win liao lor

Singapore/ˈwɪn ljaʊ˨˩ ˌlɔː˦/Singapore[ˈwɪn˦ ljaʊ˨˩ ˌlɔː˦]

interjection

Grudging admission of defeat in an argument.

OriginHokkien 了 ← Cantonese 囉 /啰 →
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

interjection
  1. SinglishGrudging admission of defeat in an argument.

    Win liao lor… Continue also cannot… Stop also cannot… How?

    1999 May 1, soc.culture.singapore (Usenet)
    3 more examples

    Wah this type of response, win liao lor, typical singaporean hehe.

    1997 November 28, soc.culture.singapore (Usenet)

    And who says that should a policy holder of an annuity dies before the principal sum is exhausted, the balance is forfeited? Like that all insurance companies win liao lor.

    2007 August 21, soc.culture.singapore (Usenet)

    Said the spokesman: "In Singapore, some of the top sticker sets are Singlish sets with illustrations depicting phrases such as bojio (You did not invite me!), win liao lor (when you grudgingly concede to an argument) or kan cheong spider (an anxious person).

    2016 October 18, Indonesian artist's series of Line stickers is popular

Origin

  1. Cantonese囉 /啰
  2. Hokkien了
  3. Englishwin liao lor

win + liao (perfective aspect and change of state marker) + lor (final particle used to express resignation), from Hokkien 了 (liâu) and Cantonese 囉 /啰 (lo¹) respectively.

More words from Hokkien, Cantonese

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

“win liao lor.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/win%20liao%20lor. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

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

Source: win liao lor on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.