Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

towkay

/ˈt̪au̯.keɪ/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables: towkay
IPA: /ˈt̪au̯.keɪ/

16

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

1

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A business owner; boss (especially a Chinese Malaysian or Chinese Singaporean boss).

noun

Term of address for a business owner boss.

Example Sentences

"My own experience would lead me to suggest that the Chinese immigrants should be placed under one Towkay, or head man, who would control those villages under his care."

Etymology

From Hokkien 頭家 /头家 (thâu-ke, “boss”). Doublet of taoke.

Word Breakdown

Root: 頭家

Inflected Forms

towkays (plural)

Synonyms

taoke boss sir ma'am

Questions

How do you pronounce towkay?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈt̪au̯.keɪ/.
What does towkay mean?: A business owner; boss (especially a Chinese Malaysian or Chinese Singaporean boss).
Where does towkay come from?: From Hokkien 頭家 /头家 (thâu-ke, “boss”). Doublet of taoke.

How to pronounce towkay

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “towkay”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈt̪au̯.keɪ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “towkay”.
Repeat and practice — Say “towkay” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.