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Independent Singapore
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Independent Singapore
‘People in Singapore, why you don't say hello to me, your neighbour?' — French woman asks after ‘no one replies' to her 'hellos' in SG
SINGAPORE: French TikToker Audrey Thiloy @audreythiloy just wanted to be friendly and expected a simple 'hello' from her Singaporean neighbours — but instead, she got radio silence and a cultural wake-up call. 'People in Singapore, why you don't say hello to neighbours?' she asked in her now-viral video, looking like a bewildered Disney princess who just moved into a horror movie scene. 'I just moved in and every time I say hello, hi, bonjour, bonsoir, no one replies,' she shared her frustration. @audreythiloy Tag your grumpy neighbour 😾 #tiktoksg #tiktoksg🇸🇬 #sgtiktok #neighbour #neighbors #angmoh #singapore ♬ original sound – Audrey Thiloy Seems like nobody even waved, nodded, or even gave her a half-hearted grunt. 'A little hello costs zero dollars [S$0]. It makes your day better, brightens your day, brightens your future,' she further advised. Unfortunately, Audrey, in Singapore, people, as some say in the comment section, might think you're selling something. Or worse — asking them if you can borrow their money or join an MLM. 'This is Singapore. Just accept it!' The video opened the floodgates for some seriously unfiltered commentary. 💀 'They think you're selling insurance.' 💀 'Hello = [equals] suspicious.' 💀 'We are scared we will be charged GST… Good-Morning Saying Tax.' 💀 'You're in our country… you're the guest… I've never heard of guests telling their hosts what to do.' 💀 'Say 'hello' once, and now we have to do it every day? That's a full-time job lah.' Some even hit the peak of local sarcasm: 'I say good morning to my neighbour. He asked me what's so good about the morning?' 'This is Singapore. Just accept it!' as another expressed, where even greetings are transactional, and if they're not, people assume you're either emotionally unstable, selling insurance, or both. 'I can't accept that, sir. I will continue to say Hello! 🙋🏼♀️' Despite the passive-aggressive feedback and unsolicited social etiquette lessons, Audrey clapped back like a polite queen: 'I can't accept that, sir. I will continue to say Hello! 🙋🏼♀️' Sis is fighting a one-woman war against social apathy — and a serious lack of basic human courtesy. 'If you want our hello, give us your money!' Many commenters weren't even mad — just brutally realistic: 'We have no time for small talk,' as one said. 'Overworked 12 hours a day, silent OT… who has energy to say hello?' said another. 'Stuck with 99-year HDB lease, MRT squeeze… then say hello? No, thanks,' added another. Others blamed introversion, social awkwardness, and generational trauma, such as from awkward CNY family gatherings, as one speculated: 'My neighbours don't even make eye contact. I assume they're introverts silently screaming inside the lift.' One Redditor went philosophical: 'Only money brightens our day. So if you want our hello, give us your money!' And if you think that's dark, one just said: 'We're not very happy people.' 'Come to Malaysia! We'll not only say hello to you, we'll also invite you for a nasi lemak breakfast!' Malaysians, on the other hand, were not going to let this moment and opportunity slide. 'Habibti [my dear], come to Malaysia! We'll not only say hello to you, we'll also invite you for a nasi lemak breakfast!' wrote one. 'Move to JB instead, people are merrier and happier here,' wrote another. 'You say hello to Indonesian people, and they always reply. We are humble,' noted someone from further down, south of Malaysia and Singapore. We're not saying there's a regional rivalry brewing here, but if friendliness were an Olympic sport, it seems Singapore would be disqualified for not showing up. 'People became afraid of getting too close to others… because they might start borrowing things…' Some older Singaporeans got nostalgic about the good ol' kampung days: 'Thirty years ago, in my parents' neighbourhood in Pasir Ris, everyone would greet each other.' Now, when people see someone entering the lift, they suddenly pretend to urgently need to check their email inbox. Another shared this theory: 'After village life, people became afraid of getting too close to others… because they might start borrowing things.' So the fear of lending their wok [cooking pan] to their neighbours might actually be what killed the greeting culture? 'You just met the wrong neighbour…' Finally, a few Singaporeans came to Audrey's and Singapore's defence: ❤️ 'I do [say hello to my neighbour]. You just met the wrong neighbour.' ❤️ 'Move to be my neighbour ❤️ I always say hello.' ❤️ 'Try a little nod and smile. That usually gets a reaction!' ❤️ 'It's nice that you're trying to be friendly. Don't worry if they don't respond.' One even offered this Singapore life hack: 🦉 'Forget bonjour. Try ni hao.' 'In France, the neighbours also never say hello…' To be fair, this isn't just a Singapore thing, as one pointed out: 'In France, the neighbours also never say hello.' So perhaps it's nothing personal. Maybe it's just urban living. Maybe it's just a bad neighbourhood. Maybe it's just capitalism. Maybe it's just TikTok, or maybe people are just tired of being told to 'brighten their future' when they can barely survive their present. However, in the middle of it all, Audrey remains undeterred like a sunbeam in an overcast CBD [ Central Business District ]. She'll keep on waving. She'll keep on smiling. She'll keep on saying hello — until someone eventually says it back. Lower your expectations and raise your tolerance for awkward social silences in Singapore If you're a cheerful foreigner moving into Singapore, lower your expectations and raise your tolerance for awkward social silences. However, if you're a Singaporean reading this — go on, surprise the next Audrey in your neighbourhood with just a little nod, a little smile, or heck, even a grumpy 'hello!' After all, it still costs zero dollars, and no GST, included. 😉 In other news, Audrey's cultural confusion didn't just stop at the 'hello' dilemma. In another TikTok video, she asked: 'I'm in the MRT in Singapore, and every time I am on the Blue Line, the MRT lady keeps telling, 'Happy, happy.' Please, people from Singapore, tell me what 'Happy Happy' means.' You, too, can hear it — or maybe not — in one of her first commuting experiences over here: French woman hears 'Happy Happy' in MRT announcement, asks Singaporeans what it means See also Motorcyclist falls off bike, slides across Jurong junction
