What is the Javanese for “he”?
English “he” points to one man or boy who has already been mentioned. It changes its form with its job, “he” as subject, “him” as object, “his” for possession, and it tells the listener the person is male. Javanese works differently on all three counts.
- The everyday word for “he” is dhèwèké. Dhèwèké kancaku, “He is my friend.” The same word is also “she”: Javanese pronouns do not mark gender. Siti ora mlebu sekolah amarga dhèwèké lara, “Siti didn’t come to school because she is ill.” - Dhèwèké does not change for subject and object: “he” and “him” are the same word. Aku ora kenal dhèwèké, “I don’t know him.” - “His” is usually not a separate word but the suffix -é (-né after a vowel) on the noun: jenengé, “his name”; ibuné, “his mother”. The krama suffix is -ipun (-nipun after a vowel). - The word for “he” depends on how much respect the person spoken of is owed, and on the speech level used to the listener. Ngoko dhèwèké; krama piyambakipun; for someone honoured, such as a teacher, a grandparent or God, panjenengané in polite ngoko and panjenenganipun in krama inggil. - Very often there is no pronoun at all. Where the person is clear, Javanese leaves “he” out, or repeats a name or title instead: Pak Lurah, Simbah, Bayu.
Etymology: dhèwèké is built on dhéwé, “self”, with the suffix -é of Lesson 15’s tugasé: dhéwé + -é → dhèwèké, literally “his self, the self of that one”. When the suffix is added, the two close é’s of dhéwé open to è, as gawé opens in gawèan. The krama piyambakipun is built in the same way on piyambak, the krama of dhéwé, with the krama suffix -ipun. Panjenengané and panjenenganipun are panjenengan, the honorific “you” of Lesson 15 (Panjenengan nembé napa?), with the same suffixes: the respectful “you” turned outward to a third person.
Orthography: this course writes é for the close e, è for the open e and plain e for the neutral vowel (schwa). Everyday writing leaves the accents out: dheweke, jenenge, ibune, panjenengane. The dh is never written plain d: dhèwèké, not deweke.
FAQ: How do I say “he” in Javanese?
Q: How do I say “he” or “she”? A: Dhèwèké, for both. In krama: piyambakipun.
Q: How do I say “him”? A: Also dhèwèké: Aku wingi ketemu dhèwèké, “I met him yesterday.”
Q: How do I say “his”? A: With -é or -né on the noun: omahé, “his house”; ibuné, “his mother”. For emphasis add dhèwèké: omahé dhèwèké, “his house (not hers)”.
Q: How do I speak of a teacher or an elder? A: With panjenengané in ngoko, panjenenganipun in krama, and the krama inggil verbs that go with them: Panjenenganipun sampun kondur, “He has gone home.”
Q: How do I ask “What’s his name?” A: Sapa jenengé? No word for “he” is needed.
Key Takeaways:
- “He” and “she” are one word: dhèwèké (krama piyambakipun) - Dhèwèké does not change: it is “he” and “him” alike - “His, her” is the suffix -é / -né on the noun (krama -ipun / -nipun): jenengé, ibuné, garwanipun - An honoured person is panjenengané (polite ngoko) or panjenenganipun (krama inggil), with honorific verbs - Where the person is clear, Javanese drops the pronoun or uses a name or title
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dhèwèké /ɖɛwɛke/ — dhè-wè-ké: retroflex dh, with the tongue tip curled back; two open è’s, as in “bed”, then a close é, as in French “été”. The three vowels are not the same: open, open, close.
dhéwé /ɖewe/ — dhé-wé: two close é’s. Compare dhèwèké: adding the suffix opens them.
piyambakipun /pijambaʔipʊn/ — pi-yam-ba-ki-pun: the k is a glottal catch before the suffix; the last u is short and lax, as in “put”.
panjenengan /panɟənəŋan/ — pan-je-ne-ngan: the two middle e’s are neutral, as in “about”. Panjenengané /panɟənəŋane/ ends in close é; panjenenganipun /panɟənəŋanipʊn/ ends in -pun.
jenengé /ɟənəŋe/ — je-ne-ngé: neutral, neutral, close.
ibuné /ibune/ — i-bu-né: after a vowel the suffix is -né.
bapaké /bapaʔe/ — the final k of bapak becomes a glottal stop before the suffix, as in awaké (Lesson 15).
