Idiom idiom
ho kua bo ho jiak
Meaning
Superficial; incompetent or having no substance despite appearances, skin-deep; portraying oneself as greater than one actually is; all style and no substance.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“That flashy new manager is all ho kua bo ho jiak.”
“He talks a big game about his business, but his plans are ho kua bo ho jiak.”
“Despite the polished presentation and expensive suit, the candidate proved to be entirely ho kua bo ho jiak when asked about his actual experience.”
Origin
From Hokkien 好看無好食 (hó-khòaⁿ bô hó-chia̍h), literally meaning good to look at, not good to eat.
Anchors to
Last updated August 10, 2026