bo bian

English

Alternative forms

• bo pian, bo pien, boh bian, boh pian, boh pien

Etymology

From Hokkien 無變／无变 (bô-piàn, “no choice”).

Pronunciation

• (Singapore, Malaysia) IPA^(key): [bo˩ pjɛn˩]

Interjection

bo bian

1. (Singapore, Malaysia, informal) No choice; it cannot be helped.
   • 2006, Stuart Lloyd, Gone Troppo: Hot Babes, Warm Weather, Cold Beer. Paradise!, Monsoon Books, page 13:

     In Singapore, there is no choice being one of the world’s twenty smallest countries. Boh pien ah.

   • 2011 August 21, Kirsten, “It's Singlish Lah!”, in SEA Youth Say So‎^[1], retrieved 2015-10-22:

     Eh, if cannot finish the work then bo bian must stay back

   • 2013, Lena Chen, EFT Meditations, Trafford Publishing, page 8:

     I have been sleep deprived for the past few days, and a friend who knows about it just sent me an online message: “Notti (lingo-speak for naughty) ah…still don’t sleep.” My reply, “Bobian (Singaporean-English term for no choice), I’m a workaholic…”

   • 2015 September 22, CLEO MAGAZINE, “11 WORDS THAT EVERY SINGAPOREAN WOULD UNDERSTAND”, in CLEO‎^[2], archived from the original on 4 March 2016:

     He already paid for my ticket so even if I was busy, boh pien, I would have to go.

Anagrams

• Babino, babion