Sala /sɔlɔ/ — the city of Surakarta: both a’s are open [ɔ], which is why it is often spelled Solo.
Final k is a glottal stop: numpak [numpaʔ], wareg [warəʔ] (final g sounds the same), Nduk [nɖʊʔ]. The palatal stop j is [ɟ]: panjenengan, jenengé.
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16.1a Dhèwèké he kancaku my-friend
16.1b Dhèwèké /ɖɛwɛke/ 3SG kancaku /kancaku/ friend-POSS.1SG
16.2a Dhèwèké he lagi is turu sleeping
16.2b Dhèwèké /ɖɛwɛke/ 3SG lagi /laɡi/ PROG turu /turu/ sleep
16.3a Jenengé his-name Budi Budi
16.3b Jenengé /ɟənəŋe/ name-POSS.3 Budi /budi/ Budi
16.4a Aku I ora not kenal know dhèwèké him
16.4b Aku /aku/ 1SG ora /ɔrɔ/ NEG kenal /kənal/ be.acquainted dhèwèké /ɖɛwɛke/ 3SG
16.5a Piyambakipun he guru teacher
16.5b Piyambakipun /pijambaʔipʊn/ 3SG.KR guru /ɡuru/ teacher
16.6a Dhèwèké he mangkat goes sekolah to-school numpak riding sepédha bicycle
16.6b Dhèwèké /ɖɛwɛke/ 3SG mangkat /maŋkat/ set.off sekolah /səkolah/ school numpak /numpaʔ/ AV-ride sepédha /səpeɖɔ/ bicycle
16.7a Siti Siti ora not mlebu enter sekolah school amarga because dhèwèké she lara ill
16.7b Siti /siti/ Siti ora /ɔrɔ/ NEG mlebu /mləbu/ enter sekolah /səkolah/ school amarga /amarɡɔ/ because dhèwèké /ɖɛwɛke/ 3SG lara /lɔrɔ/ ill
16.8a Aku I wingi yesterday ketemu met dhèwèké him ing at pasar market
16.8b Aku /aku/ 1SG wingi /wiŋi/ yesterday ketemu /kətəmu/ meet dhèwèké /ɖɛwɛke/ 3SG ing /ɪŋ/ at pasar /pasar/ market
16.9a Aku I arep am-going-to mènèhi give dhèwèké him buku book iki this
16.9b Aku /aku/ 1SG arep /arəp/ FUT mènèhi /mɛnɛhi/ AV-give-APPL dhèwèké /ɖɛwɛke/ 3SG buku /buku/ book iki /iki/ this.PROX
16.10a Panjenenganipun he sampun has kondur gone-home dhateng to dalem home
16.10b Panjenenganipun /panɟənəŋanipʊn/ 3SG.KI sampun /sampʊn/ PERF.KR kondur /kɔndʊr/ go.home.KI dhateng /ɖatəŋ/ to.KR dalem /daləm/ house.KI
16.11a Dhèwèké he sing who nulis wrote layang letter iki this dudu not aku me
16.11b Dhèwèké /ɖɛwɛke/ 3SG sing /sɪŋ/ REL nulis /nulɪs/ AV-write layang /lajaŋ/ letter iki /iki/ this.PROX dudu /dudu/ NEG.NOM aku /aku/ 1SG
16.12a Simbah Grandpa ngendika said yèn that panjenengané he kesel tired
16.12b Simbah /simbah/ grandparent ngendika /ŋəndikɔ/ AV-speak.KI yèn /jɛn/ COMP panjenengané /panɟənəŋane/ 3SG.HON kesel /kəsəl/ tired
16.13a Dhèwèké he ora not gelem willing mangan eat amarga because wis already wareg full
16.13b Dhèwèké /ɖɛwɛke/ 3SG ora /ɔrɔ/ NEG gelem /ɡələm/ willing mangan /maŋan/ eat amarga /amarɡɔ/ because wis /wɪs/ PERF wareg /warəʔ/ full
16.14a Piyambakipun he manggèn lives ing in Sala Solo kaliyan with garwanipun his-wife
16.14b Piyambakipun /pijambaʔipʊn/ 3SG.KR manggèn /maŋɡɛn/ dwell.KR ing /ɪŋ/ in Sala /sɔlɔ/ Surakarta kaliyan /kalijan/ with.KR garwanipun /ɡarwanipʊn/ spouse.KI-POSS.3.KR
16.15a Saben every dina day dhèwèké he ngrewangi helps ibuné his-mother ing in pawon kitchen
16.15b Saben /sabən/ every dina /dinɔ/ day dhèwèké /ɖɛwɛke/ 3SG ngrewangi /ŋrəwaŋi/ AV-help-APPL ibuné /ibune/ mother-POSS.3 ing /ɪŋ/ in pawon /pawɔn/ kitchen
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16.1 Dhèwèké kancaku. → “He is my friend.”
