zha bo

English

Alternative forms

• zha bor
• cha bo, cha bor

Etymology

Borrowed from Hokkien 查某 (cha-bó͘, “woman, girl”).

Pronunciation

• (Singapore) IPA^(key): [t͡sä˨.bɔ˦˨]

Noun

zha bo (plural zha bo or zha bos)

1. (Malaysia, Singapore, colloquial) Lady or woman.
   • 2010 May 29, The Straits Times, “Old Times, New Blood”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)‎^[1], archived from the original on 6 February 2015, page B18:

     They didn’t think my mum could take over, much less me, whom they referred to as Ang Yew Seng’s zha bor kia (Hokkien for daughter).

   • 2010 June 18, “Thai girls are boring after long time”, in SingThaiDisco‎^[2], archived from the original on 5 March 2016:

     Bro, you see, the only thing common about the places you mentioned, all have Zha Bos, this is the entertainment sustaining the us today.

   • 2013 December 9, “Hawker Masters 2013: Secrets about famous ‘Bedok Camp’ Cheng Tng revealed”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)‎^[3], archived from the original on 6 March 2016:

     And most of them call me "swee zha bo", pretty girl.

Usage notes

• Uncommon in printed books and newspapers unless found in direct quotations.