kan cheong

Singapore[ˌk˭än˧ ˈt͡ʃ˭jɔŋ˦]Singapore[- ˈt͡ɕ˭j-]

adjective

Nervous, anxious, keyed up

OriginCantonese 緊張 /紧张 ← semantic loan from Singapore Hokkien 緊張 →
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Meanings

adjectivekan cheong (comparative more kan cheong, superlative most kan cheong)

comparative more kan cheong · superlative most kan cheong

  1. ManglishSinglishNervous, anxious, keyed up

    I wasn’t always this kan cheong about elections.

    2008 November 2, Colin Goh, The Sunday Times, Singapore, page 14
    2 more examples

    I was so ‘kancheong’ (Cantonese for worried) about his tests that I woke him up at 5:30 am to remind him not to make mistakes.

    2002 August 13, Michelle Ho, quoting Diana Liaw, The Straits Times, Singapore, page L8

    […] they will just become more kan cheong and think that all the mata and SCDF kena nuked or something […]

    2004, The Void Deck, soc.culture.singapore (Usenet)

Origin

  1. semantic loan from Singapore Hokkien緊張“nervous; stressed”
  2. Cantonese緊張 /紧张
  3. Englishkan cheong

From Cantonese 緊張 /紧张 (gan² zoeng¹), by way of Singapore Hokkien 緊張 /紧张 (kán-chiong, “nervous; stressed”).

More words from Cantonese, semantic loan from Singapore Hokkien

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

kan cheong. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kan%20cheong

MLA

“kan cheong.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kan%20cheong. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “kan cheong,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kan%20cheong.

Source: kan cheong on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.