16.2 Dhèwèké lagi turu. → “He is asleep.”
16.3 Jenengé Budi. → “His name is Budi.”
16.4 Aku ora kenal dhèwèké. → “I don’t know him.”
16.5 Piyambakipun guru. → “He is a teacher.” (polite)
16.6 Dhèwèké mangkat sekolah numpak sepédha. → “He goes to school by bicycle.”
16.7 Siti ora mlebu sekolah amarga dhèwèké lara. → “Siti didn’t come to school because she is ill.”
16.8 Aku wingi ketemu dhèwèké ing pasar. → “I met him at the market yesterday.”
16.9 Aku arep mènèhi dhèwèké buku iki. → “I’m going to give him this book.”
16.10 Panjenenganipun sampun kondur dhateng dalem. → “He has already gone home.” (of an honoured person)
16.11 Dhèwèké sing nulis layang iki, dudu aku. → “He’s the one who wrote this letter, not me.”
16.12 Simbah ngendika yèn panjenengané kesel. → “Grandpa said that he was tired.”
16.13 Dhèwèké ora gelem mangan amarga wis wareg. → “He won’t eat because he’s already full.”
16.14 Piyambakipun manggèn ing Sala kaliyan garwanipun. → “He lives in Solo with his wife.” (polite)
16.15 Saben dina dhèwèké ngrewangi ibuné ing pawon. → “Every day he helps his mother in the kitchen.”
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16.1 Dhèwèké kancaku.
16.2 Dhèwèké lagi turu.
16.3 Jenengé Budi.
16.4 Aku ora kenal dhèwèké.
16.5 Piyambakipun guru.
16.6 Dhèwèké mangkat sekolah numpak sepédha.
16.7 Siti ora mlebu sekolah amarga dhèwèké lara.
16.8 Aku wingi ketemu dhèwèké ing pasar.
16.9 Aku arep mènèhi dhèwèké buku iki.
16.10 Panjenenganipun sampun kondur dhateng dalem.
16.11 Dhèwèké sing nulis layang iki, dudu aku.
16.12 Simbah ngendika yèn panjenengané kesel.
16.13 Dhèwèké ora gelem mangan amarga wis wareg.
16.14 Piyambakipun manggèn ing Sala kaliyan garwanipun.
16.15 Saben dina dhèwèké ngrewangi ibuné ing pawon.
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These are the grammar rules for dhèwèké, and for the other ways of saying “he”, in Javanese:
1. One word for “he” and “she”. Dhèwèké refers to a man (16.1, 16.6) or a woman (16.7) alike. Where English needs to know the sex of the person, Javanese leaves it to the context, a name (Siti, Budi) or a kinship word (ibu, “mother”; bapak, “father”).
2. One form for “he” and “him”. Dhèwèké stands as subject before the verb (16.2, 16.13) and as object after it (16.4, 16.8). With a verb of giving, the person receiving comes straight after the verb and the thing given after that: mènèhi dhèwèké buku iki, “give him this book” (16.9).
