agak agak

English

Alternative forms

• agak-agak

Etymology

From Malay agak-agak, a reduplication of agak (“to estimate”).

Pronunciation

• (Singapore) IPA^(key): /ɑˈɡɑ(ʔ) ɑˈɡɑ(ʔ)/

Verb

agak agak (no third-person singular simple present, no present participle, no simple past or past participle)

1. (Singapore, Malaysia, colloquial) To estimate or guess.
   • 1998 August 23, chong, “Tapai (fermented tapioca)”, in soc.culture.malaysia‎^[1], retrieved 2018-09-05:

     I am only trying my very best to recall what my granny did.....not agak agak, best of luck!!

   • 1998, EyEwItNeSs, soc.culture.malaysia‎^[2], retrieved 2018-09-05:

     We fail to estimate how many are present in a HUGE UM*NO roadshow...and we fail to agak-agak the number ppl in and outside of cars crying "repom" slogans on a NOT SO LONG road as Jalan TAR.

   • 1999, Adam Brown, Singapore English in a Nutshell‎^[3], Singapore: Federal Publications, →ISBN, page 3:

     When cooking, for example, if asked how much sugar you put in, you could reply 'I just agak-agak.'

   • 2004, Uncle Yap, “Star: Damn chun blur sotong kena hantam kau kau”, in soc.culture.malaysia‎^[4], retrieved 2018-09-05:

     "Don't agak agak or we may end up on the wrong road."

   • 2018, M. Bakri Musa, “Opening Minds Through Education”, in Seeing Malaysia My Way‎^[5], retrieved 2018-09-05:

     Then we should ensure that they have the necessary quantitative skills so they could think with some degree of precision and not merely agak agak (wild guesses).

Adjective

agak agak (not comparable)

1. Involving guesswork.
   • 1972 March 12, Edgar Koh, “the Comedians”, in New Nation, page 7:

     A man who together with his partner - a few years and several hundred sketches ago - came out with the "agak agak" philosophy.

   • 1975 January 23, Betty L. Khoo, “When a man wears the apron and cooks to woo”, in New Nation, page 23:

     Instinct and a brash and breezy "agak agak" style is the way men occasional chefs, not professional ones cook.

   • 1991, Kok-Yong Tan, “Currency exchange rates (was Re: Working in Singapore)”, in soc.culture.asean‎^[6], retrieved 2018-09-05:

     Yes, although I would like to think of it as "agak agak figures."

   • 2007, Sidney Cheung, Chee-Beng Tan, editors, Food and Foodways in Asia: Resource, Tradition and Cooking, Abingdon: Routledge, →ISBN:

     Kelly always said,'We Baba follow the agak-agak principle.'

See also

• agaration