kongsi

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Hokkien 公司 (kong-si, “company”). See also Hokkien 公班衙 (kong-pan-gêe / kong-pan-gê), English British East India Company, Dutch Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie (“Dutch East India Company”, literally “United East India Company”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkɔŋ.si/

Noun

kongsi (plural kongsis or kongsi)

1. (Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia) A benevolent organization of popular origin found among overseas Chinese communities for individuals with the same surname.

   Synonym: association (Philippines)

   • 1998, Zawawi Ibrahim, The Malay Labourer:

     By 1970, for instance, the state authorities considered these kongsi to be unfit and unhygienic for living, and they were ordered to be dismantled.

   • 2003, Wu Xiao An, Chinese Business in the Making of a Malay State, 1882-1941:

     The term kongsi loosely referred to any association of the Chinese, ranging from a business partnership to governments in West Borneo, secret societies and clan associations.

   • 2004, Simon Richmond, Marie Cambon, Damian Harper, Richard Watkins, Lonely Planet: Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei:

     A kongsi is a clan house, a building that’s partly a temple and partly a meeting hall for Chinese of the same clan or surname.

Translations

benevolent organization

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 公司 (zh) (gōngsī), 會館 / 会馆 (zh) (huìguǎn)

• Japanese: please add this translation if you can
• Korean: please add this translation if you can

Further reading

• kongsi on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• Gonski, Konigs

Dutch

Alternative forms

• kongsie

Etymology

Borrowed from Malay kongsi, from Hokkien 公司 (kong-si). See also Hokkien 公班衙 (kong-pan-gêe), Dutch Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie (“Dutch East India Company”, literally “United East India Company”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkɔŋ.si/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: kong‧si

Noun

kongsi f (plural kongsi's, diminutive kongsietje n)

1. (Netherlands) kongsi
2. (derogatory, Netherlands) clique, coterie, cabal
   • 2022 October 7, Brigit Kooijman, “Jeroen Brouwers schreef zijn collega’s finaal de grond in. Waarom eigenlijk, en gebeurt zoiets nu nog? [In his writings, Jeroen Brouwers viciously attacked the reputation of his colleagues. But why? And does something like that happen today?]”, in NRC Handelsblad‎^[1], retrieved 10 October May 2022:

     Het is 25 januari 1980. (...) Brouwers, die al een aantal romans heeft gepubliceerd maar nog niet bekend is bij het grote publiek, briest en buldert, negentig bladzijden lang, tegen het in zijn ogen platvloerse literaire klimaat van het afgelopen decennium, de jaren zeventig. De verloedering is volgens hem te wijten aan een kongsi van onbekwame, elkaar voortdurend de bal toe spelende schrijvers en critici.

     The date is 25 January 1980. (...) Brouwers, who already published a number of novels but is not yet known to the general public, rants and roars, for ninety pages, against what he sees as the vulgar literary climate of the previous decade, the 1970s. According to him, the degeneration is due to a clique of incompetent writers and critics who constantly favour each other.

Indonesian

Etymology

Inherited from Malay kongsi, from Hokkien 公司 (kong-si). See also Hokkien 公班衙 (kong-pan-gêe), Dutch Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie (“Dutch East India Company”, literally “United East India Company”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈkɔŋ.si]
• Hyphenation: kong‧si

Noun

kongsi

1. trade union; joint venture
   • 2018 July 31, Surya Yuli, “Peternak Ayam Broiler Terus Merugi [Breeders of Broiler Chicken Continue to Have Losses]”, in Suara Merdeka‎^[2], archived from the original on 26 Sept 2019:

     Bambang juga akan mendatangi perusahaan dan kongsi pemodal yang menjalankan bisnis plasma peternak ayam broiler.

     Bambang will also visit companies and joint venture investors that run the business of outsourcing broiler chicken breeders.

2. organization; association
3. landlord's office
4. partnership; alliance
   • 2018 October 29, “Bukti Salah dan Mane Tidak Pecah Kongsi [Proof that Salah and Mané did not break up their partnership]”, in Suara Merdeka‎^[3], archived from the original on 26 Sept 2019:

     Dua tukang gedor itu membuktikan tidak pecah kongsi ketika bahu-membahu membawa The Reds mengatasi Cardiff City 4-1 dalam lanjutan Liga Primer Inggris di Cardiff, Sabtu (27/10).

     The two forwards proved that they did not break up their partnership while cooperating shoulder-to-shoulder to bring The Reds to overcome Cardiff City 4-1 in an extension of the English Premier League at Cardiff on Saturday, 27 October.

5. (dated) company: any business, whether incorporated or not, that manufactures or sells products (also known as goods), or provides services as a commercial venture.

   Synonyms: konsorsium, maskapai, perusahaan, perserikatan, sindikasi

6. kongsi: a benevolent organization of popular origin found among overseas Chinese communities for individuals with the same surname.

