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At some point, every Malaysian has said the word lepak. And who would've thought our favourite way of doing nothing would end up in the Oxford English Dictionary?
It was officially recognised by the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) in 2016.
According to OED, the word lepak means "to loiter aimlessly or to relax in a leisurely way", which sounds about right for what most of us do after work or class.
The word joined other Malaysian and Singaporean favourites that made it into the OED, like wah and teh tarik.
OED traces "lepak" back to 1993, when it popped up in Aliran Monthly
A section in the magazine carried the heading "Hanging around the idea of lepak."
Over the years, lepak has shown up in various publications, from a 1994 Business Times piece describing it as a "negative habit" among youths, to later references that treated it more casually as part of everyday life.
By 2006, the New Straits Times was already using it casually to describe popular hangout spots, showing how the word had become part of everyday Malaysian life.
These days, lepak means more than just hanging around
Lepak isn't just about passing time; it's about connection.
Be it late-night mamak sessions, or long chats over teh ais, lepak is simply how we unwind together.