3. “His, her”: the suffix -é. Possession of the third person is marked on the noun:
- after a consonant, -é: jeneng → jenengé, “his name” (16.3); omah → omahé, “his house”; bapak → bapaké, “his father” - after a vowel, -né: ibu → ibuné, “his mother” (16.15); kanca → kancané, “his friend” - krama, after a consonant, -ipun: bapak → bapakipun, “his father” (16.27) - krama, after a vowel, -nipun: garwa → garwanipun, “his wife” (16.14)
The noun comes first, as with the -ku, “my”, of kancaku (16.1). For emphasis or to avoid doubt, dhèwèké may follow: omahé dhèwèké, “HIS house”. The same suffix also means “the” (the -é of tugasé and awaké in Lesson 15), so ibuné may be “his mother” or “the mother” as the context requires.
4. The three levels:
- dhèwèké — ngoko: of an equal, a younger person, a child, when speaking ngoko - piyambakipun — krama: the ordinary “he” when speaking krama to the listener (16.5, 16.14, 16.30), whoever the person spoken of is - panjenenganipun — krama inggil: of an honoured person, in krama (16.10); panjenengané is the same honorific “he” inside ngoko speech (16.12, 16.28)
The honorific pronouns bring krama inggil verbs and nouns with them: Panjenenganipun sampun kondur dhateng dalem (16.10), with kondur, “go home”, and dalem, “house”, rather than plain mulih and omah. Simbah ngendika (16.12), with ngendika, “say”, rather than kandha. Never use the honorific words of yourself.
5. Leaving “he” out. Once the person is known, Javanese often omits the pronoun: Sapa jenengé?, “What’s his name?” (16.17), has no word for “he” at all. In place of a pronoun Javanese often repeats a name or a title: Simbah, Pak Lurah, Pak Guru. Using dhèwèké of an older person to their face, or of someone owed respect, sounds blunt; a title is safer.
6. Dhèwèké sing …, “he is the one who …”. A pronoun followed by sing and a verb picks out the doer: Dhèwèké sing nulis layang iki, “He is the one who wrote this letter” (16.11). Dudu, “not”, denies a noun or pronoun: dudu aku, “not me”. Ora denies a verb or adjective (16.4, 16.13).
7. Dhèwèké and dhéwé. Dhéwé (Lesson 15, gawèan iki dhéwé) means “self, by oneself”; dhèwèké is “he, she”. After a name, dhéwé means “himself, for his part”: Bayu dhéwé, “Bayu himself” (16.23).
8. The passive with a third-person doer. The passive prefix di- is the third-person counterpart of dak- (“by me”, Lesson 14) and kok- (“by you”, Lesson 15). The doer may follow, or may be left unsaid: Layang iki ditulis dhèwèké, “This letter was written by him.”
9. Yèn after verbs of saying, “that”. Simbah ngendika yèn panjenengané kesel, “Grandpa said that he was tired” (16.12). Yèn is the “that” of Lesson 13; the Javanese verb keeps no tense, so the English “was” comes from the context.
Common Mistakes:
- Looking for a separate word for “she”: there is none. Dhèwèké serves for both. - Changing the pronoun for the object: *Aku ora kenal dhèwèkéné. Correct: Aku ora kenal dhèwèké. - Putting the possessor first, as in English: *dhèwèké omah. Correct: omahé, or omahé dhèwèké. - Writing -é after a vowel: *ibué. Correct: ibuné. - Using dhèwèké of a teacher or an elder in their hearing: use panjenengané, a title, or the name with Pak or Bu. - Confusing dhèwèké, “he”, with dhéwé, “self”.
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Talking about people. In Javanese, how you speak of someone who is not there shows how you regard them, as much as how you speak to the person in front of you. A child speaking ngoko to a friend says dhèwèké of a classmate, but panjenengané of the teacher; the same child, speaking krama to a parent, says piyambakipun even of the classmate (16.30), because the level is chosen for the listener. Respect is shown twice: once to the listener and once to the person spoken of.
Titles in place of pronouns. Javanese speakers prefer a title or kinship word to a pronoun whenever the person is older or of standing: Pak and Bu for men and women of the parents’ generation, Mas and Mbak for young adults, Simbah for grandparents, Pak Guru, Bu Guru, Pak Lurah for people by their office. A man spoken of three times in a conversation may be called Pak Harjo three times and never dhèwèké.
Casual forms. In fast casual speech dhèwèké is often shortened to dhèké, and in text messages it may be written dheke or dheweke without accents. Many young speakers mix in the Indonesian dia, “he, she”. The full form dhèwèké is standard and is used in this course.
