What is the Javanese for “this”?
English “this” points to something near the speaker: “this book”, “Who is this?”, “this morning”. Javanese has a word that does the same job, iki, and Lesson 13 has already set it beside kuwi, “that (near you)”, and kaé, “that (over there)”. This lesson looks at iki itself, and at the family of words built round the same nearness: “here”, “to here”, “like this”, “now”.
- Pointing: iki, “this, these”. Buku iki, “this book”; Iki buku, “This is a book.” In madya it is niki; in krama, menika (also written punika). - Here: kéné, “here” (krama ngriki); mréné, “to here, come here” (krama mriki). - Like this: ngéné or mengkéné, “like this, in this way” (krama mekaten). - Now and this time: saiki, “now” (krama sapunika); dina iki, “today”; taun iki, “this year”.
A demonstrative follows its noun, as Lesson 13 showed: buku iki is “this book”, literally “book this”. Placed first, iki is the subject of the sentence, and no verb “is” is needed: Iki buku, “This (is) a book.” Javanese makes no difference between singular and plural here: buku iki is “this book” or “these books”, as the context requires.
Etymology: iki comes down from Old Javanese, where it already meant “this”. It belongs with kéné, “here”, as kuwi belongs with kono and kaé with kana. Saiki, “now”, is commonly explained as sa-, “one, the same”, with iki: “this same (moment)”. Its krama, sapunika, is plainly sa- with punika.
Orthography: this course writes é for the close e, è for the open e and plain e for the neutral vowel (schwa). Everyday writing prints kene, mrene, ngene. Menika and punika are two spellings of one krama word, as Lesson 13 explained; this course uses menika.
FAQ: How do I say “this” in Javanese?
Q: How do I say “this book”? A: Buku iki. In krama: buku menika.
Q: How do I say “What is this?” A: Iki apa? In krama: Menika menapa?
Q: How do I say “this one”? A: Sing iki: Sing iki luwih murah, “This one is cheaper.”
Q: How do I say “today” and “this year”? A: Dina iki, taun iki. “Now” is saiki.
Q: How do I say “Come here” and “here”? A: Mréné! and kéné. In krama: mriki and ngriki.
Key Takeaways:
- “This” is iki (madya niki, krama menika or punika); it follows its noun: buku iki, “this book” - Before the rest of the sentence, iki is a subject with no verb “is”: Iki buku, “This is a book” - “This one” is sing iki; aku iki is an emphatic “I” - Iki makes time words: dina iki, “today”; taun iki, “this year”; and saiki is “now” - The “this” family: kéné, “here”; mréné, “to here”; ngéné, “like this”; krama ngriki, mriki, mekaten
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iki /iki/ — i-ki: both vowels close, as in “ski”. The k is a real k, because it does not end the word.
niki /niki/ — ni-ki: the same with n in front.
menika /mənikɔ/ — me-ni-ka: the first e is the neutral vowel of “about”; the final a is the open [ɔ] of British “hot”.
kéné /kene/ — ké-né: both e’s close, as in French “été”.
mréné /mrene/ — mré-né: m and r begin the word together, with no vowel between them.
ngéné /ŋene/ — ngé-né: begins with the ng of “singer”.
ngriki /ŋriki/ and mriki /mriki/ — the krama forms, both ending in -iki like iki itself.
mekaten /məkatən/ — me-ka-ten: neutral e twice, with a plain [a] in the middle.
saiki /saiki/ — sa-i-ki: three syllables; the a and i are said separately, not as the “ai” of “aisle”.
Final k is a glottal stop: apik [apɪʔ], pinarak [pinaraʔ], kok [kɔʔ].
