What is the Javanese for “that”?
English uses one word, “that”, for three different jobs. It points: “that book”, “What’s that?” It links a description to a noun: “the rice that Mother cooked”. And it introduces what someone knows, says or hears: “I know that you are tired.” Javanese has a separate word for each job, and each has its own polite (krama) form.
- Pointing, the demonstrative: kuwi, “that (near you, or just mentioned)”; kaé, “that (over there, away from us both)”; beside iki, “this”. In krama all three become menika (also written punika). - Linking, the relative: sing, “that, who, which”; krama ingkang; in literary and biblical language kang. - Introducing a statement, the conjunction: yèn, “that”; krama bilih. Yèn also means “if, when”, so the context decides.
Kuwi is the headword of this lesson because it is the “that” a learner hears most often: Kuwi apa?, “What’s that?” Lesson 10 taught iku, which means the same; iku is the more written form and the everyday form in much of East Java, while kuwi is the everyday form of Central Java, the speech of Yogyakarta and Surakarta on which this course is based.
A demonstrative follows its noun: buku kuwi, “that book”, literally “book that”. Placed first, it is the subject of a sentence: kuwi buku means “that is a book”.
Two further words complete the picture. Mau, literally “earlier, just now”, after a noun means “that (which we have just mentioned)”: padhang mau, “that light” (Section F). In time words it keeps its own meaning: mau ésuk, “this morning” (13.12). And kuwi often closes a long subject, as a spoken comma: Wong sing nganggo klambi abang kuwi kakangku, “The man in the red shirt is my elder brother.”
Etymology: kuwi and iku are interchangeable forms of the same “that”; kaé belongs with the place word kana, “over there”, as iki belongs with kéné, “here”, and kuwi with kono, “there (near you)”. Kang is the older, more elevated relative; sing is its everyday equivalent; ingkang is the krama of both.
Orthography: this course writes é for the close e, è for the open e and plain e for the neutral vowel (schwa). Kaé is often written kae, and yèn is often written yen. Menika and punika are two spellings of one krama word: punika is the older, more formal spelling, and menika follows the pronunciation.
FAQ: How do I say “that” in Javanese?
Q: How do I say “What’s that?” in Javanese? A: Kuwi apa? Politely: Menika menapa?
Q: How do I say “that house over there”? A: Omah kaé. Use kaé for something far from both speaker and listener; kuwi for something near the listener or just talked about.
Q: How do I say “the man who …” or “the book that …”? A: With sing: wong sing nganggo klambi abang, “the man who is wearing a red shirt”; sega sing dimasak Ibu, “the rice that Mother cooked”. In krama: ingkang.
Q: How do I say “I know that …”? A: With yèn: Aku ngerti yèn kowé kesel, “I know that you are tired.” In krama: Kula mireng bilih Bapak sampun kondur, “I heard that Father has come home.”
Q: Is “that” ever left out? A: As in English, often after verbs of thinking: Aku ngira kowé lunga, “I thought (that) you had gone.” Yèn makes the link explicit.
Key Takeaways:
- Pointing “that” is kuwi (or iku), with kaé for “that over there”; krama menika (punika) for all of them - The demonstrative comes after the noun: buku kuwi, “that book”; before it, it is a subject: kuwi buku, “that is a book” - Relative “that, who, which” is sing (krama ingkang, literary kang): sega sing dimasak Ibu - “That” after know, hear, think, say is yèn (krama bilih): aku ngerti yèn … - Mau after a noun means “that (just mentioned)”; kuwi at the end of a long subject marks where the subject ends
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kuwi /kuwi/ — two syllables, ku-wi, both vowels close: “koo-wee”.
kaé /kae/ — two syllables, ka-é, the a and é pronounced separately, not as the diphthong of English “kay”.
iki /iki/ — i-ki; the k is a real k here, because it does not end the word.
menika /mənikɔ/ — me-ni-ka: the first e is the neutral vowel of “about”, and the final a is the open [ɔ] of British “hot”. Punika /punikɔ/ is pronounced the same way at the end, and many speakers say menika even when they write punika.
sing /sɪŋ/ — one syllable, like English “sing”, with a slightly opener i.
ingkang /ɪŋkaŋ/ — ing-kang: the k is pronounced after the ng, as in English “ink”.
yèn /jɛn/ — y as in “yes”, open è as in “yen”. Bilih /bilɪh/ ends with an audible h, a breath after the vowel; final h is always pronounced in Javanese.
mau /mau/ — two syllables, ma-u, not the single vowel of English “mow”.