Gods and kings. In the Javanese Bible, where the narration and much of the speech are in ngoko, Jesus is spoken of with the honorific panjenengané. In the courts of Yogyakarta and Surakarta (Sala), and in the wayang theatre, kings and gods are likewise spoken of with panjenenganipun and the vocabulary of krama inggil. Section F shows the pronoun in a famous verse.
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John 3:30, from the Javanese Bible of the Lembaga Alkitab Indonesia (version “Jawa”), as published by alkitab.mobi. The published text omits accents; this course adds the one this verse needs, in panjenengané. John the Baptist’s disciples have told him that the crowds are now going to Jesus. John answers that he is only the one sent ahead (verse 28), and ends with this verse.
F.1a Panjenengané he iku that-one pinasthi is-destined saya increasingly mundhak to-rise
F.1b Panjenengané /panɟənəŋane/ 3SG.HON iku /iku/ that.MED pinasthi /pinasʈi/ certain.PASS saya /sɔjɔ/ increasingly mundhak /mʊnɖaʔ/ rise
F.2a nanging but aku I iki this-one saya increasingly suda lessen
F.2b nanging /naŋɪŋ/ but aku /aku/ 1SG iki /iki/ this.PROX saya /sɔjɔ/ increasingly suda /sudɔ/ decrease
Panjenengané iku pinasthi saya mundhak, nanging aku iki saya suda.
“He must increase, but I must decrease.”
Panjenengané iku pinasthi saya mundhak, nanging aku iki saya suda.
The verse sets the two persons side by side: Panjenengané iku, “He, that one”, and aku iki, “I, this one”. Each pronoun is followed by a demonstrative from Lesson 13, iku for the one at a distance and iki for the speaker himself. The pairing gives the sentence its balance: he rises, I grow less.
Panjenengané is the honorific third person of Section D, rule 4. The narration of the Javanese Bible is in ngoko, and the Baptist speaks ngoko to his disciples, as verse 28 shows (Kowé dhéwé padha dadi seksiku, “You yourselves are my witnesses”). Within that ngoko, the one person he speaks of with respect receives the honorific pronoun. Had he said dhèwèké, the verse would have spoken of Jesus as an equal; the choice of pronoun alone shows his humility.
Pinasthi is pasthi, “certain, fixed”, with the infix -in-, an old passive: “made certain, destined”. It renders the Greek δεῖ, “it must be”. Saya before a verb or adjective means “more and more”: saya mundhak, “rise more and more”; saya suda, “grow less and less”. The second half has no pinasthi of its own: the destiny of the first half carries over.
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A conversation between two girls in a Javanese neighbourhood, Ratna and Wulan, and then Wulan and her mother. The people are invented for the lesson. The girls speak ngoko to each other, and use panjenengané of a teacher. Wulan’s mother speaks ngoko to her daughter; Wulan answers her mother in krama, and so says piyambakipun.