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19.1a Iki this buku a-book
19.1b Iki /iki/ this.PROX buku /buku/ book
19.2a Buku book iki this apik good
19.2b Buku /buku/ book iki /iki/ this.PROX apik /apɪʔ/ good
19.3a Iki this sapa who
19.3b Iki /iki/ this.PROX sapa /sɔpɔ/ who
19.4a Menika this anak child kula my
19.4b Menika /mənikɔ/ this.KR anak /anaʔ/ child kula /kulɔ/ 1SG.KR
19.5a Mréné come-here lungguh sit kéné here
19.5b Mréné /mrene/ to.here.PROX lungguh /luŋɡʊh/ sit kéné /kene/ here.PROX
19.6a Dina day iki this aku I ora not mlebu go-into sekolah school
19.6b Dina /dinɔ/ day iki /iki/ this.PROX aku /aku/ 1SG ora /ɔrɔ/ NEG mlebu /mləbu/ enter sekolah /səkolah/ school
19.7a Omah house iki this wis already tuwa old banget very
19.7b Omah /omah/ house iki /iki/ this.PROX wis /wɪs/ PERF tuwa /tuwɔ/ old banget /baŋət/ very
19.8a Klambi shirt iki this regané the-price pira how-much
19.8b Klambi /klambi/ shirt iki /iki/ this.PROX regané /rəɡane/ price-DEF pira /pirɔ/ how.much
19.9a Mangga please pinarak sit-down ngriki here rumiyin first
19.9b Mangga /maŋɡɔ/ please.KR pinarak /pinaraʔ/ sit.KI ngriki /ŋriki/ here.PROX.KR rumiyin /rumijɪn/ first.KR
19.10a Delengen look carané the-way ngéné like-this
19.10b Delengen /dələŋən/ look-IMP carané /carane/ way-DEF ngéné /ŋene/ like.this.PROX
19.11a Sing the-one iki this luwih more murah cheap tinimbang than sing the-one kuwi that
19.11b Sing /sɪŋ/ REL iki /iki/ this.PROX luwih /luwɪh/ more murah /murah/ cheap tinimbang /tinimbaŋ/ than sing /sɪŋ/ REL kuwi /kuwi/ that.MED
19.12a Taun year iki this adhiku my-younger-brother wiwit begins sekolah school ing in Yogya Yogya
19.12b Taun /taʊn/ year iki /iki/ this.PROX adhiku /aɖiku/ younger.sibling-POSS.1SG wiwit /wiwɪt/ begin sekolah /səkolah/ school ing /ɪŋ/ at Yogya /jɔɡjɔ/ Yogyakarta
19.13a Aku I iki this mung only wong person cilik small ora not ngerti know apa-apa anything
19.13b Aku /aku/ 1SG iki /iki/ this.PROX mung /mʊŋ/ only wong /wɔŋ/ person cilik /cilɪʔ/ small ora /ɔrɔ/ NEG ngerti /ŋərti/ AV-know apa-apa /ɔpɔ ɔpɔ/ RED-what
19.14a Layang letter iki this kudu must dikirim be-sent saiki now uga also amarga because Ibu Mother wis already ngenteni waits-for-it
19.14b Layang /lajaŋ/ letter iki /iki/ this.PROX kudu /kudu/ must dikirim /dikirɪm/ PASS-send saiki /saiki/ now uga /uɡɔ/ also amarga /amarɡɔ/ because Ibu /ibu/ mother wis /wɪs/ PERF ngenteni /ŋəntəni/ AV-wait-APPL
19.15a Menapa have panjenengan you sampun already naté ever rawuh come ing to kitha town menika this
19.15b Menapa /mənɔpɔ/ Q.KR panjenengan /panɟənəŋan/ 2SG.KI sampun /sampʊn/ PERF.KR naté /nate/ ever rawuh /rawʊh/ come.KI ing /ɪŋ/ at kitha /kiʈɔ/ town.KR menika /mənikɔ/ this.KR
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19.1 Iki buku. → “This is a book.”
