Kiasu - Revision history

MorMythos at 01:07, 27 March 2026

2026-03-27T01:07:26Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:07, 27 March 2026
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	* [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/kiasi kiasi]		* [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/kiasi kiasi]

	[[Category:Singlish]]		* [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Category:Singlish Singlish]
	[[Category:People]]		* [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Category:People People]

MorMythos: /* Noun */

2026-03-27T01:05:51Z

Noun

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	# A kiasu person; someone afraid to lose out.		# A kiasu person; someone afraid to lose out.
	~~#* 2003, Frederick Lim, ''Today'', 28 May, p. 22:~~
	~~#*: “Apart from the ''kiasis'' and ''kiasus'', there are also Singaporeans at the other end of the scale...”~~

	===See also===		===See also===

MorMythos: /* Translations */

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Translations

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	====Translations====		====Translations====
	* Chinese:		* Chinese:
	** Hokkien: 驚輸 (kiaⁿ-su)		** Hokkien: [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E9%A9%9A%E8%BC%B8 驚輸] (kiaⁿ-su)
	** Mandarin: 怕輸 (pàshū)		** Mandarin: [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E6%80%95%E8%BC%B8 怕輸] (pàshū)
	* Malay: takut kalah		* Malay: [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/takut_kalah takut kalah]

	===Noun===		===Noun===

MorMythos: /* Derived terms */

2026-03-27T01:03:56Z

Derived terms

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	# Someone who makes a selfish decision out of fear that they might miss out on something important.		# Someone who makes a selfish decision out of fear that they might miss out on something important.
	====Derived terms====		====Derived terms====
	* [[kiasuism]]		* [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/kiasuism kiasuism]
	* [[kiasuness]]		* [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/kiasuness kiasuness]

	====Translations====		====Translations====

MorMythos: /* Adjective */

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Adjective

@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 '''kiasu'''
-# Afraid to [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lose_out lose out], especially due to being overly [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/competitive competitive].
+# Afraid to [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lose_out lose out], especially due to being overly competitive.
 # Someone who makes a selfish decision out of fear that they might miss out on something important.
 ====Derived terms====

MorMythos: Created page with "==English== ===Etymology=== Borrowed from Hokkien [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E9%A9%9A%E8%BC%B8 驚輸] (kiaⁿ-su, “afraid to lose out”). ===Pronunciation=== * /ˈkjɑːsuː/ (Singapore English) * Hyphenation: kia‧su ===Adjective=== '''kiasu''' # Afraid to [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lose_out lose out], especially due to being overly [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/competitive competitive]. #* 1985, Irene Hoe, ''The Straits Times'', 22 December, p. 20..."

2026-03-27T01:02:25Z

Created page with "==English== ===Etymology=== Borrowed from Hokkien [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E9%A9%9A%E8%BC%B8 驚輸] (kiaⁿ-su, “afraid to lose out”). ===Pronunciation=== * /ˈkjɑːsuː/ (Singapore English) * Hyphenation: kia‧su ===Adjective=== '''kiasu''' # Afraid to [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lose_out lose out], especially due to being overly [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/competitive competitive]. #* 1985, Irene Hoe, ''The Straits Times'', 22 December, p. 20..."

New page

==English==

===Etymology===
Borrowed from Hokkien [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E9%A9%9A%E8%BC%B8 驚輸] (kiaⁿ-su, “afraid to lose out”).

===Pronunciation===
* /ˈkjɑːsuː/ (Singapore English)
* Hyphenation: kia‧su

===Adjective===
'''kiasu'''

# Afraid to [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lose_out lose out], especially due to being overly [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/competitive competitive].
#* 1985, Irene Hoe, ''The Straits Times'', 22 December, p. 20:
#*: “No wonder the parents acted that way, she said. They were just being ''kia-su'' (afraid to lose out).”
#* 1988, “Pro Bono Puntero”, ''The Straits Times'', 11 December, p. 35:
#*: “The kia-si/kia-su (‘afraid to die/afraid to lose’) attitude of the Totalisator Boards in Malaysia and Singapore is deplorable.”
#* 1989, ''The Straits Times'', 26 April, p. 2:
#*: “The ''kia-su'' attitude is the reason for this, says the reader.”
#* 1999, ''The Business Times'' (Singapore), 13 October, p. 2:
#*: “For the uninitiated, ''kiasu'' means ‘afraid to lose’ in the Hokkien dialect.”
#* 2000, Leong Liew Geok, ''Women without Men'', p. 130:
#*: “Kiasu cannot lose, / Kiasi cannot die...”
#* 2001, Carolyn Chew, ''Today'', 20 February, p. 6:
#*: “Too often you hear about Singaporeans with the ‘K syndrome’, meaning ''kiasu'' (afraid of losing out)...”
#* 2009, Lionel de Souza, ''Today'', 27 October, p. 28:
#*: “Singaporeans’ ''kiasu'' spirit came to the fore.”
# Someone who makes a selfish decision out of fear that they might miss out on something important.
====Derived terms====
* [[kiasuism]]
* [[kiasuness]]

====Translations====
* Chinese:
** Hokkien: 驚輸 (kiaⁿ-su)
** Mandarin: 怕輸 (pàshū)
* Malay: takut kalah

===Noun===
'''kiasu''' (plural '''kiasus''')

# A kiasu person; someone afraid to lose out.
#* 2003, Frederick Lim, ''Today'', 28 May, p. 22:
#*: “Apart from the ''kiasis'' and ''kiasus'', there are also Singaporeans at the other end of the scale...”

===See also===
* [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/kiasi kiasi]

[[Category:Singlish]]
[[Category:People]]