Final k is a glottal stop: apik [apɪʔ], dimasak [dimasaʔ], enak [enaʔ], becik [bəcɪʔ]. Final a after another a is [ɔ]: lara [lɔrɔ], kana [kɔnɔ], saka [sɔkɔ], maca [mɔcɔ].
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13.1a Kuwi that apa what
13.1b Kuwi /kuwi/ that.MED apa /ɔpɔ/ what
13.2a Buku book kuwi that apik good
13.2b Buku /buku/ book kuwi /kuwi/ that.MED apik /apɪʔ/ good
13.3a Iki this bukuku my-book kuwi that bukumu your-book
13.3b Iki /iki/ this.PROX bukuku /bukuku/ book-POSS.1SG kuwi /kuwi/ that.MED bukumu /bukumu/ book-POSS.2SG
13.4a Delengen look-at omah house kaé that-over-there
13.4b Delengen /dələŋən/ look-IMP omah /ɔmah/ house kaé /kae/ that.DIST
13.5a Menika that griya house kula my
13.5b Menika /mənikɔ/ that.KR griya /ɡrijɔ/ house.KR kula /kulɔ/ 1SG.KR
13.6a Wong man sing who nganggo wears klambi shirt abang red kuwi that kakangku my-elder-brother
13.6b Wong /wɔŋ/ person sing /sɪŋ/ REL nganggo /ŋaŋɡo/ AV-wear klambi /klambi/ shirt abang /abaŋ/ red kuwi /kuwi/ that.MED kakangku /kakaŋku/ elder.brother-POSS.1SG
13.7a Aku I ngerti know yèn that kowé you kesel tired
13.7b Aku /aku/ 1SG ngerti /ŋərti/ AV-understand yèn /jɛn/ COMP kowé /kowe/ 2SG kesel /kəsəl/ tired
13.8a Sega rice sing that dimasak was-cooked Ibu Mother kuwi that enak tasty banget very
13.8b Sega /səɡɔ/ cooked.rice sing /sɪŋ/ REL dimasak /dimasaʔ/ PASS-cook Ibu /ibu/ mother kuwi /kuwi/ that.MED enak /enaʔ/ tasty banget /baŋət/ very
13.9a Kowé you krungu heard yèn that Pak Mr Budi Budi lara ill
13.9b Kowé /kowe/ 2SG krungu /kruŋu/ hear yèn /jɛn/ COMP Pak /paʔ/ father.VOC Budi /budi/ Budi lara /lɔrɔ/ ill
13.10a Bocah child sing who lagi is maca reading ing at kana over-there kuwi that adhiku my-younger-sibling
13.10b Bocah /bɔcah/ child sing /sɪŋ/ REL lagi /laɡi/ PROG maca /mɔcɔ/ AV.read ing /ɪŋ/ at kana /kɔnɔ/ there.DIST kuwi /kuwi/ that.MED adhiku /aɖiku/ younger.sibling-POSS.1SG
13.11a Kula I mireng heard bilih that Bapak Father sampun already kondur came-home
13.11b Kula /kulɔ/ 1SG.KR mireng /mirəŋ/ hear.KR bilih /bilɪh/ COMP.KR Bapak /bapaʔ/ father sampun /sampʊn/ already.KR kondur /kɔndʊr/ go.home.KI
13.12a Layang letter sing that mau earlier ésuk morning teka came kuwi that saka from Mbah Grandma
13.12b Layang /lajaŋ/ letter sing /sɪŋ/ REL mau /mau/ earlier ésuk /esʊʔ/ morning teka /təkɔ/ come kuwi /kuwi/ that.MED saka /sɔkɔ/ from Mbah /mbah/ grandparent.VOC
13.13a Ingkang the-one-who rawuh has-come menika that Pak Mr Lurah village-head
13.13b Ingkang /ɪŋkaŋ/ REL.KR rawuh /rawʊh/ come.KI menika /mənikɔ/ that.KR Pak /paʔ/ father.VOC Lurah /lurah/ village.head
13.14a Aku I ora not ngira thought yèn that tugas assignment kuwi that angel difficult banget very
13.14b Aku /aku/ 1SG ora /ɔrɔ/ NEG ngira /ŋirɔ/ AV-suppose yèn /jɛn/ COMP tugas /tuɡas/ task kuwi /kuwi/ that.MED angel /aŋəl/ difficult banget /baŋət/ very
13.15a Kabèh all sing that kokcritakaké you-told kuwi that bener true
13.15b Kabèh /kabɛh/ all sing /sɪŋ/ REL kokcritakaké /kɔʔcritakake/ 2.PASS-story-CAUS kuwi /kuwi/ that.MED bener /bənər/ true
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13.1 Kuwi apa? → “What’s that?”
