Kiasi

Kiasi is a Hokkien phrase which literally means afraid of death, to describe the attitude of being overly afraid or timid. Kiasi is commonly compared to Kiasu ; both are commonly used to describe attitudes where Kiasi or Kiasi-ism means to take extreme measures to avoid risk and Kiasu or Kiasu-ism means to take extreme means to achieve success. Kiasi is not as popular as kiasu, but is widely used by Hokkien-speaking people in Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan.

Etymology and usage

The history of kiasi can be traced back to the Chinese idiom "Greedy for life, afraid of death", which describes a person's extreme fear of death, and may drive a person to lose his sense of justice and righteousness. The idiom was originally applied to cowardly soldiers on the battlefield. In modern usage, it refers to people who are irrationally frightful to undertake any task.

In popular culture

Kiasu, Kiasi : You Think What? by David Leo.