redirected from
chao kuan
Commonly found variants; note these may range from acceptable alternatives to
non-standard forms or incorrect spellings*.
* Singlish is a largely spoken creole, and as such descriptivism (recording forms that reflect actual pronunciation in spoken language, or as appearing in the linguistic corpus) is more pertinent than strict prescriptivism. Nevertheless, the use of more standard forms (or for words originating in languages with Latin script, such as Malay, accurate to the original spelling) is recommended and encouraged.
* Singlish is a largely spoken creole, and as such descriptivism (recording forms that reflect actual pronunciation in spoken language, or as appearing in the linguistic corpus) is more pertinent than strict prescriptivism. Nevertheless, the use of more standard forms (or for words originating in languages with Latin script, such as Malay, accurate to the original spelling) is recommended and encouraged.
also can:
chao kuan chau kuan chau khoan chau khuan
chao khuan
→
Min nan:
臭
poj:
chhàu
+
Hokkien:
款
poj:
khoán
Detailed etymology
definitions
adjective
- unscrupulous; underhanded; playing unfair
'Chao' means'smelly/bad', and 'kuan' means 'habit'. Together, the phrase refers to someone who does not play fair and uses underhand means to get what they want, literally with bad behaviour. For the awful Singaporean. [sic]
— Independent Market - "CHAO KUAN T-SHIRT", https://www.independentmarket.sg/products/chao-kuan-t-shirt