wayang
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wayang
- /ˈwɑjɑŋ/ Singapore
Where it comes from
Transliteration of Javanese ꦮꦪꦁ (wayang, “shadow; imagination; puppetry”), from Old Javanese wayaṅ via Malay wayang. Cognate with Dutch wajang.
noun wayangs · wayang · wajang
- A theatrical performance of mythological events employing puppets or human dancers in Malaysia and Indonesia (especially Java).
- A shadow theatre performance, or such performances in general.
- Any traditional theatrical work, combining drama, music, song and sometimes dance.
- Traditional Chinese opera, performed outdoors. The equivalent term in Mandarin is 街戲 /街戏 (jiēxì, literally “street opera”).
- Insincere behaviour; an act meant to deceive or mislead. There had been two important reservations made on the practice of consultation and consensus. […] The other reservation is that consultation and consensus is no more than a “wayang”, because views are not accepted and no changes are made to the original policy.
verb wajang
- To put up a front, to pretend (e.g., to be hard at work when one’s superiors are watching) or behave in a false and misleading way, especially if it puts one at an advantage. […] some [MPs] have to do wayang wayang in the evening like meet the people sessions.
adjective wajang
- For show, insincere or fake; ostentatious and showy.
Talk about this word "wayang." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/wayang. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. wayang. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/wayang "wayang." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/wayang.Cite this
@misc{wayang_2026,
title = {wayang},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/wayang},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
