tamak

Tamak is a term in Malay and Indonesian that describes greed or excessive desire, especially for wealth, food, or power. As an adjective, it characterizes actions or attitudes that overstep reasonable limits; as a noun, it denotes the trait of greed or the condition of being greedy. In everyday usage, tamak carries a negative connotation and is used to criticize behavior viewed as lacking self-control.

It is widely used across Indonesia and Malaysia and in other Malay-speaking communities. Common collocations include orang yang tamak (a greedy person) and sifat tamak (the trait of greed). The term appears in spoken language, journalism, and literature, where it serves to express moral judgments about excess and materialism.

Tamak is native to the Malayic language sphere, with cognates in related Malayic languages. The word is part of the core vocabulary describing moral and social behavior. Etymological details are not always specified in concise dictionaries, but it is generally treated as an indigenous term rather than a loanword.

Cross-cultural usage often appears in religious or ethical discussions about moderation, temperance, and social equity. In modern media, tamak may be invoked in debates about consumerism and the responsible distribution of resources.