Kiasu

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Hokkien 驚輸 (kiaⁿ-su, “afraid to lose out”).

Pronunciation

• /ˈkjɑːsuː/ (Singapore English)
• Hyphenation: kia‧su

Adjective

kiasu

1. Afraid to lose out, especially due to being overly 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.”

2. 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)

1. 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

• kiasi