19.2 Buku iki apik. → “This book is good.”
19.3 Iki sapa? → “Who is this?”
19.4 Menika anak kula. → “This is my son.” (polite)
19.5 Mréné, lungguh kéné. → “Come here, sit here.”
19.6 Dina iki aku ora mlebu sekolah. → “I’m not going to school today.”
19.7 Omah iki wis tuwa banget. → “This house is very old.”
19.8 Klambi iki regané pira? → “How much is this shirt?”
19.9 Mangga, pinarak ngriki rumiyin. → “Please, do sit down here for a while.” (polite)
19.10 Delengen, carané ngéné. → “Look, this is how it’s done.”
19.11 Sing iki luwih murah tinimbang sing kuwi. → “This one is cheaper than that one.”
19.12 Taun iki adhiku wiwit sekolah ing Yogya. → “This year my little brother is starting school in Yogya.”
19.13 Aku iki mung wong cilik, ora ngerti apa-apa. → “I’m only an ordinary person; I don’t know anything about it.”
19.14 Layang iki kudu dikirim saiki uga, amarga Ibu wis ngenteni. → “This letter must be sent right now, because Mother is waiting for it.”
19.15 Menapa panjenengan sampun naté rawuh ing kitha menika? → “Have you ever been to this town before?” (polite)
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19.1 Iki buku.
19.2 Buku iki apik.
19.3 Iki sapa?
19.4 Menika anak kula.
19.5 Mréné, lungguh kéné.
19.6 Dina iki aku ora mlebu sekolah.
19.7 Omah iki wis tuwa banget.
19.8 Klambi iki regané pira?
19.9 Mangga, pinarak ngriki rumiyin.
19.10 Delengen, carané ngéné.
19.11 Sing iki luwih murah tinimbang sing kuwi.
19.12 Taun iki adhiku wiwit sekolah ing Yogya.
19.13 Aku iki mung wong cilik, ora ngerti apa-apa.
19.14 Layang iki kudu dikirim saiki uga, amarga Ibu wis ngenteni.
19.15 Menapa panjenengan sampun naté rawuh ing kitha menika?
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These are the grammar rules for iki, and for the words built round it, in Javanese:
1. The near demonstrative. Iki points to what is near the speaker. With kuwi (near the listener, or just mentioned) and kaé (away from both), it makes the three-way set of Lesson 13:
- iki — this (near me) — madya niki — krama menika - kuwi — that (near you) — madya niku — krama menika - kaé — that (over there) — madya nika — krama menika
In krama the three fall together into menika (punika): Menika anak kula (19.4) is “this is my son” because the boy is standing beside the speaker. (Anak, not the honorific putra: one does not use krama inggil of one’s own child.)
2. After the noun. Iki follows the noun it points to: buku iki, “this book” (19.2); omah iki (19.7); klambi iki (19.8); layang iki (19.14); kitha menika (19.15). Words that describe the noun come between: buku anyar iki, “this new book”.
3. Iki as subject. At the head of the sentence, iki stands alone and means “this (is)”; there is no verb: Iki buku (19.1); Iki sapa? (19.3). Compare: Buku iki apik, “This book is good” (19.2), where buku iki is the subject and apik the predicate. The order decides: iki buku is a sentence; buku iki is a phrase.
4. No plural. Iki does not change for number: klambi iki is “this shirt” or “these shirts”. Where it matters, the noun is doubled (klambi-klambi iki, “these shirts”) or a word like kabèh, “all”, is added.
5. Sing iki, “this one”. With the relative sing of Lesson 13, iki stands for a noun already in mind: Sing iki luwih murah tinimbang sing kuwi, “This one is cheaper than that one” (19.11). In krama: ingkang menika.
6. Iki after a pronoun. Aku iki, “I (here)”, gives the pronoun weight, often modest or rueful: Aku iki mung wong cilik, “I’m only an ordinary person” (19.13). Lesson 13 showed kuwi closing a long subject; iki can do the same for what is near or present.
