bohsia

Malay

Etymology

From Hokkien 無聲／无声 (bô-siaⁿ), from 無／无 (bô, “to not have”) +‎ 聲／声 (siaⁿ, “sound”).

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -a

Noun

bohsia (Jawi spelling بوهسيا, plural bohsia-bohsia, informal 1st possessive bohsiaku, 2nd possessive bohsiamu, 3rd possessive bohsianya)

1. (Malaysia, slang) A young woman, usually of Malay descent, who spends much of her time dancing in nightclubs, partying, and drugs.

See also

• bohjan (slang, a young man who goes on nightclubs, parties, and drugs)
• mat rempit (slang, a young motorcyclist in illegal street races)

Further reading

• “bohsia” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.