13.2 Buku kuwi apik. → “That book is good.”
13.3 Iki bukuku, kuwi bukumu. → “This is my book; that one is yours.”
13.4 Delengen omah kaé! → “Look at that house over there!”
13.5 Menika griya kula. → “That is my house.” (polite)
13.6 Wong sing nganggo klambi abang kuwi kakangku. → “The man in the red shirt is my elder brother.”
13.7 Aku ngerti yèn kowé kesel. → “I know that you are tired.”
13.8 Sega sing dimasak Ibu kuwi enak banget. → “The rice that Mother cooked is delicious.”
13.9 Kowé krungu yèn Pak Budi lara? → “Did you hear that Mr Budi is ill?”
13.10 Bocah sing lagi maca ing kana kuwi adhiku. → “The child who is reading over there is my little sister.”
13.11 Kula mireng bilih Bapak sampun kondur. → “I heard that Father has come home.” (polite)
13.12 Layang sing mau ésuk teka kuwi saka Mbah. → “The letter that came this morning is from Grandma.”
13.13 Ingkang rawuh menika Pak Lurah. → “The person who has arrived is the village head.” (polite)
13.14 Aku ora ngira yèn tugas kuwi angel banget. → “I didn’t think that assignment would be so hard.”
13.15 Kabèh sing kokcritakaké kuwi bener. → “Everything that you told me is true.”
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13.1 Kuwi apa?
13.2 Buku kuwi apik.
13.3 Iki bukuku, kuwi bukumu.
13.4 Delengen omah kaé!
13.5 Menika griya kula.
13.6 Wong sing nganggo klambi abang kuwi kakangku.
13.7 Aku ngerti yèn kowé kesel.
13.8 Sega sing dimasak Ibu kuwi enak banget.
13.9 Kowé krungu yèn Pak Budi lara?
13.10 Bocah sing lagi maca ing kana kuwi adhiku.
13.11 Kula mireng bilih Bapak sampun kondur.
13.12 Layang sing mau ésuk teka kuwi saka Mbah.
13.13 Ingkang rawuh menika Pak Lurah.
13.14 Aku ora ngira yèn tugas kuwi angel banget.
13.15 Kabèh sing kokcritakaké kuwi bener.
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These are the grammar rules for kuwi, and for the other words that translate “that”, in Javanese:
1. Three demonstratives. Javanese points by distance from the speaker and the listener:
- iki — this (near me) — madya niki — krama menika - kuwi (iku) — that (near you, or just mentioned) — madya niku — krama menika - kaé — that (over there, away from us both) — madya nika — krama menika
In krama the three distances fall together into one word, menika (punika): Menika griya kula (13.5) may be “this is my house” or “that is my house”, and the situation decides.
2. After the noun. A demonstrative follows the noun it points to: buku kuwi, “that book” (13.2); omah kaé, “that house over there” (13.4); tugas kuwi, “that assignment” (13.14). Standing alone, it is a pronoun: Kuwi apa?, “What is that?” (13.1); Iki bukuku, kuwi bukumu (13.3). There is no verb “is”: kuwi bukumu is “that (is) your book”.
3. Kuwi as the end of the subject. When the subject is long, kuwi closes it before the rest of the sentence: [Wong sing nganggo klambi abang kuwi] kakangku (13.6); [Sega sing dimasak Ibu kuwi] enak banget (13.8). Here kuwi is weaker than English “that”: it marks the subject as known and divides the sentence, and English usually translates it with “the”, as Lesson 1 showed.
4. Sing, the relative. Sing links a description to a noun and means “that, who, which”, for people and things alike: wong sing nganggo klambi abang, “the man who wears a red shirt” (13.6); sega sing dimasak Ibu, “the rice that Mother cooked” (13.8). Sing never changes its form. Without a noun before it, it means “the one who, what”: kabèh sing kokcritakaké, “all that you told” (13.15). Krama: ingkang (Ingkang rawuh menika Pak Lurah, “the one who has come is the village head”, 13.13). Literary and biblical: kang (Section F).
5. Passive inside the relative clause. When the noun is the object of the verb in the clause, Javanese makes the verb passive: sega sing dimasak Ibu, literally “rice that was-cooked (by) Mother” (13.8). The doer follows the di- verb directly. With “you” as the doer the passive takes the prefix kok-: sing kokcritakaké, “that was-told-by-you” (13.15); with “I”, dak-: sing daktuku, “what I bought”.
