Monday, November 03, 2003

Muka Seposen - A Malaysian patois

Got this joke in my inbox from a friend.
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Seorang anak bercerita kepada ayahnya bagaimana dia membayar tambang
bas ketika pulang dari sekolah tengah hari tadi.

Anak : Ayah, tadi Man balik naik bas.
Ayah : Eh, Pak Abu tak jemput Man ke hari ni?
Anak : Tak.
Ayah : Man ada duit ke nak bayar tambang?
Anak : Ada, ayah tapi kurang seposen.
Ayah : Tambang bas berapa sen?
Anak : 60 sen.
Ayah : Man ada berapa sen?
Anak : 50 sen saja.
Ayah : Habis tu, macamana man bayar tambang?
Anak : Man ada 50 sen, Man buat muka seposen. Cukuplah jumlahnya 60 sen.

Ayah : ??????
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Heh heh. I've never heard of this one before. Found it rather fun-nayyy.

If you are a Malaysian, most likely than not you would have used or at least came across the colloquial 'muka seposen', (literally: 'a 10-sen face') which could mean either a) muka kesian (a pitiful face, a face portraying sadness / tragedy and such, to be pitied); or b) rupa yang biasa, boleh dilihat di mana-mana (a face that is so-so, indistinguishable, anywhere you look also you can see a face like this one lah). A comparable phrase that I can think of in English for the use in (a) would be 'puppy dog face'. Can't think of any for the use in (b) though. Do tell me if you can think of one!

Can anyone tell me of the time that they were told"Jangan nak mengada-ngada buat muka seposen lah!" (or something to that effect) ?

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