar with the idea of Germans putting towels on loungers by hotel swimming pools to reserve convenient loungers - or all loungers - which is the source of much indignant or amused comment.
Chope is a Singlish word. Singlish is like pigeon English, using the grammar and vocabulary
of Chinese (Mandarin) or Malay or the local dialects spoken by the Chinese from Southern China.
Author
Angela Lansbury
What is chope? It is on my Kleenex box.
Chope is putting down a pack of tissues or other item to reserve a table or chair when queing at a hawker center (food court).
When I first arrived in Singapore and saw tissues on the table I thought they were left there by the management of the hawker centre for customers to wipe their hands clean!
British people from Europe are familiar with the idea of Germans putting towels on loungers by hotel swimming pools to reserve convenient loungers - or all loungers - which is the source of much indignant or amused comment.
Chope is a Singlish word. Singlish is like pigeon English, using the grammar and vocabulary
of Chinese (Mandarin) or Malay or the local dialects spoken by the Chinese from Southern China.
Author
Angela Lansbury
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