Meanings
alternative walao · alternative walau · alternative wah lau eh · alternative walao eh · alternative walau eh
- ManglishSinglishAn exclamation of annoyance or exasperation.First known use 1990s
"Wah lau! You tekan him, ah? But he bigger than you, man!"
1992 February 22, soc.culture.asean (Usenet)2 more examples
Colleague: Hey, you know what I heard? John is only a FA artist in the States! / Ben: Wah lau! And he becomes our creative director, making us look stupid!
2002, Jack Neo, I Not Stupid, spoken by Mr. Liu's colleague and Ben (Unknown actor and Hossan Leong)Zion Mansion... Wah lau, wasn’t that built in the Qing Dynasty or something.
2009, Jean Tay, Boom, Epigram Books, →ISBN, Act I, scene iv
Origin
- Hokkien我老的
- Englishwah lau
From Teochew and Hokkien. Ultimate origin uncertain: first element equivalent to Hokkien 我 (óa, “my”) + lau, possibly from 老爸 (lāu-pē, “father”). Alternatively, a shortening of Hokkien 我老的 (óa lāu--ê, literally “my elderly [someone, e.g., father]”), from which the alternative forms wah lau eh and walao eh are derived. Compare Mandarin 哇老誒 /哇老诶 (wà láo ei).
More words from Hokkien
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
wah lau. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wah%20lau
“wah lau.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wah%20lau. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “wah lau,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wah%20lau.
Source: wah lau on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.