6. Yèn, the conjunction. After verbs of knowing, hearing, thinking and saying, yèn introduces the statement: aku ngerti yèn kowé kesel (13.7); kowé krungu yèn Pak Budi lara? (13.9); aku ora ngira yèn tugas kuwi angel banget (13.14). Krama: bilih (Kula mireng bilih Bapak sampun kondur, 13.11). Menawa (krama menawi) is also used in the same place. Yèn, like English “if” in some uses, may be left out: Aku ngira kowé lunga.
7. Mau, “that one we spoke of”. After a noun, mau marks it as already mentioned: padhang mau, “that light” (Section F); in time expressions, mau means “earlier today”: mau ésuk, “this morning” (13.12).
8. Speech levels. The whole sentence moves to krama together: menika for kuwi, ingkang for sing, bilih for yèn, griya for omah, kula for aku, mireng for krungu, sampun for wis. Rawuh (13.13) and kondur (13.11) are krama inggil, used of the respected person who comes or goes home, never of oneself.
Common Mistakes:
- Putting the demonstrative before the noun: *kuwi buku for “that book”. Kuwi buku means “that is a book”. Correct: buku kuwi. - Using kuwi for “that” after a verb of knowing: *Aku ngerti kuwi kowé kesel. Correct: Aku ngerti yèn kowé kesel. - Using kuwi for the relative: *wong kuwi nganggo klambi abang means “that man wears a red shirt”, a full sentence. For “the man who…”: wong sing nganggo klambi abang. - Using kaé for something near the listener. Kaé is for what is far from both of you; what is in the listener’s hand is kuwi. - Using kuwi or sing to an elder. In krama the words are menika and ingkang: Menika menapa?, “What is that?” - Leaving the verb active in a relative clause about the object: *sega sing masak Ibu means “the rice that cooks Mother”. Correct: sega sing dimasak Ibu.
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Frequency and register. Kuwi, sing and yèn are among the most frequent words of spoken ngoko; a short conversation rarely passes without all three. In krama the same jobs are done by menika, ingkang and bilih, which belong to speeches, sermons, letters, and talk with elders and strangers. Madya, the middle level heard in markets and among acquaintances, uses niki, niku and nika.
Regional forms. Iku (Lesson 10) is usual in writing and in East Javanese speech; kuwi is the everyday form of Central Java. Many regions have further variants (kiyé, kuwé in the western dialect of Banyumas), but kuwi, iku and kaé are understood everywhere.
Pointing politely. When a Javanese speaker points at something near another person, especially an elder, it is polite to point with the right thumb, the other fingers folded, rather than with the index finger. The spoken kuwi or menika is softened in the same way: with an elder, Menika menapa, Mbah?, never Kuwi apa?
Grandparents and photographs. In the dialogue below a grandmother calls herself Simbah, “Grandma”, rather than aku: older relatives often speak of themselves by their family title to children and grandchildren. Simbah answers in ngoko, as an elder speaks to a grandchild; the granddaughter answers in krama, as a grandchild speaks to an elder. Mbah Kakung is “Grandpa”, kakung being the polite word for “male”.
Tembang. Nembang is to sing in the classical verse forms, the tembang macapat, each with its own fixed pattern of lines and syllables and its own mood. Asmarandana, named in the dialogue, is the metre traditionally used for love and longing.
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Genesis 1:4–5 (Purwaning Dumadi), from the Javanese Bible of the Lembaga Alkitab Indonesia (Kitab Sutji, the text published on Bible.com as JAV), the translation quoted in Lessons 11 and 12. The published text omits accents; they are added here in this course’s spelling. The verses use two of this lesson’s words for “that”: mau, “that (just mentioned)”, and kang, the literary form of sing.
