Definition

Kiasu is a Hokkien word that means a grasping, selfish attitude.

What is 'Kiasu'

A Chinese adjective used to describe a person's fear of losing out (to someone else). Kiasu is a traditional Chinese word, but is most popular in Singapore. It translates roughly as "scared to lose".

Explaining 'Kiasu'

Kiasu describes being (or a person who is) greedy, unwilling to share, or competitive in order to advance one's self. Examples of Kiasu include driving aggressively to get to the front of a traffic line or registering young children early at top schools, prior even to knowing the child's aptitude. Kiasu describes the idea that one must outdo and outshine all others, have more of any given thing, pay the least amount for items (thereby getting the best deal) and always be the first or best.


This concept has been applied to such financial ideas as marketing campaigns, store sales and understanding market psychology.

Further Reading

Exploring the Factors Affecting the Use of Kiasu Tactics.
search.ebscohost.com [PDF]
… security and personal taxes, in my view, also trigger the kiasi and kiasu fear among … The PAP was able to invoke the spectre of economic meltdown in Greece as an … most popular campaign videos was a speech given by Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Singapore's finance minister …

Postcoloniality and ethnography: Negotiating gender, ethnicity and power
www.tandfonline.com [PDF]
… security and personal taxes, in my view, also trigger the kiasi and kiasu fear among … The PAP was able to invoke the spectre of economic meltdown in Greece as an … most popular campaign videos was a speech given by Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Singapore's finance minister …

Raising successful children: children as accumulation strategy and the renegotiation of parenting arrangements in Singapore
www.tandfonline.com [PDF]
… security and personal taxes, in my view, also trigger the kiasi and kiasu fear among … The PAP was able to invoke the spectre of economic meltdown in Greece as an … most popular campaign videos was a speech given by Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Singapore's finance minister …

Competitiveness in the Workplace: Attributes and Team Benefits
www.tandfonline.com [PDF]
… security and personal taxes, in my view, also trigger the kiasi and kiasu fear among … The PAP was able to invoke the spectre of economic meltdown in Greece as an … most popular campaign videos was a speech given by Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Singapore's finance minister …

Lee Kuan Yew and Malaysia
www.tandfonline.com [PDF]
… security and personal taxes, in my view, also trigger the kiasi and kiasu fear among … The PAP was able to invoke the spectre of economic meltdown in Greece as an … most popular campaign videos was a speech given by Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Singapore's finance minister …

The story of kiasu: expressions of identity and status via conspicuous consumption: an ethnographic study of Singaporean young women in a newly adopted culture
researchdirect.westernsydney.edu.au [PDF]
… security and personal taxes, in my view, also trigger the kiasi and kiasu fear among … The PAP was able to invoke the spectre of economic meltdown in Greece as an … most popular campaign videos was a speech given by Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Singapore's finance minister …