jiak kentang

Singapore[ˌt͡s˭jaʔ˨˩ ˈk˭ən˧.t˭aŋ˦]Singapore[ˌt͡ɕ˭j-]Singapore[- ˈk˭an-]

verb

Of a person, to be westernized; to have abandoned one's own cultural traditions in favor of a westernized lifestyle.

OriginHokkien 食kentang ← Malay kentang →
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Meanings

verbjiak kentang (invariable)

alternative jiak kantang

  1. ManglishSinglishderogatoryidiomaticinvariablestativeOf a person, to be westernized; to have abandoned one's own cultural traditions in favor of a westernized lifestyle.
  2. ManglishSinglishderogatoryidiomaticinvariablestativeOf an ethnically Chinese person, to be mostly monolingual in English and unable to speak Chinese well.
  3. ManglishSinglishhumorousinvariableliterallyrareTo eat potatoes.
adjectivejiak kentang (not comparable)

alternative jiak kantang

  1. ManglishSinglishderogatoryidiomaticnot comparableWesternized; rejecting aspects of one's own culture or heritage in favor of Western ideologies and practices.

Origin

  1. Malaykentang“potatoes”
  2. Hokkien食kentang
  3. Englishjiak kentang

From Malaysian and Singaporean Hokkien 食kentang or 食蕳砃 /食𫈉砃 (chia̍h kan-tang), from 食 (chia̍h, “to eat”) + Malay kentang (“potatoes”). Historically, the choice of potatoes over rice as a staple food, or its inclusion in one’s diet was seen as a shift towards a more Westernized lifestyle.

More words from Hokkien, Malay

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

jiak kentang. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jiak%20kentang

MLA

“jiak kentang.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jiak%20kentang. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “jiak kentang,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jiak%20kentang.

Source: jiak kentang on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.