Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

ho kua bo ho jiak

[ˌhoː˨˦ ˈkʰwɑː˦˨ boː˨˩ ˌhoː˨˦ ˈt͡s˭jɑʔ˦˧]

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables: ho kua bo ho ji-ak
IPA: [ˌhoː˨˦ ˈkʰwɑː˦˨ boː˨˩ ˌhoː˨˦ ˈt͡s˭jɑʔ˦˧]

36

Scrabble Score

13

Letters

2

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

phrase

Superficial; incompetent or having no substance despite appearances, skin-deep; portraying oneself as greater than one actually is; all style and no substance.

phrase

Unpalatable despite having great presentation.

Example Sentences

"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) […]"

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”).

Word Breakdown

Root: 好看無好食

Phrases

jiak kentang

Frequently Paired Words

jiak kentang jialat

Questions

How do you pronounce ho kua bo ho jiak?: The recorded pronunciation is [ˌhoː˨˦ ˈkʰwɑː˦˨ boː˨˩ ˌhoː˨˦ ˈt͡s˭jɑʔ˦˧].
What does ho kua bo ho jiak mean?: Superficial; incompetent or having no substance despite appearances, skin-deep; portraying oneself as greater than one actually is; all style and no substance.
Where does ho kua bo ho jiak come from?: 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”).

How to pronounce ho kua bo ho jiak

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “ho kua bo ho jiak”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling ([ˌhoː˨˦ ˈkʰwɑː˦˨ boː˨˩ ˌhoː˨˦ ˈt͡s˭jɑʔ˦˧]) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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Repeat and practice — Say “ho kua bo ho jiak” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.