Kiasi

Kiasi (Chinese: 驚死, 惊死; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kiaⁿ-sí) is a Hokkien phrase, literally means afraid of death, to describe the attitude of being overly afraid or timid. Kiasi is commonly compared to Kiasu (literally: “fear of losing”); 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.

Not to be confused with Kiasu.
Kiasi
Hàn-jī驚死 / 惊死
Pe̍h-ōe-jīkiaⁿ-sí
Tâi-lôkiann-sí

Etymology and usage

The history of kiasi can be traced back to the Chinese idiom Chinese: 貪生怕死; pinyin: tān shēng pà sǐ), 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.

  • Kiasu, Kiasi : You Think What? (Paperback, 160 pages) by David Leo. ISBN 981-204-626-7

See also
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