-
Word Type: Adjective
-
Meaning: Fancy, high-class, luxurious, or snobbish. Used in Manglish to describe high-end places or people with expensive taste.
- Origin and History:
Literally means “above” or “top” in Malay. During 20th-century urban growth, locals turned this spatial direction into a metaphor for high social standing and wealth. It evolved as a shorthand way to describe upper-class, westernized lifestyles, showing how local dialects adapted to describe social status and modern consumerism.
-
Example Sentence: “Why are you drinking expensive artisan coffee every single morning? So atas!”
- Tips: often used as sarcasm by locals. If you are called ‘atas’ by others, they are likely teasing you for being fancy:(