7. Time. Iki after a time word means “this, the present one”: dina iki, “today” (19.6); taun iki, “this year” (19.12); ésuk iki, “this morning” (Lesson 18); dalu menika, “tonight” in krama (19.28). Saiki, “now”, belongs with iki (19.14, 19.16); saiki uga, “right now, at once” (19.14). Its krama is sapunika (19.30).
8. Here and to here. The place word of iki is kéné, “here”; the direction word is mréné, “(to) here”: Mréné, lungguh kéné, “Come here, sit here” (19.5). Their krama are ngriki and mriki (19.9, 19.23, 19.26). The same pattern runs through the other two distances:
- kéné, here — mréné, to here — krama ngriki, mriki - kono, there (near you) — mrono, to there — krama ngriku, mriku - kana, over there — mrana, to over there — krama ngrika, mrika
Javanese measures “come” and “go” from the speaker: the mother at home says Bapak arep mrana, “Father will go there”, of a trip to her son (19.27); the son says Bapak saged mriki?, “Can Father come here?” (19.26).
9. Like this. Ngéné (also mengkéné) means “like this, in this way”: Delengen, carané ngéné, “Look, the way is like this” (19.10); Ngéné iki apik, “This is good, (doing it) this way” (19.22). Its partners are ngono, “like that”, and the literary mangkono of Section F. In krama all of them are mekaten (in madya ngaten). In the same family, semené means “this much, this big” (krama semanten).
10. The speech levels. The whole sentence moves together: Iki sapa? becomes Menika sinten?; buku iki becomes buku menika; kéné becomes ngriki; saiki becomes sapunika. Niki, the madya form, is heard in shops and between people who are polite but not formal; this course does not use it in the examples.
Common Mistakes:
- Putting iki before the noun for “this book”: *iki buku means “this is a book”. Correct: buku iki. - Looking for a plural “these”: there is none. Klambi iki is “this shirt” or “these shirts”. - Using iki for something near the listener: point to the other person’s bag with kuwi, not iki: tasmu kuwi, “that bag of yours”. - Using mréné for movement away from the speaker: “Father will go there” is Bapak arep mrana, not *mréné. - Mixing levels: *Buku iki kagungan panjenengan?, “Is this book yours?”, puts ngoko iki beside the honorific kagungan. Correct: Buku menika kagungan panjenengan? - Writing kene, mrene, ngene without the accents in this course’s spelling: kéné, mréné, ngéné.
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Pointing politely. Iki and its family are pointing words, and in Java the way one points matters as much as the word. Pointing at a person or at an elder’s belongings with the forefinger is rude. The polite gesture is the right thumb, held forward with the fingers folded: Menika griya kula, “this is my house”, is said with the thumb, not the finger. The left hand is never used to point, to give or to receive.
Mangga pinarak. Sentence 19.9 is the first thing a Javanese host says to a guest at the door: Mangga, pinarak, “Please, come in, sit down”. Pinarak is krama inggil, used only of the honoured guest, never of oneself; ngriki, “here”, shows the place; rumiyin, “first, for a while”, softens the invitation, so that the guest need not feel hurried.
Aku iki mung wong cilik. Wong cilik, literally “small people”, means ordinary people, the common folk, as opposed to the priyayi, the old official class. To call oneself wong cilik (19.13) is a modest disclaimer, much used in conversation and in politics, often with a touch of irony.
Iki lho! Spoken Javanese adds particles to iki: Iki lho, “Here, look!”; Iki apa ta?, “What on earth is this?” In Central and East Java, iki is often clipped to ki in fast speech, and some western dialects (Banyumas) say kiye. The written language and this course keep iki.
The kos. The dialogue below takes place between a mother and her son, who has gone to study in Yogyakarta. Yogya is the city of students, and many students live in a kos, a rented room in a boarding house, often near the campus and run by a family.
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Luke 22:19–20 (from verse 19, the words of Jesus), from the Javanese Bible of the Lembaga Alkitab Indonesia (version “Jawa”), as published by alkitab.mobi. The published text omits accents; this course adds those the verses need, in kaparingaké, kowé, tuwungé, sawisé, pangandikané and kawutahaké. At the Last Supper, Jesus takes the bread, gives thanks, breaks it and gives it to the apostles; then he takes the cup. The words of institution are built on iki.
