kiasu (kee-ah-soo)
A Hokkien adjective literally meaning, "afraid of losing". Commonly part of the Singlish dictionary(the Singaporean English lah!!) , kiasu has a certain philosophy A highly pejorative description beloved of Singaporeans and is evident there in every aspect of life. Possibly the defining of a major characteristic. The nearest English equivalent is "dog in a manger", though even that is pretty mild."You went to get a handicapped sticker just to chope a parking space? How kiasu can you get?"
You can see them in the trains trying to enter first before the three alarms ring to close the door ..in the escalators running down or up to catch the unknown...in the ticket counter rushing others to get the ticket only to stay ahead of a few seconds difference with the next guy standing in there...
Though kiasus are ubiquitous,but the word got labelled to Singapore..
I believe that having the trait is good...but too much of it as exhibited will personify the greed and fear of unknown...
No comments:
Post a Comment