boh koleng

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Hokkien 無可能／无可能 (bô-khó-lêng) in Malaysia and Singapore.

Pronunciation

• (Singapore) IPA^(key): [bo²¹ kʰo²⁴ leŋ²⁴]

Adjective

boh koleng (comparative more boh koleng, superlative most boh koleng)

1. (Singlish, Manglish) Impossible
   • 2015 September 4, jetsetter, “Re: General Election 2015”, in KiasuParents‎^[1]:

     Touch your heart and ask yourself, pirate. Do you think you can legislate $1k min wage for all sectors, "across sectors"? Bo Ko Leng, right?!

   • 2003 April 4, Assassin, “Possible future upgrade for Lester ?”, in MyCarForum‎^[2], archived from the original on 31 December 2019:

     Yah lor...boh koleng leh.