alamak

Borrowed from Malay alamak, probably a contraction of Allah (“God”) + mak (“mother”).

• (Singapore, Malaysia) IPA^(key): /ɑlɑˈmɑk̚/

alamak

1. (Malaysia, Singapore, colloquial) oh dear, oh my God (expression of shock)
   • 2019, Cherlynn Ng, “Near-collision with Mercedes going against traffic during rain in Yishun: 'So scary ah!'”, in AsiaOne‎:

     “Aiyo! Nearly langgar leh! So scary ah! Alamak! Why you go so fast!” he is heard exclaiming to a companion in his car.

• See Thesaurus:wow

• Kalama, Kamala, kamala

Probably contracted from Allah (“God”) +‎ mak (“mother”), possibly under Portuguese influence (compare Kristang alamah (“Mother of God”)). Malaysian linguist Amat Juhari Moain suggested that the word is contracted from the traditional Arabic phrase اللَّهُ مَعَكَ Allah maʿak (“May God be with you”).

• IPA^(key): /alamaʔ/
• Rhymes: -amak, -mak, -ak
• Hyphenation: a‧la‧mak
• (Johor-Riau) IPA^(key): [ʔälämäʔ]
• Rhymes: -aʔ

alamak (Jawi spelling الامق‎)

1. oh my God, (literally) Mother of God (expression of shock)

• “alamak” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.