F.1a Padhang light mau that dipirsani was-seen wus already becik good lan and Gusti the-Lord Allah God banjur then misahaké separated padhang light karo from peteng dark
F.1b Padhang /paɖaŋ/ light mau /mau/ aforementioned dipirsani /dipirsani/ PASS-see.KI-APPL wus /wʊs/ already.LIT becik /bəcɪʔ/ good lan /lan/ and Gusti /ɡusti/ lord Allah /allah/ God banjur /banɟʊr/ then misahaké /misahake/ AV-separate-CAUS padhang /paɖaŋ/ light karo /karo/ with peteng /pətəŋ/ dark
F.2a Kang that-which padhang light diparingi was-given aran name raina day dené while kang that-which peteng dark wengi night
F.2b Kang /kaŋ/ REL.LIT padhang /paɖaŋ/ light diparingi /diparɪŋi/ PASS-give.KI-APPL aran /aran/ name raina /rainɔ/ day.KR dené /dene/ whereas kang /kaŋ/ REL.LIT peteng /pətəŋ/ dark wengi /wəŋi/ night
F.3a Mangkono thus wus already dadi became soré evening lan and ésuk morning dina day kang that-is kapisan first
F.3b Mangkono /maŋkɔnɔ/ thus wus /wʊs/ already.LIT dadi /dadi/ become soré /sɔre/ evening lan /lan/ and ésuk /esʊʔ/ morning dina /dinɔ/ day kang /kaŋ/ REL.LIT kapisan /kapisan/ ORD-one
Padhang mau dipirsani wus becik lan Gusti Allah banjur misahaké padhang karo peteng. Kang padhang diparingi aran raina, dené kang peteng: wengi. Mangkono wus dadi soré lan ésuk: dina kang kapisan.
That light was seen to be good, and God then separated the light from the dark. That which was light was given the name day, and that which was dark, night. So it became evening and morning: the first day.
Padhang mau dipirsani wus becik lan Gusti Allah banjur misahaké padhang karo peteng. Kang padhang diparingi aran raina, dené kang peteng: wengi. Mangkono wus dadi soré lan ésuk: dina kang kapisan.
The passage opens with mau. Verse 3 has just said Tumuli ana padhang, “And there was light”; verse 4 picks the word up again as padhang mau, “that light, the light just spoken of”. This is the regular use of mau in narrative, where English would say “the” or “that”: it points back along the text, as kuwi points across the room.
Verse 5 uses kang without a noun before it: kang padhang, “that which (is) light”, and kang peteng, “that which (is) dark”. Javanese needs no word for “is” here; the relative and the adjective together make a noun, exactly as ngoko sing gedhé, “the big one”, or krama ingkang ageng. The last phrase, dina kang kapisan, “the day that (is) first”, is the usual way to form an ordinal with its noun: kapisan, “first”, is joined to dina by the relative.
The verbs show the honorific language of the Bible. Dipirsani and diparingi are passives of pirsa, “to see”, and paring, “to give”, both krama inggil: God’s seeing and giving are spoken of with the respect words, while the rest of the narration is ngoko. Wus is the literary form of everyday wis, “already”.
The King James Bible says “God saw the light, that it was good”. The Kitab Sutji turns the sentence round into the passive, “that light was seen (to be) already good”, and so needs no “that” of the conjunction. An everyday-Javanese rendering of the same verse, published online at alkitabjawa.wordpress.com, keeps the active verb and therefore uses yèn: Gusti Allah mirsani yèn padhang mau wis becik, “God saw that that light was good”, and in verse 5 sing padhang diarani “rina”, “that which is light was called ‘day’”. Read side by side, the two versions show all three of this lesson’s “that”s in a single verse: mau, yèn and sing (or kang).
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Sari finds an album of old photographs at her grandmother’s house. Simbah speaks to her granddaughter in ngoko; Sari answers her grandmother in krama, with the respect words for her grandparents.