16.16a Ratna Ratna Wulan Wulan kowé you wis already kenal know karo with bocah boy anyar new kaé that
16.16b Ratna /ratnɔ/ Ratna Wulan /wulan/ Wulan kowé /kowe/ 2SG wis /wɪs/ PERF kenal /kənal/ be.acquainted karo /karo/ with bocah /bɔcah/ child anyar /aɲar/ new kaé /kae/ that.DIST
16.17a Wulan Wulan Durung not-yet Sapa who jenengé his-name
16.17b Wulan /wulan/ Wulan Durung /durʊŋ/ not.yet Sapa /sɔpɔ/ who jenengé /ɟənəŋe/ name-POSS.3
16.18a Ratna Ratna Jenengé his-name Bayu Bayu Dhèwèké he saka from Semarang Semarang
16.18b Ratna /ratnɔ/ Ratna Jenengé /ɟənəŋe/ name-POSS.3 Bayu /baju/ Bayu Dhèwèké /ɖɛwɛke/ 3SG saka /sɔkɔ/ from Semarang /səmaraŋ/ Semarang
16.19a Wulan Wulan Dhèwèké he manggon lives ing at ngendi where
16.19b Wulan /wulan/ Wulan Dhèwèké /ɖɛwɛke/ 3SG manggon /maŋɡɔn/ dwell ing /ɪŋ/ at ngendi /ŋəndi/ where
16.20a Ratna Ratna Omahé his-house ing at sandhingé the-side-of toko shop Pak Mr Harjo Harjo
16.20b Ratna /ratnɔ/ Ratna Omahé /omahe/ house-POSS.3 ing /ɪŋ/ at sandhingé /sanɖɪŋe/ side-DEF toko /toko/ shop Pak /paʔ/ father.VOC Harjo /harɟo/ Harjo
16.21a Bapaké his-father dadi is guru teacher ing at SMP junior-high
16.21b Bapaké /bapaʔe/ father-POSS.3 dadi /dadi/ become guru /ɡuru/ teacher ing /ɪŋ/ at SMP /ɛs ɛm pe/ junior.high.school
16.22a Wulan Wulan Lho oh panjenengané he guru teacher anyar new sing who nggantèni replaces Bu Mrs Sri Sri
16.22b Wulan /wulan/ Wulan Lho /lo/ EXCL panjenengané /panɟənəŋane/ 3SG.HON guru /ɡuru/ teacher anyar /aɲar/ new sing /sɪŋ/ REL nggantèni /ŋɡantɛni/ AV-replace-APPL Bu /bu/ mother.VOC Sri /sri/ Sri
16.23a Ratna Ratna Iya yes Bayu Bayu dhéwé himself sekelas same-class karo with adhiku my-younger-brother
16.23b Ratna /ratnɔ/ Ratna Iya /ijɔ/ yes Bayu /baju/ Bayu dhéwé /ɖewe/ self sekelas /səkəlas/ one-class karo /karo/ with adhiku /aɖiku/ younger.sibling-POSS.1SG
16.24a Wulan Wulan Dhèwèké he seneng likes main playing bal football ora or-not
16.24b Wulan /wulan/ Wulan Dhèwèké /ɖɛwɛke/ 3SG seneng /sənəŋ/ like main /main/ play bal /bal/ ball ora /ɔrɔ/ NEG
16.25a Ratna Ratna Seneng likes banget very-much Saben every soré afternoon dhèwèké he main plays bal football ing on lapangan the-field
16.25b Ratna /ratnɔ/ Ratna Seneng /sənəŋ/ like banget /baŋət/ very Saben /sabən/ every soré /sore/ afternoon dhèwèké /ɖɛwɛke/ 3SG main /main/ play bal /bal/ ball ing /ɪŋ/ at lapangan /lapaŋan/ field
16.26a Ibuné the-mother-of Wulan Wulan takon asked Lagi are ngrembug discussing sapa who Nduk dear
16.26b Ibuné /ibune/ mother-POSS.3 Wulan /wulan/ Wulan takon /takɔn/ ask Lagi /laɡi/ PROG ngrembug /ŋrəmbʊʔ/ AV-discuss sapa /sɔpɔ/ who Nduk /nɖʊʔ/ girl.VOC
16.27a Wulan Wulan Lare child énggal new Bu Mum Bapakipun his-father guru teacher énggal new ing at SMP junior-high
16.27b Wulan /wulan/ Wulan Lare /lare/ child.KR énggal /eŋɡal/ new.KR Bu /bu/ mother.VOC Bapakipun /bapaʔipʊn/ father-POSS.3.KR guru /ɡuru/ teacher énggal /eŋɡal/ new.KR ing /ɪŋ/ at SMP /ɛs ɛm pe/ junior.high.school
16.28a Ibu Mother Oh oh Pak Mr Guru Teacher anyar new kuwi that Wingi yesterday panjenengané he tindak came mréné here karo with garwané his-wife
16.28b Ibu /ibu/ mother Oh /ɔh/ EXCL Pak /paʔ/ father.VOC Guru /ɡuru/ teacher anyar /aɲar/ new kuwi /kuwi/ that.MED Wingi /wiŋi/ yesterday panjenengané /panɟənəŋane/ 3SG.HON tindak /tindaʔ/ go.KI mréné /mrene/ to.here karo /karo/ with garwané /ɡarwane/ spouse.KI-POSS.3
16.29a Mbésuk some-time kowé you ngajak invite Bayu Bayu dolan to-visit mréné here ya all-right
16.29b Mbésuk /mbesʊʔ/ later kowé /kowe/ 2SG ngajak /ŋaɟaʔ/ AV-invite Bayu /baju/ Bayu dolan /dolan/ visit mréné /mrene/ to.here ya /jɔ/ yes
16.30a Wulan Wulan Inggih yes Bu Mum Mangké later kula I sanjangi will-tell piyambakipun him
16.30b Wulan /wulan/ Wulan Inggih /ɪŋɡɪh/ yes.KR Bu /bu/ mother.VOC Mangké /maŋke/ later.KR kula /kulɔ/ 1SG.KR sanjangi /sanɟaŋi/ tell.KR-APPL piyambakipun /pijambaʔipʊn/ 3SG.KR
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16.16 Ratna: “Wulan, kowé wis kenal karo bocah anyar kaé?” → Ratna: “Wulan, have you met that new boy yet?”
