duit kopi

Malay

Etymology

From duit (“money”) +‎ kopi (“coffee”). The former is from Dutch duit, while the latter is from English coffee.

Noun

duit kopi (Jawi spelling دوءيت کوڤي, uncountable)

1. (idiomatic, derogatory, politics) coffee money; bribe
   • 2019 July 24, Harits Asyraf Hasnan, “EKSKLUSIF: Pencemaran air Selangor: Nampak tumpahan diesel, ada individu tawar 'duit kopi'”, in Astro Awani‎^[1]:

     Menawarkan 'duit kopi' bagi mengelak laporan dibuat kepada pihak berkuasa. Itu antara pengakuan salah seorang penduduk di sekitar kawasan aktiviti mengorek pasir dekat Bestari Jaya di sini.

     Bidding 'bribes' to avoid being reported to the authorities. That is among the accounts from one of the residents there at a place for sand excavation close to Bestari Jaya.

Descendants

• → English: coffee money, kopi money (calque)
• → Hokkien: 咖啡鐳 / 咖啡镭 (ko-pi-lui) (calque)
• → Mandarin: 咖啡錢 / 咖啡钱 (kāfēiqián) (calque)

Further reading

• "duit kopi" in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu (PRPM) [Malay Literary Reference Centre (PRPM)] (in Malay), Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017