Mahjong kaki
Nath Krishmaratala
What is a "mahjong kaki"?
Thank you
---
article->
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/singapore/story/0,4386,212295,00.html
Gareth J M Saunders
>
> What is a "mahjong kaki"?
www.dictionary.com offers:
ka·ki ( P ) Pronunciation Key (käk)
n. pl. ka·kis In both senses also called Japanese persimmon.
1. A Chinese tree (Diospyros kaki) having large, edible, orange to
reddish
fruit with orange flesh and an enlarged, persistent calyx.
2. The fruit of this tree.
That doesn't make sense! Does it?
Gareth
Tom Sloper
>
>> I read an article about a man who murdered the wife of his "mahjong
kaki".
>> What is a "mahjong kaki"?
From: "Gareth J M Saunders" <ne...@garethjmsaundersREMOVESPAMTRAP.co.uk>
>
>www.dictionary.com offers:
>n. pl. kaキkis In both senses also called Japanese persimmon.
>That doesn't make sense! Does it?
I think Nath needed to give us more information.
1. What language was this article written in?
2. For what country or demographic was this article written? IN what country
was this article printed?
3. We need the entire sentence, and perhaps even the preceding paragraph and
following paragraph, in order to more fully understand the context.
Also, clearly a "kaki" is a man (since he had a wife).
Tom
Nath Krishmaratala
> I think Nath needed to give us more information.
I think Tom should click on the link at the bottom of the original post.
> Also, clearly a "kaki" is a man (since he had a wife).
No. After some research, I have deduced the following definition:
"Mahjong kaki" : in Singapore, a mahjong partner or a group of people
playing regularly mahjong together.
example) "He would tell lie and give excuses in order to be in the
mahjong kaki."; "She was her mahjong kaki since high school."
Cofa Tsui
news:KBOeb.2509$G1.1...@tor-nn1.netcom.ca...
From the definition from Dictionary.com, I think the above meaning (kaki =
group of people) makes sense.
Cofa
www.iMahjong.com
Tom Sloper
>> I think Nath needed to give us more information.
From: Nath Krishmaratala <m...@privacy.net>
>I think Tom should click on the link at the bottom of the original post.
Doing so reveals that the article is from Singapore. Clearly, this term
"kaki" is used in Singapore, then. That seems to me to be an important clue
in the question. (In that people who've never been to Singapore might not
be reasonably expected to know the answer.)
The headline reads: "Man who killed friend's wife to be hanged" and the
teaser reads: "Deep in gambling debts, murderer went to mahjong kaki's house
to rob - he bludgeoned the woman to silence her.
From this we can deduce that a "kaki" is a human, since only humans can own
houses.
Then the article goes on to say: "AN ASSISTANT store supervisor who
portrayed himself as a 'helpful and thoughtful' robber was sent to the
gallows yesterday for murdering the wife of his mahjong kaki."
As I commented before:
>> Also, clearly a "kaki" is a man (since he had a wife).
To which Nath replied:
>No.
I am sorry, I must insist that it's logical to deduce from the story that
the "kaki" in question is not only a human who owns or lives in a house, but
who also has a wife (and that this wife was murdered).
>After some research, I have deduced the following definition:
>
>"Mahjong kaki" : in Singapore, a mahjong partner or a group of people
>playing regularly mahjong together.
Okay, then. Now it's a complete picture. This kaki is human, male, a
widower, who plays mah-jongg.
Elementary, dear Holmes!
Tom
Julian Bradfield
> As I commented before:
>
>>> Also, clearly a "kaki" is a man (since he had a wife).
>
> To which Nath replied:
>
>>No.
>
> I am sorry, I must insist that it's logical to deduce from the story that
> the "kaki" in question is not only a human who owns or lives in a house, but
> who also has a wife (and that this wife was murdered).
You didn't say `the "kaki"', you said `a "kaki"'. Either your logic or
your English is at fault!
Tom Sloper
>You didn't say `the "kaki"', you said `a "kaki"'. Either your logic or
>your English is at fault!
OK, either way (logically and Englishwise) it is I who am at fault. But in
deducing the meaning of "kaki," it was not incorrect to deduce maleness. I
erred in one way, and I did not err in another way. They cancel each other
out, and what I said was correctness-neutral overall. (^_^)
Tom
Pwee Keng Ho
A mahjong 'kaki' refers to any person who you usually play mahjong
with. 'Kaki' is a Malay word literally meaning 'leg'. I think it's use
in this context might be a contraction of the Malay word 'kakitangan'
which means 'henchman' (literally 'legs and hands' - Malay is an
evocative language). It's a gender-neutral term and can be used to
refer to men and women alike.
Regards,
Keng Ho
Singapore
Nath Krishmaratala <m...@privacy.net> wrote in message news:<hf6eb.2285$G1.1...@tor-nn1.netcom.ca>...
Nath Krishmaratala
> Was surfing and happened to come across this series of posts.
>
> A mahjong 'kaki' refers to any person who you usually play mahjong
> with. 'Kaki' is a Malay word literally meaning 'leg'. I think it's use
> in this context might be a contraction of the Malay word 'kakitangan'
> which means 'henchman' (literally 'legs and hands' - Malay is an
> evocative language). It's a gender-neutral term and can be used to
> refer to men and women alike.
>
> Regards,
> Keng Ho
> Singapore
Thank you very much. You gave me the answer I was looking for!
Happy browsing!
Nath
Dee
> A mahjong 'kaki' refers to any person who you usually play mahjong
> with. 'Kaki' is a Malay word literally meaning 'leg'.
That makes perfect sense. In Chinese (Cantonese), MJ players refer to
their usual players as "legs", as in "4 MJ legs". I don't know the
history of the term, but I think it is an analogy of a (MJ) table,
where 4 legs are necessary for it to stand. So it is with MJ, you
need 4 players to have a game. And when missing players, the Chinese
say "we don't have enough legs (to play)". I think the Chinese term
was probably translated to Malay literally. Thank you for the
clarification.
Pwee Keng Ho
If the term came from the Chinese, then it is likely that the translation
came through the language of the Straits-born Chinese or Peranakans, who
intermarried with the native Malays and absorbed many of their terms.
"Dee" <d_...@my-deja.com> wrote in message
news:bc999a91.03101...@posting.google.com...