F.1a Iki this badanKu is-my-body kang which kaparingaké is-given marga for saka from kowé you
F.1b Iki /iki/ this.PROX badanKu /badaŋku/ body-POSS.1SG kang /kaŋ/ REL kaparingaké /kapariŋake/ PASS-give.KI-CAUS marga /marɡɔ/ because saka /sɔkɔ/ from kowé /kowe/ 2SG
F.2a Iki this tindakna do minangka as pangeling-eling a-remembrance marang to Aku me
F.2b Iki /iki/ this.PROX tindakna /tindaʔnɔ/ do-IMP minangka /minaŋkɔ/ as pangeling-eling /paŋəlɪŋ əlɪŋ/ NMLZ-RED-remember marang /maraŋ/ to Aku /aku/ 1SG
F.3a Mangkono likewise uga also tuwungé the-cup sawisé after dhaharan the-meal pangandikané his-words
F.3b Mangkono /maŋkono/ like.that uga /uɡɔ/ also tuwungé /tuwuŋe/ cup-DEF sawisé /sawise/ after dhaharan /ɖaharan/ meal.KI pangandikané /paŋandikane/ word.KI-POSS.3
F.4a Tuwung cup iki this prajanjian covenant anyar new kang which sarana by-means-of getihKu my-blood kang which kawutahaké is-poured-out marga for saka from kowé you
F.4b Tuwung /tuwʊŋ/ cup iki /iki/ this.PROX prajanjian /praɟanɟian/ covenant anyar /aɲar/ new kang /kaŋ/ REL sarana /sarɔnɔ/ means getihKu /ɡətɪhku/ blood-POSS.1SG kang /kaŋ/ REL kawutahaké /kawutahake/ PASS-spill-CAUS marga /marɡɔ/ because saka /sɔkɔ/ from kowé /kowe/ 2SG
“Iki badanKu kang kaparingaké marga saka kowé. Iki tindakna minangka pangeling-eling marang Aku.” Mangkono uga tuwungé sawisé dhaharan, pangandikané: “Tuwung iki prajanjian anyar kang sarana getihKu, kang kawutahaké marga saka kowé!”
“This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after the meal, saying: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you!”
“Iki badanKu kang kaparingaké marga saka kowé. Iki tindakna minangka pangeling-eling marang Aku.” Mangkono uga tuwungé sawisé dhaharan, pangandikané: “Tuwung iki prajanjian anyar kang sarana getihKu, kang kawutahaké marga saka kowé!”
The two verses use iki in three of the ways taught in this lesson. Iki badanKu, “This (is) my body”, is iki as the subject of a sentence without a verb (Section D, rule 3), exactly like Iki buku (19.1). Iki tindakna, “Do this”, puts iki before the verb as the thing to be done: Javanese often brings the object to the front, and the imperative tindakna, “carry (it) out, do”, with the -na of Lesson 17’s tukokna and Lesson 18’s selèhna, follows it. Tuwung iki, “this cup”, is iki after its noun (rule 2), and the whole phrase is again the subject of a sentence without a verb: Tuwung iki prajanjian anyar, “This cup (is) the new covenant”.
Mangkono, “likewise, in that way”, is the literary partner of ngono, “like that”, the far member of the ngéné set (rule 9): here it looks back to what Jesus did with the bread.
The text mixes speech levels with care. Jesus speaks ngoko to his disciples (kowé, Aku, iki), as a master to those close to him. The narrator speaks of Jesus in krama inggil: dhaharan, “meal”, is the honorific of mangan; pangandikané, “his words, he said”, is built on ngandika, the krama inggil of “say”; kaparingaké, “is given”, is the ka- passive of paring, the krama inggil of “give”. The capitals of badanKu, getihKu and Aku mark the divine speaker, as English Bibles once wrote “My” and “Me”.
