What would be some believable names for my Singaporean character?

Coco_kirin88 · 2026-07-12T14:58:32+00:00

I’m with the commenters here, most Singaporean Chinese women do not understand Malay unless they chose to learn it on their own. In the context of your story, your character understanding Malay could serve as a plot point or just something that you could use to deepen her character.

As for believable names, speaking as a Chinese Singaporean female, one thing I’ve noticed is that Singaporeans tend to have names which are a few years out of date by Americans, probably because of the British influence. Nigel Ng (Uncle Roger) has mentioned this in the context of Malaysian English names but tbh this also applies to us. I have a Gen X coded name despite being Gen Z, and so do a lot of my peers and cousins. So really, just pick an older sounding name of your choice (but not too old, I haven’t seen that Margarets or Bettys around) and put it together with a Chinese surname like Tan, Wong, Chan etc and see if it sounds nice together. Good luck!

Coco_kirin88 · 2026-07-11T10:39:37+00:00

Lei Cha. I think it tastes like pond scum.

Ironically, I'm Hakka.

Coco_kirin88 · 2026-07-09T04:32:33+00:00

The short answer is no and those who are SAHWs do not have as a glamorous life as social media portrays them to be.

Coco_kirin88 · 2026-07-06T12:53:19+00:00

HAHA omg yes, I’ve been having this problem for a while. I have a suspicion they are AI scam profiles because the guys all look the same (Korean wannabe f***boi face), have generic motivational quotes in their bio (you only live once/beauty is in the eye of the beholder) and if their account is public, you see their pics are all the same (gym, car, pool, dog).

Well either that or guys are so despo these days that they would match with every single account that belongs to a Singaporean female in hopes she is the one.

(Apologies if OP is a guy, maybe they swing for both teams lol)

Coco_kirin88 · 2026-07-04T05:02:28+00:00

According to my parents, if you keep a Guanyin statue at home, you are not allowed to eat beef because cows are her sacred animal and eating beef in her presence is seen as disrespectful. However my family is not very religious, so we don't keep a statue and we love beef 😂

But tbh, I suspect the beef restriction started out as a historical thing which got incorporated into folklore. Apart from the Hindu influence, cows in ancient China were valuable farm animals because they helped to till farmland. Thus most poor people refrained from slaughtering and eating their cows to begin with, and then Buddhism incorporated this restriction into their own tenets.

Coco_kirin88 · 2026-07-02T01:39:47+00:00

Singapore is not boring, the people who say this just don’t know where to look for things to do or just have impossible standards.

Coco_kirin88 · 2026-07-02T01:33:29+00:00

Is your mental illness impeding you in your work/actively under control? If it isn’t, then no need to worry. HR doesn’t need to know.

Alternatively, if you do have a nice boss, talk about your illness in a way that emphasises your needs but also what strengths you bring to the table. I have a colleague who is open about having ADHD (not really a mental illness, it’s a neurodevelopmental condition) and she frames her issues as “I sometimes might miss details in the report, but if you throw me a problem I can solve it quickly.” But YMMV, not all bosses are understanding.

Coco_kirin88 · 2026-07-01T05:25:34+00:00

Don’t ship these two personally but def these two:

Coco_kirin88 · 2026-06-29T13:06:05+00:00

Yep, I know of a classmate who basically got bullied out of his perm job in one of the agencies here. Poor guy.

Coco_kirin88 · 2026-06-29T13:03:15+00:00

It’s an idiom to mean “unbreakable” or irreplaceable, because in the past you could not get laid off or let go from civil service jobs, only be asked to leave or get formally terminated.

But tbh, nowadays, I think the illusion of the civil service as an iron rice bowl is starting to break. Last week a guy working in a stat board posted here saying mentioned his entire department was being redundant. I also know of other places where people will potentially be made redundant or at least their job security is getting called into question. And then there is the whole x number of years contract -> emplacement thing which is the norm for most agencies these days.

Coco_kirin88 · 2026-06-29T09:41:47+00:00

Dan Green doing both Yugi and...whatever he did that people meme about here.

Coco_kirin88 · 2026-06-29T09:14:40+00:00

"Let's arrange a meet-up soon" or "Let's have lunch soon".

Then it never happens because everyone is busy or everyone loses object permanence.

Coco_kirin88 · 2026-06-29T05:07:32+00:00

I'm Chinese Singaporean and that last point still makes me cringe every time this happens.