16.17 Wulan: “Durung. Sapa jenengé?” → Wulan: “Not yet. What’s his name?”
16.18 Ratna: “Jenengé Bayu. Dhèwèké saka Semarang.” → Ratna: “His name’s Bayu. He’s from Semarang.”
16.19 Wulan: “Dhèwèké manggon ing ngendi?” → Wulan: “Where does he live?”
16.20 Ratna: “Omahé ing sandhingé toko Pak Harjo.” → Ratna: “His house is next to Pak Harjo’s shop.”
16.21 “Bapaké dadi guru ing SMP.” → “His father is a teacher at the junior high school.”
16.22 Wulan: “Lho, panjenengané guru anyar sing nggantèni Bu Sri?” → Wulan: “Oh, is he the new teacher who’s taking Bu Sri’s place?”
16.23 Ratna: “Iya. Bayu dhéwé sekelas karo adhiku.” → Ratna: “Yes. And Bayu himself is in my little brother’s class.”
16.24 Wulan: “Dhèwèké seneng main bal ora?” → Wulan: “Does he like playing football?”
16.25 Ratna: “Seneng banget. Saben soré dhèwèké main bal ing lapangan.” → Ratna: “He loves it. Every afternoon he plays football on the field.”
16.26 Ibuné Wulan takon: “Lagi ngrembug sapa, Nduk?” → Wulan’s mother asked: “Who are you talking about, dear?”
16.27 Wulan: “Lare énggal, Bu. Bapakipun guru énggal ing SMP.” → Wulan: “A new boy, Mum. His father is the new teacher at the junior high.”
16.28 Ibu: “Oh, Pak Guru anyar kuwi? Wingi panjenengané tindak mréné karo garwané.” → Her mother: “Oh, that new teacher? He came round here yesterday with his wife.”
16.29 “Mbésuk kowé ngajak Bayu dolan mréné, ya.” → “Some time you must invite Bayu over, all right?”
16.30 Wulan: “Inggih, Bu. Mangké kula sanjangi piyambakipun.” → Wulan: “Yes, Mum. I’ll tell him later.”
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Bocah Anyar
16.16 Ratna: “Wulan, kowé wis kenal karo bocah anyar kaé?”
16.17 Wulan: “Durung. Sapa jenengé?”
16.18 Ratna: “Jenengé Bayu. Dhèwèké saka Semarang.”
16.19 Wulan: “Dhèwèké manggon ing ngendi?”
16.20 Ratna: “Omahé ing sandhingé toko Pak Harjo.”
16.21 “Bapaké dadi guru ing SMP.”
16.22 Wulan: “Lho, panjenengané guru anyar sing nggantèni Bu Sri?”
16.23 Ratna: “Iya. Bayu dhéwé sekelas karo adhiku.”
16.24 Wulan: “Dhèwèké seneng main bal ora?”
16.25 Ratna: “Seneng banget. Saben soré dhèwèké main bal ing lapangan.”
16.26 Ibuné Wulan takon: “Lagi ngrembug sapa, Nduk?”
16.27 Wulan: “Lare énggal, Bu. Bapakipun guru énggal ing SMP.”
16.28 Ibu: “Oh, Pak Guru anyar kuwi? Wingi panjenengané tindak mréné karo garwané.”
16.29 “Mbésuk kowé ngajak Bayu dolan mréné, ya.”
