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Glite Dictionary
bo jio

bo jio

9.9
A casual phrase people use when someone did not invite you to go out
  • idiom
  • Slang
: no invitar
  • Seeing everyone post about the dinner made me feel like I was missing out; I can't believe they bo jio me.

Examples

  • Next time there’s a trip to the beach, don’t bo jio, okay?

  • When I saw their photos from the concert, I messaged them saying, 'bo jio!'

  • He organised a lunch outing, but bo jio again as usual.

  • That's so bo jio!

  • You are so bo jio!

  • I was upset when I found out they had a party and didn't tell me; that's so bo jio.

  • Don't bo jio the next time you plan an outing, I want to be invited too!

Antonyms

to invite
∞ 1.0

To ask someone politely to come or take part in an event

Surface Forms

bo jio main

Morphology

bo + jio

The meaning is directly derivable from a negator + verb composition: 'bo' functions as a negator ('not/no') and 'jio' means 'invite', so together they mean 'not invited / didn't invite'. This negation+verb pattern is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the MWE's meaning, despite its colloquial Singlish status.

Etymology

Bo jio comes from Hokkien words bo meaning 'no' and jio meaning 'invite', so it literally means 'no invite'. So people say bo jio to complain that someone did not invite or tell them about a plan or event.