Kiasu
//ˈkjɑːsuː// adj, noun, slang
adj, noun, slang ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A kiasu person. Singapore, colloquial, derogatory, mildly
"Apart from the kiasis and kiasus, there are also Singaporeans at the other end of the scale – the healthcare workers who put their lives at risk."
Adjective
- 1 Afraid to lose out, particularly because one is overly competitive. Singapore, colloquial, derogatory, mildly
"No wonder the parents acted that way, she said. They were just being kia-su (afraid to lose out)."
Example
More examples"No wonder the parents acted that way, she said. They were just being kia-su (afraid to lose out)."
Etymology
Borrowed from Hokkien 驚輸／惊输 (kiaⁿ-su, “afraid to lose out”).
Related phrases
More for "kiasu"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.