kiasi
/ˌkjɑːˈsiː/
"kiasi" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“kiasi” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as an adjective - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 5
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Unwilling to take a risk for fear that something bad or unfavorable will happen; cowardly, overly cautious and risk-averse.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | kiasi |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˌkjɑːˈsiː/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “kiasi” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for kiasi is 5 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌkjɑːˈsiː/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Unwilling to take a risk for fear that something bad or unfavorable will happen; cowardly, overly cautious and risk-averse.".
kiasi doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Hokkien 驚死／惊死 (kiaⁿ-sí, “afraid to die”). The correct English form is kiasi, spelled K-I-A-S-I.
Definition
- 1Unwilling to take a risk for fear that something bad or unfavorable will happen; cowardly, overly cautious and risk-averse.
Etymology
Borrowed from Hokkien 驚死／惊死 (kiaⁿ-sí, “afraid to die”).
Synonyms
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “kiasi”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is K-I-A-S-I - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌkjɑːˈsiː/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.