Derived terms

Affixed terms and other derivations

Regular affixed derivations:

• berkongsi [stative / habitual] (beR-)
• kongsian [resultative / locative / collective / variety / verbal noun / fruit] (-an)
• perkongsian [causative passive + resultative / locative / collective / variety / verbal noun / fruit] (peR- + -an)

Further reading

• “kongsi” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Malay

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /koŋ.si/
• Rhymes: -si, -i

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Hokkien 公司 (kong-si). See also Hokkien 公班衙 (kong-pan-gêe), English British East India Company.

Noun

kongsi (Jawi spelling کوڠسي, plural kongsi-kongsi, informal 1st possessive kongsiku, 2nd possessive kongsimu, 3rd possessive kongsinya)

1. trade union; joint venture
2. organization; association

   kongsi gelap ― secret society (literally, “dark association”)

3. kongsi (Chinese clan association)
   • 2006, Dr. Mohamad Azmie Zakaria, “Bab 4, Sepakat Sempurna [Chapter 4, Perfect Alliance]”, in Sepakat Daripada Perspektif Pengurusan Organisasi [Concurrence From the Perspective of Organizational Management], Utusan Publications, →ISBN, page 57:

     Sementara itu, dalam kalangan pendatang Cina yang menetap di Asia Tenggara pula, mereka telah menubuhkan kongsi, di mana kongsi Cina ditadbir oleh 5 orang yang dipimpin oleh Ketua Kongsi. Di Barat Borneo dia diberi gelaran po, contohnya Chang Mao-po dan Hung Kui-po.

     Meanwhile, among Chinese immigrants living in Southeast Asia, these people have set up clan associations, where each Chinese clan association is managed by 5 people led by the head of the clan association. In West Borneo the leader is given the title po, such as Chang Mao-po and Hung Kui-po.

Derived terms

Affixed terms and other derivations

Regular affixed derivations:

• berkongsi [stative / habitual] (beR-)
• mengongsi [agent focus] (meN-)
• kongsian [resultative / locative / collective / variety / verbal noun / fruit] (-an)
• perkongsian [causative passive + resultative / locative / collective / variety / verbal noun / fruit] (peR- + -an)
• pekongsi [passive / name of profession] (pe-)

Irregular affixed derivations, other derivations and compound words:

• kongsi gelap
• rakan kongsi

Descendants

• Indonesian: kongsi
• → English: kongsi
• → Dutch: kongsi

Etymology 2

Back-formation from berkongsi (“to share”).

Verb

kongsi (Jawi spelling کوڠسي)

1. (informal) to share

   Synonym: (formal) berkongsi

   • 2017 September 8, Syahmi Hassan, quoting Dayang Siti Nurajimah, “Graduan cemerlang kongsi petua, rahsia kejayaan [Successful graduate shares tips and secret for success]”, in Media Permata‎^[4], archived from the original on 10 September 2017:

     “Banyak perkara yang telah dilakukan untuk meraih apa yang diperolehi pada hari ini, antaranya menumpukan sepenuh perhatian dan komited dalam pengajian, menjalankan kajian-kajian yang telah diarahkan bagi memenuhi kehendak kursus, banyak meluangkan masa di perpustakaan untuk mencari bahan-bahan bagi menghasilkan satu kajian yang mantap dan sering merujuk kepada pensyarah-pensyarah jika terdapat kekeliruan di sepanjang pengajian,” kongsi Dayang Siti Nurajimah.

     "Many things have been done to achieve what I have acquired today, including concentrating all of my attention and being committed in my studies, conducting research that is mandatory to fulfill course requirements, spending a lot of time at the library to look for materials to produce a solid research and often referring to lecturers whenever there is confusion throughout my studies," Dayang Siti Nurajimah shared.

   • 2019 August 6, Fazrik Kamarudin, “Kehilangan Nora Anne: Jangan sebar, kongsi berita tidak benar - PDRM [Disappearance of Nora Anne: Do not spread or share news that are not true - Royal Malaysian Police]”, in Berita Harian‎^[5], archived from the original on 25 Sept 2019:

     Orang ramai dinasihatkan tidak menyebar atau kongsi sebarang berita tidak benar mengenai kehilangan remaja perempuan warga Ireland, Nora Anne Quoirin, di The Dusun, Pantai, dekat Seremban, sejak kelmarin.

     The public is advised not to spread or share any news that is not true regarding the disappearance of the teenage girl from Ireland, Nora Anne Quoirin at The Dusun, Pantai near Seremban since the day before yesterday.

   • 2019 September 2, Sajida Asarulah Khan, quoting Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, “Dr. Mahathir kongsi rahsia perkahwinan [Dr. Mahathir shares wedding secrets]”, in Utusan Malaysia‎^[6], archived from the original on 21 Sept 2019:

     “Jadi saya perlu bersabar dan dia perlu bersabar dengan saya yang akan datang, datang dan datang kerana sudah kehabisan masa,” kongsinya.

     "So I have to be patient and she has to be patient with me who is coming, coming and coming because I am already running out of time," he shares.

Further reading

• “kongsi” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.
• "kongsi" in Kamus Dewan, Fourth Edition, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, →ISBN, 2005.