Don’t be alarmed to discover that your American friends and other non-Singaporeans may have difficulty understanding what you are saying, as they may not be familiar with our British/Singaporean way of life. That being said, while it’s important to be cognisant of cultural differences, please don’t feel that you have to “accommodate” to the American culture and lose your Singaporean identity!

Here is a guide to help you distinguish between American and British/Singaporean terms:

Measurement Conventions

Firstly, do note differences in measurement conventions:

• Degrees Fahrenheit (US) vs Degrees Celsius (rest of the world)
• Ounces/Pounds + Gallons/Pint + Ft/Yards (US) vs the Metric System (rest of the world)

American vs British Spelling

While autocorrect can be useful, it does not always work. Click here for a comprehensive guide on differences between American and British spelling.

American vs British/Singaporean Terms

Here is a table containing a list of common American terms and their British/Singaporean equivalents:

American English	Singaporean English
bandaid	plaster
bike	cycle
cell phone	hand phone
commercials	advertisements
counterclockwise	anticlockwise
drugstore	pharmacy
elevator	lift
fall	autumn
freeway/interstate	expressway
garbage can	dustbin/rubbish bin
gas/gasoline	petrol
glasses	spectacles
Kleenex	facial tissue
line	queue
movie theater	cinema
napkins	tissue paper
parking lot	carpark
parking space	carpark lot
period	full stop
q-tips	cotton buds
sidewalk	pavement
soccer	football
subway	MRT
having here	eat in
takeout/to go	takeaway/dabao
trunk	boot