ho kua bo ho jiak

English dictionary entry

Meanings

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

Pronunciation

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

Word forms

ho kua bo ho jiak

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”).

Related words

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