Meanings
- uncountableA traditional Malay two-player mancala game in which seeds or marbles are dropped into depressions carved into a boat-shaped wooden board.
On Hari Raya, the Asian Civilisations Museum offers an afternoon of traditional Malay games of chapteh and congkak.
2003 November 24, Amanda Koh, Today Newspaper, page 333 more examples
Competitions are also being organized by the Museum in games like congkak, gasing (top-spinning), capteh, five stones and cat’s cradle.
1979 May 21, “The Business Times”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), page 6Congkak is a game played by Malay women and children in Malaysia during their leisure hours but its origin is obscure.
1991 June 3, Yaakub Rashid, The Straits Times, page 47It includes news articles and features, event listings, a video gallery and even a cyber version of congkak - a traditional Malay game.
2015 January 21, Yeo Sam Jo, The Straits Times
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Malaycongak“mental calculations”
- Englishcongkak
Borrowed from Malay congak (“mental calculations”).
More words from Malay
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
congkak. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/congkak
“congkak.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/congkak. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “congkak,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/congkak.
Source: congkak on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.