bo1 lo4菠蘿菠萝

Jyutpingbo1 lo4

Yalebō lòh

名詞Uncommon

Definition

Pineapple; also used as slang for a hand grenade or explosives.

pineapple; a tropical fruit with sweet-and-sour yellow flesh
slanga hand grenade or explosives

colloquialfood

How it's used

Beyond the fruit, this word is frequently used as slang for a hand grenade due to the visual similarity between the fruit's textured skin and the casing of early fragmentation grenades. It also appears in the common term 菠蘿包, which is a classic Hong Kong bakery staple that contains no actual pineapple but is named for its golden, cracked crust that resembles the fruit's exterior.

Measure word

zek3隻jek

Examples

ni1呢go3個bo1菠lo4蘿hou2好syun1酸aa4呀，nei5你sik6食m4唔sik6食？

This pineapple is quite sour, do you want some?

ngo5我soeng2想maai5買zek3隻bo1菠lo4蘿faan1返uk1屋kei2企zing2整tim4甜ban2品。

I want to buy a pineapple to take home for making dessert.

Common phrases

bo1菠lo4蘿baau1包

pineapple bun

bo1菠lo4蘿jau4油

pineapple bun with a slab of butter

Common mistake

Do not confuse this with 鳳梨, which is the standard term for pineapple in Taiwan and some other regions. While most Hong Kongers understand 鳳梨, using 菠蘿 is the default and expected choice in local daily life.