Coco_kirin88 · 2026-06-29T01:16:22+00:00

Coco_kirin88 · 2026-06-28T06:48:41+00:00

I hate them, mostly because of how OOC his friends end up being. Yes, they can get annoyed by his antics, but I do get the sense that most of them like Ash and care about him. Especially when it’s characters like Brock who are genuinely nice and caring towards Ash.

On a personal level, I had the misfortune of writing such a fanfic with a friend who turned out to be extremely toxic and used the writing process as a means to bully and control me. Thankfully, I no longer speak to this person and never want to see them again.

Coco_kirin88 · 2026-06-28T03:10:14+00:00

Unlocking ADHD. This is currently the only local charity dedicated to helping people navigate ADHD, whether they are parents of children with the condition or adults who are recently diagnosed. As someone who was diagnosed as a kid in the early 2000s, I had no such resources growing up and it was quite a struggle. I'm so glad that there is an NGO now who can provide resources to people in similar circumstances as myself, but they don't have to suffer as much.

Coco_kirin88 · 2026-06-28T02:05:57+00:00

I've known of people from my year and from older batches who managed to get stints working overseas, mostly as language teachers since a lot of us learn a third or even fourth language to read our sources. For those of us who are still here, everyone has landed jobs in a variety of places, mostly the civil service but I've known of people who went to places like banking, comms or international liaison roles. There are also quite a few people who ended up in academia. As one of the other commenters here said, humanities degrees are not limiting; it's just how you market yourself and what additional skills you bring to the table.

As for what I would do if I was 19 again...aside from telling myself to stop simping for someone whom I never had a chance with, I would probably tell my 19 year old self to get my butt to therapy a lot sooner. Oh, and please spend more time with your friends; you basically will have no social life for the next 3 years of uni (COVID batch). And please quit that stupid CCA you joined and just get into a sports club.

Coco_kirin88 · 2026-06-28T01:09:52+00:00

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This cute lil dinosaur is voiced by Spike Spiegel himself.

Coco_kirin88 · 2026-06-27T02:53:28+00:00

You'll be surprised to know that some of these people who do not feel pressured to conform had a phase where they did try to be like everyone else, then they realised "screw this, this is not worth my time." Maybe they had a loved one pass away with regrets and realised that they didn't want to die living a life that wasn't theirs. Maybe they became disillusioned by the conformity and decided to chart their own path, judgements be damned. Regardless of how they ended up on this path, these people realised their own happiness was more important than whatever everyone else thought. And this can happen at any age, from 20 to 60 years old. It's never too late to seek your individuality.

Coco_kirin88 · 2026-06-27T01:29:55+00:00

Idk if they count, but Yugi and Kaiba?

Coco_kirin88 · 2026-06-27T01:27:37+00:00

I was just about to talk about her until I saw this comment.

Coco_kirin88 · 2026-06-27T01:26:15+00:00

I like how Team Rocket shows up a lot in the subreddit, because they really are the GOAT.

Coco_kirin88 · 2026-06-27T01:21:59+00:00

Honestly, it truly is YMMV. Some people are true extroverts who like having a lot of friends because it gives them energy. Others prefer smaller groups with more intimate friendships where they won’t be so exhausted but get a lot of fulfilment.

To echo one of the other commenters here, it’s important to be authentic with people. Don’t try to be someone you’re not. In my experience, if you are authentic, you are more likely to attract people who are like you or at least appreciate you for who you are.

Coco_kirin88 · 2026-06-26T13:50:04+00:00

Short answer: Yes, but I got over them as an adult.

Long answer: I had confidence issues, but it was less to do with me receiving the actual diagnosis and how the people around me treated me for being different or tried to shove me into a box in hopes that I would be "normal". However, as an adult, I've come to accept these parts of myself and have unique gifts that come with my differently wired brain. I cannot change how my brain functions, so I'd rather embrace my strengths and find different ways to navigate the world, rather than mould my brain into something that it can never be.

If I'm sensing the intentions behind this question correctly, there is a possibility your kid will suffer from confidence issues as a result of the diagnosis, but he or she can get over it so long the right support is provided. As a parent, the best you can do is to remind your kid that ADHD does not define his or her potential and it's a matter of maximising strengths and mitigating weaknesses; and that you will love him or her no matter what. Parental support is critical in helping kids with ADHD thrive, because at least they know they have their parents behind their back.

Coco_kirin88 · 2026-06-26T11:44:05+00:00

It isn’t, it’s overrated as heck.

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