kasih

Kasih is a Malay and Indonesian term that denotes love, affection, or benevolence. It is used across Malay-speaking communities in Southeast Asia and throughout Indonesian speech to express warmth, care, and kindness in personal relationships as well as in formal or religious language. The concept encompasses familial love, friendship, and charitable regard for others.

In everyday usage, kasih can function as a general word for caring and tenderness. It is often paired with other words to form expressions such as kasih sayang, which emphasizes emotional warmth, nurturing, and protective care. The term can also appear in more formal or lyrical contexts, where it conveys a deep, enduring benevolence beyond mere attraction or sentiment.

Religious and liturgical use is common in Indonesian and Malay-speaking communities. Kasih is used to translate the sense of love in Christian contexts, for example in phrases like kasih Tuhan (God’s love) and kasih karunia (grace). In broader cultural contexts, kasih expresses moral and compassionate attitudes that nourish social harmony and mutual aid.

Etymology of kasih is traced to historical Malay and Indonesian linguistic strata, with its precise origins not always clear. It is related to older forms in the Malayic languages and appears in classical Malay literature and later religious and secular texts. Today, kasih remains a central, polyvalent concept in everyday speech, literature, and spiritual life, signaling care, affection, and benevolence.