sotong

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Malay sotong (“squid”).

Pronunciation

• (Singapore) IPA^(key): /ˈsɔtɔŋ/, /ˈsoːtɔŋ/

Noun

sotong (plural sotong)

1. (Singapore, Malaysia) Squid; cuttlefish.
2. (Singlish, Manglish) Used in similes to describe someone who is confused and clueless, i.e., blur.

   Blur like sotong

   • 2002 July 22, Hwee Hwee Tan, “A War of Words Over ‘Singlish’”, in Time‎^[1], archived from the original on 28 January 2025:

     If a Singaporean gets frustrated at your stupidity, he can scold you for being blur as sotong (clueless as a squid).

Indonesian

Etymology

Inherited from Malay sotong.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈsɔtɔŋ/ [ˈsɔ.t̪ɔŋ]
• Rhymes: -ɔtɔŋ
• Syllabification: so‧tong

Noun

sotong (plural sotong-sotong)

1. cuttlefish

   Synonym: balakutak

2. octopus

   Synonym: gurita

Further reading

• “sotong”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Malay

Etymology

Compare Brunei Malay sutung, Pattani Malay سوتوْڠ / ซูตง.

Sense of effeminance from stereotype of mannerisms reminiscent of the movement of its tentacles.

Pronunciation

• (schwa-variety, /a/-variety, Standard Literary) IPA^(key): /ˈsotoŋ/ [ˈso.t̪oŋ]
• Rhymes: -toŋ, -oŋ
• Hyphenation: so‧tong

Noun

sotong (Jawi spelling سوتوڠ, plural sotong-sotong or sotong²)

1. squid (sea animal), esp. of the family Loliginidae

   Synonyms: cumi, cumi-cumi

2. any soft-bodied cephalopod

   sotong kurita ― octopus

   sotong katak ― cuttlefish

3. (Malaysia, derogatory) an effeminate man, a pansy or fruit

   Synonyms: bapok, banci, pondan, papak, ponen, waria (Indonesia)

Derived terms

Compounds

• Bank Sotong (“CIMB”)
• sotong gurita / sotong kurita (“octopus”)
• sotong katak (“cuttlefish”)

Adjective

sotong (Jawi spelling سوتوڠ, comparative lebih sotong, superlative paling sotong)

1. (Malaysia, derogatory) effeminate, fruity

   Synonyms: bapok, banci, pondan, papak, ponen, waria (Indonesia)

Descendants

• → English: sotong
• → Chinese: 蘇東 / 苏东
• > Indonesian: sotong (inherited)

References

• Pijnappel, Jan (1875), “سوتڠ sotong”, in Maleisch-Hollandsch woordenboek, John Enschede en Zonen, Frederik Muller, page 36
• Wilkinson, Richard James (1901), “سوتڠ sotong”, in A Malay-English dictionary, Hong Kong: Kelly & Walsh limited, page 417
• Wilkinson, Richard James (1932), “sotong”, in A Malay-English dictionary (romanised), volume II, Mytilene, Greece: Salavopoulos & Kinderlis, page 489

Further reading

• "sotong" in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu (PRPM) [Malay Literary Reference Centre (PRPM)] (in Malay), Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017