The story
Borrowed from Hokkien 十樓厝 (cha̍p-lâu-chhù, “ten-storey house”). Originating in the 1960s, with the building of pioneering HDB satellite flats.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
chap lau chu
Today it means: A ten-storey housing flat built by the Singapore Housing and Development Board (HDB) in the 1960s (now mostly vacated). Full definition →