Hokkien songs are known for being expressive and entertaining. Through catchy melodies, the happiness and sadness of ordinary people’s lives, as well as their dreams (and daydreams) are vividly told.
Listening to Hokkien songs is a fun way to learn some hokkien words while enjoying the music; and who knows, maybe you could wow your relatives during one of the family KTV sessions.
Big Dreams of 1990s Style — If I Had A Million Dollars
Although released in 2006, Freddie Huang Yi Fei’s hit song One Million Dollars (一百万) is more reminiscent of the 1990s and how happiness was typically characterised in that era—indulging in delicacies and travelling around the world.
Fans of Jack Neo’s movies may be familiar with this song, as it was the theme song of Money No Enough 2.
Here’s the song.
For those who do not understand Hokkien, the song depicts what a bachelor dreams he would do if he had a million dollars: get a house, a car, a girlfriend and travel around the world.
Here are some fun Hokkien words from the song.
Pai Seh
“Pai seh” is commonly used to express embarrassment or to apologise. The lyrics of the song reveal pai seh’s little-known Chinese characters, “歹势” .
Tua Han
“Tua han” means growing up.
During Chinese New Year, grandparents would often say to their grandchildren “ah nih tua han”, which means “you’ve grown up so much!” Among younger generations, this phrase has largely fallen out of use.
Bo Chia Bo Chu
It feels a bit sad to have to say “bo chia bo chu”, which means having neither car nor property.
Chua Bo
The ultimate dream of every bachelor — “chua bo”, meaning to marry a girl.
Seh Kai
“Seh Kai” means world — but hold on, why does it sound so similar to “Sekai”, the Japanese word of the exact same meaning?
Although Hokkien has a reputation of being a street language in Singapore, it actually has a history of over 1600 years. Both Japanese and Hokkien were greatly influenced by the Chinese language spoken during the Tang Dynasty.
Lim Ko Pi
“Lim” means to drink and “ko pi” means coffee. Put together, the phrase means to drink coffee.
In a similar vein, “lim teh” means to drink tea and “lim tsui” means to drink water.
Ji Pa Ban
Finally, the title of the song “Ji Pa Ban” means one milllion.
Full lyrics of the song with Hokkien pronunciation:
若是我有一百万
nah sih gua wu ji pa ban
一百万
ji pa ban
我有一百万
gua wu ji pa ban
一世人就轻松
jit si lang tio kin san
无讲无人知
bo kong bo lang jai
讲到真歹势
kong tio chin pai seh
chiak kak hia nih tua han
搁不曾坐飞机
ko mm pat je puey kee
打拼彼多年
pah piah hua chuey ni
无车无厝搁无爱人
bo chia bo chu ko bo ai lin
看人娶某搁做生意
kua lang chua bo ko chuey sing di
有钱搁有势
wu jii ko wu seng
若是我有一百万
nah si gua wu ji pa ban
我要坐飞机
wa beh je puey kee
若是我有一百万
nah si gua wu ji pa ban
我要买车买厝
wa beh buey chia buey chu
若是我有一百万
nah si gua wu ji pa ban
我要坐飞机
wa beh je puey kee
若是我有一百万
nah si gua wu ji pa ban
我要买车买厝
wa beh buey chia buey chu
我要游世界
wa beh ew seh kai
HAWAII 晒太阳
Hawaii sai tai yang
日本吃寿司
lit pun chiak su shi
山珍甲海味
sang ting ka hai bi
啥人卡福气
siang lang ka ho kih
来乎我做某
lai hor wa cho bo
我要游世界
wa beh ew seh kai
义大利饮咖啡
ee tah li lim ko pi
路边吃 Spaghetti
loh pi chiak speh ge ti (Loh pi chiak speh ge ti)
买店来收租
buey tiam lai siu chor
闲闲免做工
eng eng bien cho kang
带狗去散步
chua kow ki san por
若是我有一百万
nah sih gua wu ji pa ban
一百万
ji pa ban
若是你有欠用钱
nah sih li wu kiam eng ji
开嘴免客气
kui chui bien keh ki
若是我有一百万
nah sih gua uh ji pa ban
一百万
ji pa ban
十千八千拿去用
chap cheng puay cheng teh ki eng
免还嘛无问题 (完全不是问题)
bien huan ma boh bun tuey
若是我有一百万
nah sih gua uh ji pa ban
一百万
ji pa ban
朋友啊，你想一百万真多啊!
peng yu eh, li siong ji pa ban, chin chuay ah?
