Si Bay Nap

Si adj.,v. Dead, Die
Bay adv. No, Cannot
Nap n. (read below)

Thank you Winston for your inquiry.

Si Bay Nap (pronounced: See-Bay-Nep). This is a very peculiar phrase. I never personally used it myself. It is used to describe sexually-attractive women. This is not a beautiful word. It can only be used for people NOT related to us ie. Jessica Alba, and other angmos, and sometimes our neighbour's sexually-provocative daughters. Why? Because we do not call our cousins or nieces Si Bay Nap. If they are good looking, just say SOOI. Don't say,"You know my cousin, Ellie, si bay nap!" People will look at you like one kind.



I guess the direct English translation, or shall I say American English translation is DAMN HOT. Let me explain further.

Si means DIE. Bay means NOT. And Nap, hmm, HOT. So put the words together, DIE NOT HOT. Hokkien speaking people like to exaggerate their claims. To increase the intensity of a word, instead of saying HOT, HOTTER, and HOTTEST, Hokkien speaking people endears to the word death (Si) to give the word a special edge. I suppose, they are right, nothing is more powerful than the thought of death.

Example of usage: SI SI TOO AI. Which literally means, die die also want (or to the English-speaking world, I really want it. Again, see the effect of doubling the word. One die is not enough. Must die die.

Bay. This word carries 1001 meanings depending on how you say it, when you say it, who you say it to and why you say it. For the purpose of explaining Si Bay Nap, BAY means NOT. Why combined the word DIE and NOT and HOT together? Easy. It really meant, that even if you DIE for it, you still canNOT get this kind of HOTNESS. So now, even death is not enough. Now, this is what I call a SUPEREXAGERRATION PHRASE.

Another classic example, Nge Si Too Ai.

Sisuahlai.