kongsi means A benevolent organization of popular origin found among overseas Chinese communities for individuals with the same surname. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 90 out of 100.
Why this word is great
KONGSI — [Noun] A benevolent organization of popular origin found among overseas Chinese communities for individuals with the same surname. Borrowed from Hokkien 公司 (kong-si, “company”), from 公 (kong, “public”) + 司 (si, “manage”). Unlike "clan association" (which preserves ancestral rites) or "secret society" (which thrives in shadows), the kongsi is a pact of shared labor and shared fortune. It is the ledger of rice loans in a Penang shophouse, the pooled wages for a brother’s funeral, the quiet clink of coins in a tin box passed hand to hand—proof that exile need not mean solitude.
noun
- A benevolent organization of popular origin found among overseas Chinese communities for individuals with the same surname.“By 1970, for instance, the state authorities considered these kongsi to be unfit and unhygienic for living, and they were ordered to be dismantled.”