The story
Borrowed from Hokkien 驚輸／惊输 (kiaⁿ-su, “afraid to lose out”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
kiasu
kia·suToday it means: Afraid to lose out, particularly because one is overly competitive. Full definition →
Today it means: Afraid to lose out, particularly because one is overly competitive. Full definition →
Borrowed from Hokkien 驚輸／惊输 (kiaⁿ-su, “afraid to lose out”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.