Independent Singapore
10-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Independent Singapore
French woman hears ‘Happy Happy' in MRT announcement, asks Singaporeans what it means
TikTok screengrab/ Audrey Thiloy SINGAPORE: Puzzled at an announcement she heard on the Blue Line, a woman from France asked Singaporeans to let her know what 'happy happy' could possibly mean. As it turns out, like other visitors to the Little Red Dot, she misheard 'Berhati-hati di ruang platform,' which means 'mind the gap' in Malay. Audrey Thiloy posed her question in a TikTok video posted on Friday (Aug 8), which has since been viewed almost 700,000 times. @audreythiloy HAPPY HAPPY ✨ in sg MRT #tiktoksg🇸🇬 #tiktoksg #sgtiktok #mrt #metro ♬ original sound – Audrey Thiloy ૮ • ﻌ – ა 'I'm in the MRT in Singapore, and every time I am on the Blue Line, the MRT lady keeps telling, 'Happy, happy.' Please, people from Singapore, tell me what 'Happy Happy' means,' said Ms Thiloy in her video. 'I have it in my head. Like it's stuck in my head and I don't know what it means, the Happy Happy,' she added, which everyone who has ever had an earworm is likely to relate to. So far, her post has received over 2,000 comments, and many TikTok users have been more than happy (see what we did there) to oblige her with answers. One wrote, 'It's 'Hati-hati' (ha-tee ha-tee), it means be careful. Not 'happy happy'.' To this, the post author replied, 'Hahaha, oh ok 😭🙏🏻 I'll be careful then.' Another had an even more complete explanation, writing, 'So in Singapore when (the announcement) tells you, 'Please mind the yellow gap' in English, there are 3 more languages besides English, which are Mandarin, Malay: 'Berhati-hati di ruang platform', and last in Tamil.' One noted that in places such as Chinatown or Kovan, the announcement is even in Hokkien as well. A TikTok user provided a YouTube link as an example: Another took the opportunity to deliver a mini-lecture on languages in Singapore: 'The national language of Singapore is Bahasa Melayu (Malay), as stated in the Constitution of Singapore. However, Singapore has four official languages: Malay (national language) English (main working and administrative language) Mandarin Chinese (spoken by the Chinese community) Tamil (spoken by the Indian community) While Malay holds symbolic importance, used in the Singapore national anthem, 'Majulah Singapura', English is the most commonly used language in government, business, and education.' She is not the first visitor to the city-state to have heard 'happy happy' instead of 'Berhati-hati'. In 2014, a travel blogger from the UK wrote , 'There are 3 things I like about the Singapore Mass Rapid Transport (MRT),' one of which was 'when you stop at a platform, a lady says 'Happy Happy'.' 'Causing amusement every time, these two words seem to make everything better. Like she is saying, 'Hey, thanks for riding this train, you're rad, stay extra happy happy for your journey ahead, you wonderful person, you'.' /TISG Read also: F oreigner with kids in a stroller complains about not being given way in MRT lift () => { const trigger = if ('IntersectionObserver' in window && trigger) { const observer = new IntersectionObserver((entries, observer) => { => { if ( { lazyLoader(); // You should define lazyLoader() elsewhere or inline here // Run once } }); }, { rootMargin: '800px', threshold: 0.1 }); } else { // Fallback setTimeout(lazyLoader, 3000); } });
New Paper
09-08-2025
- General
- New Paper
'What's "Happy Happy" on the MRT?': MRT announcement puzzles commuter
A TikTok video by a French woman asking Singaporeans to explain what "Happy Happy" in an MRT public service announcement meant has gone viral. "I'm in the MRT in Singapore, and every time I am on the Blue Line, the MRT lady keeps saying, "Happy, happy." Please, people from Singapore, tell me what "Happy Happy" means," says Audrey Thiloy, who lives in Singapore, in a video she posted on Thursday. "I have it in my head - like it's stuck in my head and I don't know what it means, the Happy Happy." The clip has been viewed 434,300 times, received 12,200 reactions and drawn close to 2,000 comments at press time. It turns out "Happy Happy" is actually part of the Malay phrase "Berhati-hati di ruang platform", which means "Mind the platform gap". The announcement is made in Singapore's four official languages - English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil. About 1,000 of the comments explained the meaning of the announcement or broke down "berhati-hati", which means "be careful". Many netizens were amused, with some admitting they too once thought it sounded like "Happy Happy". "Hati-hati means be careful. Is okay you're not the only one, I also thought it was happy-happy," said Whatuser172. "Now each time I hear it I will think of your "happy happy"," joked stapleskeri. Some took a more light-hearted approach. "It's a daily reminder for Singaporeans to be happy. Singaporeans are so stressed nowadays, be happy, happy, ok," quipped Fauzzz. One comment, however, sparked a small debate. Anita Mega wrote: "Berhati hati means (be careful) in the Indonesia language." Netizens were quick to point out that in Singapore, the language is Malay, even if the words mean the same in Indonesian. "Melayu," corrected El. "But I guess the Malays and Indonesians have around the same language." Others joked about similar "misheard" announcements. "Wait till you notice the wombedeh wombedeh wombedeh," wrote Initial J. Lechemanam Velaiya helpfully explained: "It's in Tamil language they are saying 999, which is the emergency police number." Another user JIRA clarified: "It's onbadhu, means 9. They say it three times, telling us to call 999 if you see anything suspicious."
