What does “chio bu” mean?

Chio bu in the Singlish dictionary: what it means, where it comes from and how it’s said.

chio bu

nounHokkien

A pretty girl.

“The chio bu at the counter smiled at you leh.”

Also: chiobu

chao keng To fake being sick or unfit to get out of duty; NS slang.
char bor A woman, a girl.
cheem Deep, profound, hard to understand.
chio Pretty, good-looking (Hokkien).
chiong Rush, go all out; also to party hard.
cincai Anyhow, whatever, not fussy; done sloppily.
die liao Done for, in big trouble.
eat snake To skive, slack off at work while looking busy (Hokkien jiak zua, word for word).

What does “chio bu” mean in Singlish?

A pretty girl. It’s a noun.

Where does “chio bu” come from?

From Hokkien. Other Singlish words from Hokkien include chao keng, char bor, cheem and chio.

How do you use “chio bu” in a sentence?

“The chio bu at the counter smiled at you leh.”

How else is “chio bu” spelt?

Singlish has no fixed spelling: people also write “chiobu”.

Liddat’s own words, from the Singlish dictionary: 312 words and phrases, A to Z.