'Memorising for my future mother-in-law': Malay woman impresses boyfriend's mum with Chinese New Year greetings

How far will you go to impress your significant other's loved ones?

A Malay woman decided to do just that, by greeting her boyfriend's mother with a few auspicious Chinese phrases during a house visit.

In a TikTok video shared on Tuesday (Feb 1) – with over 180,000 views – user Amirah Vgi can be seen approaching her "future mother-in-law" with two mandarin oranges and greeting her.

She said in Mandarin: "Happy New Year. (Wishing you) Good health and prosperity."

Giving Amirah a red packet, her visibly overjoyed future mother-in-law replied: "This year tiger year, climb as high as you can. All the best."

[embed]https://www.tiktok.com/@amirahvgi/video/7059702992106294530?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id7035792060636988929[/embed]

"Me second year celebrating CNY with the Chinese boyfriend. I finally did it," Amirah wrote in the caption, adding that she "tried so hard to memorise the phrase".

In another TikTok video shared on Nov 10 last year, Amirah could be seen documenting her struggles at learning Chinese from her boyfriend.

"He's so done with my pronunciation. I'm so done with him," she wrote at that time.

But it seems Amirah's perseverance has paid off four months later, with netizens praising her for "making the extra effort to bridge the differences in culture."

In another display of racial harmony during the festive season, a Chinese New Year song in Malay that is sung by Malays, went viral in Malaysia.

chingshijie@asiaone.com