chao keng

Singapore[ˈt͡sʰaʊ˦˨ ˈk˭eŋ˦]Singapore[ˈt͡ʃʰ-]

verb

To malinger, to skive, to shirk one's duties (especially, military duties) by feigning illness or reporting sick.

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Meanings

verbchao keng (invariable)
  1. SinglishinvariableTo malinger, to skive, to shirk one's duties (especially, military duties) by feigning illness or reporting sick.

    I chao keng. I idle. What is pride?

    1997 April 10, Ng, “Open letter to all NS boys”, in soc.culture.singapore (Usenet)
    5 more examples

    That said, going back for reservist training would without a doubt be a pain — digging up all your old gear, your uniform and your dusty field pack once a year is enough to make you wish you chao kenged during your NSF days.

    2015 October 19, “Guys, here are 10 foods that will make your skin glow and hopefully help you get some”, in Mothership

    I couldn't actually bring myself to chao keng, but though it was only 4 km, that march was one of the tougher evolutions we've done.

    2017, Max West, How To Forge A Frogman, →ISBN

    I would argue that those who 'slack' or 'chao keng' are probably more a threat to our national security than a defaulter who has postponed his NS, but done well while in NS.

    2017 April 26, “Are the new sentencing principles for NS defaulters fair?”, in The Online Citizen

    I'm willing to bet all of us have tried to chao keng our way out of work sometime in the past, myself included.

    2017 September 18, “If you're too sick for work, this startup lets you get your MC online”, in Asia One

    For the longest time, there’s existed the rampant problem of soldiers malingering, or more colloquially “chao keng”, to excuse themselves from training. This has led to the deep-seated mistrust of soldiers who report sick or declare themselves unfit.

    2018 May 3, “To Prevent More Deaths Like Pte Dave Lee’s, Chao Keng Culture Must End”, in Rice

    Synonyms: keng

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo malinger, to skive, to shirk one's duties (especially, military duties) by feigning illness or reporting sick.

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Origin

  1. Teochew臭“dirty, ill-reputed”
  2. Englishchao keng

From Teochew 臭 (cao³, “dirty, ill-reputed”) + 經 /经 (gêng¹, “to evade; to pass the buck”).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

Source: chao keng on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.