You Might be Medan Lang…

November 26, 2008 by Medan Indonesia
Filed under Living

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Are you a Medanese? | Medan Chinese

Sometimes, you get funny emails in your inbox and this is one we received today.

The email is really for the Chinese in Medan as many of the terms are not only written in Bahasa Indonesia but also in “Hokkien” a Chinese Dialect widely spoken by the Chinese Community in Medan.

The email explains that “You Might be a Medan Lang (”Lang” means “People/Citizen” in Hokkien) if these are your daily life.

Yes, Medan Lang = Chinese Medanese

I will try to translate the terms below. The first version is the original version for “Medan Lang”. The second version, is a translated version if you want to know what constitute a Medan Lang

Original Version: For Medan Lang Only:

You might be Medan Lang if:

You carry handphone to pasar and call your neighbour ‘kha me lai la, kia jit e kangkung ane phi lo‘
You manage to buy expensive stuff to show you are rich.
You think durian is your life.
You take a becak just go to nia ang pau.
You send your kids to US just for gengsi..
You go to a park and drink ‘liang teh‘ instead of kue ci seng.
You travel Medan-Penang more than 3 times a month.
You mix pisang and huan cu at the same time and you call it kolak.
You have more credit cards than your name card.
You wish to have a car with ‘ang BK‘ forever.
You call your friends in jakarta ‘pa sia khiau seng‘
Your stomach growls when you don’t eat ‘Kalimantan Asek e toktok’ for a day.
You talk even your neighbour were sleep.
You eat kue tiau goreng in the morning.
You prefer Christian Dior or YSL than red A or Mirabella.
You know Pak Tungtung more than great politician.
You carry a 10 Kilos of kue Bika Ambon whenever you travel to jakarta .
You listen to ‘Wang Cing Nien’ song even you prefer ‘Teng Lie Cin’.
You are willing to travel 25 miles to buy a thing that you think will Rp. 25 Cheaper.
You are ‘Dreaming of a winter and snowing chinese new year’
You are very good at avoiding police officer.
You have ever successfully put Rp.10.000 in your pasport to pass the immigration officer.
You have ever successfully put envelope in your suitcase to pass a customs officer.
You have extra pocket to put USD and pin it with peniti when you go abroad.
You tie a pita to your kopor as a sign.
You have ever wear a sandal jepit to shopping center.
You have ever compare naik taxi or naik becak mesin lebih murah.
You do your shopping in Pasar Ramai.
You bring your whole family or even neighbour to a wedding party.
You know exactly how many people living in the same street with you.
You have ever eaten sate padang in Jln. Kalimantan.
The first thing that comes to mind when hearing the word ‘ Jakarta’ is ‘Juak’
You use the terms ‘Ai khi ta lok? Ai khi ciak hong’, ‘Ciak pa bo kang co’, ‘ce ai anna bo ka si, bo tua bo se’, as a basis term.
Your daily conversation may include your neighbours.
If your neighbour buy one, you will buy two.
You use bang hio more than baygon in your house.
You have at least 1 pair of Bakiak in your house.
You always compare your kids class ranking with another: ‘Lu e kia gia te kui mia? Wa e kia gia te it mia lo’. [ciak pa sio eng]
You always ask your friend: ‘lu kui kai kia liau’

Second Version: With some Translations, if you want to know “what is a Medan Lang”

You might be Medan Lang (People) if:

You carry handphone to pasar (market) and call your neighbour ‘kha me lai la, kia jit e kangkung ane phi lo’(come quickly, today’s vegetables is very cheap)
You manage to buy expensive stuff to show you are rich.
You think durian is your life.
You take a becak (trishaw) just go to nia ang pau (collect red packets during chinese new year).
You send your kids to US just for gengsi (pride/show-off) ..
You go to a park and drink ‘liang teh’ (tea) instead of kue ci seng (ice kacang).
You travel Medan-Penang more than 3 times a month.
You mix pisang (banana) and huan cu (tapioca) at the same time and you call it kolak (a dessert).
You have more credit cards than your name card.
You wish to have a car with ‘ang BK’ (red plate=new car) forever.
You call your friends in jakarta ‘pa sia khiau seng’ ( a term for chinese in jakarta)
Your stomach growls when you don’t eat ‘Kalimantan Asek e toktok’ (food stall at Kalimantan Street) for a day.
You talk even your neighbour were sleep.
You eat kue tiau goreng (fried rice noodles) in the morning.
You prefer Christian Dior or YSL than red A or Mirabella.
You know Pak Tungtung ( medan favorite cartoon) more than great politician.
You carry a 10 Kilos of kue Bika Ambon (Medan popular honey cake) whenever you travel to jakarta .
You listen to ‘Wang Cing Nien’ song even you prefer ‘Teng Lie Cin’ - chinese singer.
You are willing to travel 25 miles to buy a thing that you think will Rp. 25 Cheaper.
You are ‘Dreaming of a winter and snowing chinese new year’
You are very good at avoiding police officer.
You have ever successfully put Rp.10.000 in your pasport to pass the immigration officer.
You have ever successfully put envelope in your suitcase to pass a customs officer.
You have extra pocket to put USD and pin it with peniti (safety pin) when you go abroad.
You tie a pita (ribbon) to your kopor (luggage) as a sign so that your luggage will not get lost.
You have ever wear a sandal jepit (slippers) to shopping center.
You have ever compare naik (take) taxi or naik becak mesin (trishaw) lebih murah (cheaper).
You do your shopping in Pasar Ramai - (traditional market).
You bring your whole family or even neighbour to a wedding party.
You know exactly how many people living in the same street with you.
You have ever eaten sate padang (barbeque meat) in Jln. Kalimantan.
The first thing that comes to mind when hearing the word ‘ Jakarta’ is ‘Juak’ (hot)
You use the terms ‘Ai khi ta lok? (Want to go where) Ai khi ciak hong’(go for a spin), ‘Ciak pa bo
kang co’ (nothing to do after eating), ‘ce ai anna bo ka si, bo tua bo se’ (not respectful), as a basis term.
Your daily conversation may include your neighbours.
If your neighbour buy one, you will buy two.
You use bang hio (mosquito repellent) more than baygon in your house.
You have at least 1 pair of Bakiak in your house.
You always compare your kids class ranking with another: ‘Lu e kia gia te kui mia? Wa e kia gia te it mia lo’. [ciak pa sio eng] (how well did your children do in school, my child is first in class - busybody)
You always ask your friend: ‘lu kui kai kia liau (how many kids do you have already)