13.16a Sari Sari Mbah Grandma menika this foto photo sinten who
13.16b Sari /sari/ Sari Mbah /mbah/ grandparent.VOC menika /mənikɔ/ this.KR foto /foto/ photo sinten /sintən/ who.KR
13.17a Simbah Grandma Kuwi that foto photo Simbah Grandma nalika when isih still enom young
13.17b Simbah /simbah/ grandparent Kuwi /kuwi/ that.MED foto /foto/ photo Simbah /simbah/ grandparent nalika /nalikɔ/ when isih /isɪh/ still enom /ənɔm/ young
13.18a Sari Sari Lajeng then tiyang person ingkang who ngadeg stands ing at sandhingipun the-side-of Simbah Grandma menika that sinten who
13.18b Sari /sari/ Sari Lajeng /laɟəŋ/ then.KR tiyang /tijaŋ/ person.KR ingkang /ɪŋkaŋ/ REL.KR ngadeg /ŋadək/ AV-stand ing /ɪŋ/ at sandhingipun /sanɖɪŋipʊn/ side-DEF.KR Simbah /simbah/ grandparent menika /mənikɔ/ that.KR sinten /sintən/ who.KR
13.19a Simbah Grandma Kuwi that Mbah Grand- Kakungmu -father-your Biyèn formerly Mbah Grand- Kakung -father dadi was guru teacher
13.19b Simbah /simbah/ grandparent Kuwi /kuwi/ that.MED Mbah /mbah/ grandparent Kakungmu /kakʊŋmu/ male.KR-POSS.2SG Biyèn /bijɛn/ formerly Mbah /mbah/ grandparent Kakung /kakʊŋ/ male.KR dadi /dadi/ become guru /ɡuru/ teacher
13.20a Sari Sari Kula I mireng heard bilih that Mbah Grand- Kakung -father remen liked nembang to-sing
13.20b Sari /sari/ Sari Kula /kulɔ/ 1SG.KR mireng /mirəŋ/ hear.KR bilih /bilɪh/ COMP.KR Mbah /mbah/ grandparent Kakung /kakʊŋ/ male.KR remen /rəmən/ like.KR nembang /nəmbaŋ/ AV-sing.verse
13.21a Simbah Grandma Iya yes Tembang song sing that paling most disenengi was-liked yaiku namely Asmarandana Asmarandana
13.21b Simbah /simbah/ grandparent Iya /ijɔ/ yes Tembang /təmbaŋ/ sung.verse sing /sɪŋ/ REL paling /palɪŋ/ most disenengi /disənəŋi/ PASS-like-APPL yaiku /jaiku/ namely Asmarandana /asmarandɔnɔ/ Asmarandana
13.22a Sari Sari Griya house ingkang that wonten is ing at wingkingipun the-back menika that griyanipun the-house-of sinten whom
13.22b Sari /sari/ Sari Griya /ɡrijɔ/ house.KR ingkang /ɪŋkaŋ/ REL.KR wonten /wɔntən/ exist.KR ing /ɪŋ/ at wingkingipun /wɪŋkɪŋipʊn/ back-DEF.KR menika /mənikɔ/ that.KR griyanipun /ɡrijanipʊn/ house.KR-DEF.KR sinten /sintən/ who.KR
13.23a Simbah Grandma Kuwi that omahé the-house-of Simbah Grandma biyèn formerly sing which saiki now wis already didol sold
13.23b Simbah /simbah/ grandparent Kuwi /kuwi/ that.MED omahé /ɔmahe/ house-DEF Simbah /simbah/ grandparent biyèn /bijɛn/ formerly sing /sɪŋ/ REL saiki /saiki/ now wis /wɪs/ already didol /didɔl/ PASS-sell
13.24a Sari Sari Lho oh wit tree ingkang that ageng big menika that taksih still wonten exists
13.24b Sari /sari/ Sari Lho /lo/ INTERJ wit /wɪt/ tree ingkang /ɪŋkaŋ/ REL.KR ageng /aɡəŋ/ big.KR menika /mənikɔ/ that.KR taksih /taʔsɪh/ still.KR wonten /wɔntən/ exist.KR
13.25a Simbah Grandma Isih still Kaé there-it-is katon visible saka from jendhéla window
13.25b Simbah /simbah/ grandparent Isih /isɪh/ still Kaé /kae/ that.DIST katon /katɔn/ visible saka /sɔkɔ/ from jendhéla /ɟənɖelɔ/ window
13.26a Sari Sari Kula I boten not ngertos knew bilih that wit tree menika that sepuh old sanget very
13.26b Sari /sari/ Sari Kula /kulɔ/ 1SG.KR boten /botən/ NEG.KR ngertos /ŋərtɔs/ AV-understand.KR bilih /bilɪh/ COMP.KR wit /wɪt/ tree menika /mənikɔ/ that.KR sepuh /səpʊh/ old.KR sanget /saŋət/ very.KR
13.27a Simbah Grandma Wit tree kuwi that umuré its-age luwih more saka than sèket fifty taun years
13.27b Simbah /simbah/ grandparent Wit /wɪt/ tree kuwi /kuwi/ that.MED umuré /umure/ age-DEF luwih /luwɪh/ more saka /sɔkɔ/ from sèket /sɛkət/ fifty taun /taun/ year
13.28a Simbah Grandma Foto-foto photos iki these simpenen keep ya yes Kuwi that kenang-kenangan keepsake sing that-is aji precious
13.28b Simbah /simbah/ grandparent Foto-foto /foto foto/ photo-PL iki /iki/ this.PROX simpenen /simpənən/ keep-IMP ya /jɔ/ TAG Kuwi /kuwi/ that.MED kenang-kenangan /kənaŋ kənaŋan/ RED-remember-NMLZ sing /sɪŋ/ REL aji /aɟi/ precious
13.29a Sari Sari Inggih yes Mbah Grandma Kula I badhé will nyimpen keep sedaya all foto photos menika these kanthi with saé care
13.29b Sari /sari/ Sari Inggih /ɪŋɡɪh/ yes.KR Mbah /mbah/ grandparent.VOC Kula /kulɔ/ 1SG.KR badhé /baɖe/ FUT.KR nyimpen /ɲimpən/ AV-keep sedaya /sədɔjɔ/ all.KR foto /foto/ photo menika /mənikɔ/ this.KR kanthi /kanʈi/ with saé /sae/ good.KR
13.30a Simbah Grandma Sing what penting important kowé you ora not lali forget marang to crita-crita stories sing that ana are ing in foto photos kuwi those
13.30b Simbah /simbah/ grandparent Sing /sɪŋ/ REL penting /pəntɪŋ/ important kowé /kowe/ 2SG ora /ɔrɔ/ NEG lali /lali/ forget marang /maraŋ/ to crita-crita /critɔ critɔ/ story-PL sing /sɪŋ/ REL ana /ɔnɔ/ exist ing /ɪŋ/ in foto /foto/ photo kuwi /kuwi/ that.MED
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13.16 Sari: “Mbah, menika foto sinten?” → Sari: “Grandma, whose photo is this?”
