Kueh - what does it mean? A tip about tongue-twisters and pronunciation

Problem
I was in the Sheraton Towers Hotel in Singapore at a mini-buffet when I saw a plate almost transparent white pasta pockets which looked rather like ravioli. The label was kueh. What was kueh?

Answer
Later a friend told me kueh is Malay for cake. The Malay language has many loan words from English and other languages. If they can't easily pronounce the end of the word, the ending disappears. So cake becomes kueh.

Why can't they pronounce the k at the end of the word cake, if they can pronounce the word c at the beginning? My friend says, "The sounds at the beginnings and ends of the words are different - and easier or harder to pronounce. You must know that?"

Yes. I often teach Chinese learners to pronounce the letter l at the ends of words. They can pronounce l at the start. So I create tongue-twisters to help them. Why tongue-twisters? Because they are amusing and because even experienced speakers find them hard to say, the novice need not be embarrassed at mistakes, which simply add to the hilarity.

A check online shows that cake also appears as kek in Malay. Kueh can be kue in Indonesia and also spelled kuih.

But what is it? The term is used for any kind of snack, sweet or savoury, or dumpling with a rice coating.

Malay / Indonesian - English
kueh - cake (sweet or savoury) / snack

English - Malay / Indonesian
cake  / snack - kueh / kuih - kue - kek

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker, teacher of English and other languages.
See earlier posts on yes and no in Malay, learning languages, and hotels and resorts around the world. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Fish and fountains in hotels and restaurants in Hong Kong and Singapore

Fountains are photo opportunities, meeting places, landmarks in brochures and films. Italy is associated with the Trevi Fountain in Rome. Water is always appreciated in hope countries, especially in summer.

In America I remember waiting to see the jumping fountains outside a hotel in Las Vegas. Fountains which jump only on the hour are a nuisance when you are a tourist with a checklist and short of time.

I love the fun of fountains which jump as you run through them. I first saw these in Russia. Now they pop up, literally, but often disappear the following year, because of constant redeveloping and redesigning at shopping centres in Singapore.

Ponds with fish add colour and constant movement.

In Hong Kong and Singapore you can see live fish, and eat them, at restaurants.

Sheraton Hotel Fountains
Restful fountains are found in hotels. My favourite fountains in Singapore are those at the Sheraton Towers Hotel, which is within sight of Newton MRT (underground railway) station.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.