16.30 Wulan: “Inggih, Bu. Mangké kula sanjangi piyambakipun.”
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Three “he”s in one conversation. The girls call Bayu dhèwèké (16.18, 16.19, 16.24, 16.25) but call his father panjenengané (16.22): he is a teacher and an adult. Wulan’s mother also says panjenengané of the teacher (16.28), and uses with it the krama inggil tindak, “go, come”, and garwa, “wife”, instead of ngoko lunga and bojo. When Wulan turns to her mother and speaks krama, Bayu becomes piyambakipun (16.30), and his father’s possessive changes from bapaké (16.21) to bapakipun (16.27).
“His” everywhere. Jenengé (16.17, 16.18), omahé (16.20), bapaké (16.21), garwané (16.28), and ibuné in ibuné Wulan, “Wulan’s mother” (16.26). The last shows that the -é suffix also links a noun to the name of its owner: ibuné Wulan, literally “the-mother-of Wulan”. Sandhingé (16.20), “its side”, works as a preposition: ing sandhingé toko, “next to the shop”.
Dhéwé after a name. Bayu dhéwé, “Bayu himself” (16.23): the girls have been talking about his father; dhéwé brings the talk back to the boy.
Questions with ora. Dhèwèké seneng main bal ora? (16.24), “He likes football, or not?”, is a common way of asking a yes-no question, like apa at the start (Lesson 15).
Kaé and kuwi. Bocah anyar kaé (16.16), “that new boy (over there)”, uses the far demonstrative; Pak Guru anyar kuwi (16.28), “that new teacher (you mentioned)”, uses the middle one (Lesson 13).
Ngoko and krama words in the dialogue: anyar (krama énggal) “new”; bocah (lare) “child”; mbésuk (mbénjing) “later, some day”; mengko (mangké) “later”; kandhani (sanjangi) “tell”; iya (inggih) “yes”; manggon (manggèn, 16.14) “live”. Nduk (16.26) is the affectionate way to address a girl or daughter; for a boy, Le.
Mréné, “(to) here”, goes with verbs of coming: tindak mréné, “come here”; dolan mréné, “come round for a visit”. Dolan is to go out for pleasure, to visit friends or to play.
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The three e’s in one word. Dhèwèké has all the vowels that the accents mark: open è twice, close é once [ɖɛwɛke]. Dhéwé has two close é’s [ɖewe]. Panjenengan has two neutral e’s [panɟənəŋan]. Everyday writing prints all of these as plain e: dheweke, dhewe, panjenengan.
The vowel changes with the suffix. Close é before a final syllable often opens to è when a suffix is added: dhéwé → dhèwèké, gawé → gawèan, ganti → nggantèni (the i of the root becomes è before -i). The suffix -é itself is always close.
-é and -né. After a consonant, -é: jenengé, omahé, bapaké [bapaʔe]. After a vowel, -né: ibuné, garwané, kancané. Never *ibué.
Retroflex dh: dhèwèké, dhéwé, dhateng, adhiku, mundhak, sandhingé, with [ɖ]. Retroflex th in pinasthi [pinasʈi]. Curl the tongue tip back; a plain d or t changes the word.
Glottal k and g. Final k and g are both a glottal stop: numpak, tindak, mbésuk, wareg [warəʔ], ngrembug [ŋrəmbʊʔ], Nduk. Before a vowel suffix the k stays glottal: bapaké [bapaʔe], piyambakipun [pijambaʔipʊn].
a as [ɔ]. When a written a closes a word and the syllable before also has a, both are [ɔ]: Sala [sɔlɔ], lara [lɔrɔ], saka [sɔkɔ], sapa [sɔpɔ], saya [sɔjɔ]. Hence the familiar spelling Solo for the city whose standard Javanese spelling is Sala.
SMP is read as three letters, as in Indonesian: [ɛs ɛm pe], from Sekolah Menengah Pertama, “first middle school”.
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 16 Javanese complete — dhèwèké (he)
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