bao toh

Singapore[ˌp˭aʊ˨ ˈt˭o˦]

verb

To inform on someone behind his or her back.

OriginHokkien 包刀 →
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Meanings

verbbao toh (invariable)

alternative pao toh

  1. SingaporeSinglishinformalinvariableTo inform on someone behind his or her back.

    Hey! Don’t bao toh me leh!

    2015 September 27, PeaNutButter Studios, “Everyday Singlish”, in YouTube, retrieved 02 Nov 2015
    3 more examples

    Eh butok lah! Which bastard paotoh to teacher that I carry handphone to school? Now kena confiscate!

    2003 September 1, “pao toh”, in Talkingcock.com, retrieved 02 Nov 2015

    I saw Gary looking at his textbook during the test. Wanna bao toh him?

    2011, Jonathan Heng, “Bao Toh, v.”, in Singslang.blogspot.sg, retrieved 02 Nov 2015

    Don't pao toh (snitch on) me hor!

    2014 July 3, David Lee, “Beng in Brazil: Not the Only Singaporean to Leave a Mark at the World Cup”, in Tnp.sg, archived from the original on 20 Oct 2020

Origin

  1. Hokkien包刀
  2. Englishbao toh

From Hokkien 包刀 (pau to, literally “wrapped knife”), referring to backstabbing.

More words from Hokkien

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

bao toh. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bao%20toh

MLA

“bao toh.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bao%20toh. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bao toh,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bao%20toh.

Source: bao toh on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.