13.17 Simbah: “Kuwi foto Simbah nalika isih enom.” → Simbah: “That’s a photo of me when I was still young.”
13.18 Sari: “Lajeng tiyang ingkang ngadeg ing sandhingipun Simbah menika sinten?” → Sari: “And who is the man standing next to you?”
13.19 Simbah: “Kuwi Mbah Kakungmu. Biyèn Mbah Kakung dadi guru.” → Simbah: “That’s your grandfather. He was a teacher in those days.”
13.20 Sari: “Kula mireng bilih Mbah Kakung remen nembang.” → Sari: “I heard that Grandpa liked to sing.”
13.21 Simbah: “Iya. Tembang sing paling disenengi yaiku Asmarandana.” → Simbah: “Yes. The song he liked best was Asmarandana.”
13.22 Sari: “Griya ingkang wonten ing wingkingipun menika griyanipun sinten?” → Sari: “The house at the back there, whose house is it?”
13.23 Simbah: “Kuwi omahé Simbah biyèn, sing saiki wis didol.” → Simbah: “That was my house once, the one that has been sold now.”
13.24 Sari: “Lho, wit ingkang ageng menika taksih wonten?” → Sari: “Oh, is that big tree still there?”
13.25 Simbah: “Isih. Kaé, katon saka jendhéla.” → Simbah: “It is. There it is, over there, you can see it from the window.”
13.26 Sari: “Kula boten ngertos bilih wit menika sepuh sanget.” → Sari: “I didn’t know that the tree was so old.”
13.27 Simbah: “Wit kuwi umuré luwih saka sèket taun.” → Simbah: “That tree is more than fifty years old.”
13.28 Simbah: “Foto-foto iki simpenen, ya. Kuwi kenang-kenangan sing aji.” → Simbah: “Keep these photographs, won’t you. They are a precious keepsake.”
13.29 Sari: “Inggih, Mbah. Kula badhé nyimpen sedaya foto menika kanthi saé.” → Sari: “Yes, Grandma. I will keep all these photographs carefully.”
13.30 Simbah: “Sing penting, kowé ora lali marang crita-crita sing ana ing foto kuwi.” → Simbah: “What matters is that you don’t forget the stories that are in those photographs.”
