pok kai

Singapore/ˈpɔk̚ kai/

adjective

Having no money; broke; bankrupt.

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Meanings

adjectivepok kai (not comparable)

alternative pokai · alternative pok-gai · alternative pok-kai

  1. ManglishSinglishnot comparableslangHaving no money; broke; bankrupt.

    Today I went to Swensen's for dinner, even when I'm totally pok-gai.

    2010 March 12, “No Words”, in Pearl, retrieved 05 Nov 2015
    2 more examples

    Out shopping, child to parent. “Daddy I want this, daddy I want that.” Daddy, “Daddy pok kai awreddy^([sic]), ask your mummy.”

    2003, Sylvia Toh Paik Choo, The complete Eh, Goondu!

    After buying my girlfriend her branded bag, I’m officially pok kai, please don’t ask me to go shopping or clubbing with you.

    2015, “Pok Gai”, in Singaporelang - What the Singlish?, archived from the original on 03 Mar 2019

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
impoverished

Origin

Cantonese 仆街 (puk1 gaai1, “fall onto street, drop dead, go to hell, [Singapore, Malaysia] to have no money)”), from 仆 (puk1, “fall”) + 街 (gaai1, “street”).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

Source: pok kai on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.