sia

S1I1A1
Singapore/sjɑː˧/Singapore/-˨˧/Singapore/sjɐ/Singapore/sjə/

particle

Tagged at the end of a sentence to express discontent, shock, surprise, exhaustion or exasperation.

“— If you can’t find your pencils, maybe someone stole them. — For what sia?”

Less commonScrabble 3

Meanings

sia1

particle

alternative siah · alternative sial · alternative siol

  1. ManglishSinglishTagged at the end of a sentence to express discontent, shock, surprise, exhaustion or exasperation.

    — If you can’t find your pencils, maybe someone stole them. — For what sia?

    4 more examples

    […] Really disappointed siah […] The damage is done and no explanation will be accepted...... damn stupid!

    2004, joshley, soc.culture.singapore (Usenet)

    Wah. Really damn shag [exhausting] sia, everyday. But I'm really glad to be able to contribute😄

    2015 May 14, @lawyizhuan, Twitter

    As soon as the sentence was handed down, I saw my Mum crying. I was given 5 minutes to talk to them and after that, I thought to myself what the fuck am I going to do sia! […]

    2020 January 14, Justin Vanderstraaten, quoting Moon, “Drugs, Cash, and Prison. When Does Enough Become Enough?”, in ricemedia.co, archived from the original on 26 Feb 2024

    And we fucking panic sia. We kept saying, "No no no!" And they kept shouting […]

    2023, Kristian-Marc James Paul, Myle Yan Tay, Mysara Aljaru, Brown is Redacted: Reflecting on Race in Singapore, Ethos Books, →ISBN

Sia2

proper noun
  1. Egyptianhuman sciencesAn ancient Egyptian god, the personification of perception.

Sia3

proper noun

alternative Cheah · alternative Chia

  1. PhilippinesA surname from Hokkien

Sia4

proper noun
  1. A female given name.

SIA5

nounSIA (uncountable)
  1. abbreviationinitialismuncountableInitialism of Social Impact Assessment.

Origin

sia · particle

  1. Malaysial
  2. Malaysial
  3. Englishsia

Borrowed from Malay sial. The omission of /l/ may have been motivated by Chinese phonology.

Full word history & related roots →

Sia · proper noun

  1. Egyptiansjꜣ
  2. Egyptiansjꜣ
  3. EnglishSia

Borrowed from Egyptian sjꜣ (“Sia, perception”).

Full word history & related roots →

Sia · proper noun

  1. Hokkien謝 /谢
  2. EnglishSia

Borrowed from Hokkien 謝 /谢 (Siā).

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

sia. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sia

MLA

“sia.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sia. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sia,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sia.

Source: sia on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.