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Ndeleng Foto Lawas
13.16 Sari: “Mbah, menika foto sinten?”
13.17 Simbah: “Kuwi foto Simbah nalika isih enom.”
13.18 Sari: “Lajeng tiyang ingkang ngadeg ing sandhingipun Simbah menika sinten?”
13.19 Simbah: “Kuwi Mbah Kakungmu. Biyèn Mbah Kakung dadi guru.”
13.20 Sari: “Kula mireng bilih Mbah Kakung remen nembang.”
13.21 Simbah: “Iya. Tembang sing paling disenengi yaiku Asmarandana.”
13.22 Sari: “Griya ingkang wonten ing wingkingipun menika griyanipun sinten?”
13.23 Simbah: “Kuwi omahé Simbah biyèn, sing saiki wis didol.”
13.24 Sari: “Lho, wit ingkang ageng menika taksih wonten?”
13.25 Simbah: “Isih. Kaé, katon saka jendhéla.”
13.26 Sari: “Kula boten ngertos bilih wit menika sepuh sanget.”
13.27 Simbah: “Wit kuwi umuré luwih saka sèket taun.”
13.28 Simbah: “Foto-foto iki simpenen, ya. Kuwi kenang-kenangan sing aji.”
13.29 Sari: “Inggih, Mbah. Kula badhé nyimpen sedaya foto menika kanthi saé.”
13.30 Simbah: “Sing penting, kowé ora lali marang crita-crita sing ana ing foto kuwi.”
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Two speech levels, one set of meanings. Every “that” in the dialogue appears twice, once in each level. Simbah’s ngoko: kuwi (13.17, 13.19, 13.23, 13.27, 13.28, 13.30), kaé (13.25), sing (13.21, 13.23, 13.28, 13.30). Sari’s krama: menika (13.16, 13.18, 13.22, 13.24, 13.26, 13.29), ingkang (13.18, 13.22, 13.24), bilih (13.20, 13.26). Because menika covers all three distances, Sari uses it both for the photograph in her hand, “this” (13.16, 13.29), and for the house in the picture, “that” (13.22).
Kaé as a pointing word. In 13.25 kaé stands alone, as English “there it is”: Simbah points out of the window at the real tree, far from both of them. Compare kuwi in 13.27, where Simbah goes on talking about the same tree: now it is the tree just mentioned, so kuwi, not kaé.
Sing without a noun. Sing penting (13.30), “what (is) important”, is a fixed way of opening a sentence: “The main thing is …”. Compare ingkang ageng, “the big one”, and the biblical kang padhang in Section F.
Sing after a comma. In 13.23 the relative clause follows the noun phrase after a pause: omahé Simbah biyèn, sing saiki wis didol, “my house of old, which has now been sold”. Javanese does not distinguish “that” and “which” as English punctuation does.
Krama words in the dialogue: sinten (ngoko sapa) “who”; lajeng (banjur) “then”; tiyang (wong) “person”; griya (omah) “house”; wonten (ana) “there is”; wingking (mburi) “back”; ageng (gedhé) “big”; taksih (isih) “still”; boten (ora) “not”; ngertos (ngerti) “know”; sepuh (tuwa) “old”; sanget (banget) “very”; remen (seneng) “like”; sedaya (kabèh) “all”; saé (apik) “good”. The suffix -ipun is the krama of -é: sandhingipun, wingkingipun, griyanipun.
Kakung, “male”, is the respectful word used in family titles: Mbah Kakung, “Grandpa”; Mbah Putri, “Grandma”.
The imperative with -en. Simpenen (13.28), “keep (them)!”, is simpen, “to keep”, with the ngoko imperative suffix -en, as delengen, “look at (it)!”, in 13.4. It is a ngoko form, used here by an elder to a grandchild; Sari answers in krama with badhé, “will”: kula badhé nyimpen.
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The three e’s. é /e/ is close (kowé, ésuk, omahé, umuré, jendhéla, saé), è /ɛ/ is open (yèn, kabèh, biyèn, sèket), and plain e is the neutral vowel /ə/ (menika, kesel, ngerti, bener, sinten, remen, sepuh). Accents are usually left out in everyday writing (yen, kae, kabeh, biyen), and the Javanese Bible prints none; this course writes them.
Final a as [ɔ]. In lara [lɔrɔ], kana [kɔnɔ], saka [sɔkɔ], sedaya [sədɔjɔ], ana [ɔnɔ], the last two a’s are both [ɔ]. When only the final syllable has a, only that a is [ɔ]: menika [mənikɔ], griya [ɡrijɔ], nalika [nalikɔ].
Two vowels side by side are two syllables: ka-é, ma-u, ta-un, sa-é, ya-i-ku. Do not run them together into an English diphthong.
Retroflex dh and th. Adhiku, padhang, sandhing, jendhéla have the retroflex [ɖ]; kanthi has the retroflex [ʈ]: curl the tongue tip back.
Glottal k. Final k is a glottal stop: apik [apɪʔ], enak [enaʔ], dimasak [dimasaʔ], becik [bəcɪʔ], Pak [paʔ]. Before another consonant inside a word it is also glottal: taksih [taʔsɪh], kokcritakaké [kɔʔcritakake].
IPA in this lesson is broad. It does not mark the slack (breathy) voice of b, d, dh, g, j, nor stress, which in Javanese is weak and not contrastive. The palatal stops c and j are written [c] and [ɟ].
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✓ Lesson 13 Javanese complete — kuwi (that)
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