kima 🔊

Usage examples

• Eh, jangan cakap pasal kima di sini lah.
  Hey, don't talk about pussy here.
• Kau ni memang kima betul.
  You're really a pussy (i.e., you're being shameless / lewd).

Etymology

"Kima" is a vulgar Bruneian Malay slang term for the female genitalia. Bruneian Malay is a variety of Malay spoken in Brunei Darussalam, a small sultanate on the island of Borneo, and shares much of its core vocabulary with standard Malaysian and Indonesian Malay. The word "kima" in standard Malay refers to the giant clam (Tridacna species), and its use as slang for the vulva is a metonymic extension based on the clam's shape — a pattern of anatomical euphemism found in many world languages. The slang sense is specific to colloquial Bruneian and parts of Malaysian Malay speech.

Cultural notes

In Brunei, a Muslim-majority absolute monarchy, sexual language is subject to both strong social taboo and, in some contexts, legal sanction under the country's dual legal system. "Kima" is therefore used covertly among peers and is rarely uttered in any public or formal setting. Its metonymic origin from "giant clam" gives it a degree of deniability in borderline contexts, making it slightly softer in tone than the more overtly taboo "puki." The term is particularly common among younger Bruneians in casual, private conversation.

Same meaning, other languages

Accuracy

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