Etymology

kiasi

kia·si
K5I1A1S1I1

Today it means: Unwilling to take a risk for fear that something bad or unfavorable will happen; cowardly, overly cautious and risk-averse. Full definition →

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The story

Borrowed from Hokkien 驚死/惊死 (kiaⁿ-sí, “afraid to die”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.