ho kua bo ho jiak

English

Etymology

From Hokkien 好看無好食 / 好看无好食 (hó-khòaⁿ bô hó-chia̍h, literally “good to look at, not good to eat”).

Pronunciation

  • (Singapore) IPA(key): [ˌhoː˨˦ ˈkʰwɑː˦˨ boː˨˩ ˌhoː˨˦ ˈt͡s˭jɑʔ˦˧]

Phrase

ho kua bo ho jiak

  1. (Singlish, idiomatic) Superficial; incompetent or having no substance despite appearances, skin-deep; portraying oneself as greater than one actually is; all style and no substance.
    • 2014 May 17, Kevin Chin, The Straits Times, Singapore, Life! Motoring, page 2:
      Sure, they turn heads. But what is it like riding one of these scooters with a sidecar? When I first saw one of Mr Johnny Chen’s creations online, I thought “ho kua bo ho jiak” (Hokkien slang which means all style and no substance) […]
  2. (Singlish, of food, literally) Unpalatable despite having great presentation.

See also

Other terms derived from Hokkien 食 (chia̍h, “eat”)
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