kiasu

English

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl]  驚輸／惊输 (kiaⁿ-su, “afraid to lose”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkɪɑ̃ˈsuː/
• Hyphenation: kia‧su

Adjective

kiasu (comparative more kiasu, superlative most kiasu)

1. (Singapore, colloquial, mildly derogatory) Afraid to lose out, particularly because one is overly competitive.
   • 1988 December 11, "Pro Bono Puntero" [pseudonym], “That $5 win minimum [letter]”, in The Straits Times, page 35:

     The kia-si/kia-su ("afraid to die/afraid to lose") attitude of the Totalisator Boards in Malaysia and Singapore is deplorable.

   • 1989 April 26, “Crowding at bus doors”, in The Straits Times, page 2:

     We often see a bus with commuters practically spilling out of the front door and crowding at the exit door. But beyond that, a vacuum prevails, says a reader. The kia-su attitude is the reason for this, says the reader, and most of the culprits are students from secondary schools and junior colleges.

   • 2000, Leong Liew Geok, “Forever Singlish”, in Women without Men, Singapore: Times Books International, →ISBN, page 130:

     No lubang, so teruk. Kiasu cannot lose, / Kiasi cannot die; machiam machiam words / We also try. Proper English? So lecheh, / So correct, so actsy for what? […]

   • 2009 October 27, Lionel de Souza, “You save money, but it's the environment that pays [letter]”, in Today, page 28:

     Shell's FuelSave saw Singaporeans' kiasu spirit come to the fore. I noted that most vehicles in the queue had their engines in idle and air-conditioners on, hence releasing air pollutants.

Quotations

For more quotations using this term, see Citations:kiasu.

Translations

afraid of losing out

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 怕輸／怕输, 怕输 (pàshū)

  Min Nan: 驚輸／惊输, 惊输 (kiaⁿ-su)

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Malay: takut kalah

Noun

kiasu (plural kiasu or kiasus)

1. (Singapore, colloquial, mildly derogatory) A kiasu person.

See also

• kiasi