Kang is the literary sing (Lesson 13): badanKu kang kaparingaké, “my body which is given”. Marga saka, literally “because of, from”, means “for, for the sake of”. Kawutahaké, “is poured out”, is the ka- passive with -aké on wutah, “spilt”. Pangeling-eling, “remembrance”, is the doubled eling, “remember”, with the prefix pa-: “a reminder, a memorial”.
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Adi has just gone to study in Yogyakarta, and his mother writes to him from home by phone message. The people are invented for the lesson. The mother writes ngoko to her son and calls him Di; he answers her in krama.
19.16a Ibu Mother Di Adi piyé how-is kosmu your-room Kirimen send fotoné a-photo saiki now
19.16b Ibu /ibu/ mother Di /di/ Adi.VOC piyé /pije/ how kosmu /kɔsmu/ lodging-POSS.2SG Kirimen /kirimən/ send-IMP fotoné /fotone/ photo-DEF saiki /saiki/ now
19.17a Adi Adi Menika this-is fotonipun the-photo Bu Mum Kamar room kula my alit small nanging but resik clean
19.17b Adi /adi/ Adi Menika /mənikɔ/ this.KR fotonipun /fotonipʊn/ photo-DEF.KR Bu /bu/ mother.VOC Kamar /kamar/ room kula /kulɔ/ 1SG.KR alit /alɪt/ small.KR nanging /naŋɪŋ/ but resik /rəsɪʔ/ clean
19.18a Ibu Mother Sing the-one iki this kasurmu your-bed Kok why cilik small banget very
19.18b Ibu /ibu/ mother Sing /sɪŋ/ REL iki /iki/ this.PROX kasurmu /kasʊrmu/ mattress-POSS.2SG Kok /kɔʔ/ PTCL cilik /cilɪʔ/ small banget /baŋət/ very
19.19a Adi Adi Inggih yes Bu Mum Nanging but kasur bed menika this cekap enough kanggé for kula me
19.19b Adi /adi/ Adi Inggih /iŋɡɪh/ yes.KR Bu /bu/ mother.VOC Nanging /naŋɪŋ/ but kasur /kasʊr/ mattress menika /mənikɔ/ this.KR cekap /cəkap/ enough.KR kanggé /kaŋɡe/ for.KR kula /kulɔ/ 1SG.KR
19.20a Ibu Mother Lha and iki this apa what sing which ana is ing at ndhuwur top méja table
19.20b Ibu /ibu/ mother Lha /la/ PTCL iki /iki/ this.PROX apa /ɔpɔ/ what sing /sɪŋ/ REL ana /ɔnɔ/ EXIST ing /ɪŋ/ at ndhuwur /nɖuwʊr/ top méja /meɟɔ/ table
19.21a Adi Adi Menika this-is kompor a-stove alit small Bu Mum Kula I badhé am-going-to masak cook piyambak myself
19.21b Adi /adi/ Adi Menika /mənikɔ/ this.KR kompor /kɔmpɔr/ stove alit /alɪt/ small.KR Bu /bu/ mother.VOC Kula /kulɔ/ 1SG.KR badhé /baɖe/ FUT.KR masak /masaʔ/ cook piyambak /pijambaʔ/ self.KR
19.22a Ibu Mother Ngéné like-this iki this apik is-good Masak cooking dhéwé yourself luwih more irit economical tinimbang than tuku buying ing at warung a-food-stall
19.22b Ibu /ibu/ mother Ngéné /ŋene/ like.this.PROX iki /iki/ this.PROX apik /apɪʔ/ good Masak /masaʔ/ cook dhéwé /ɖewe/ self luwih /luwɪh/ more irit /irɪt/ economical tinimbang /tinimbaŋ/ than tuku /tuku/ buy ing /ɪŋ/ at warung /warʊŋ/ food.stall
19.23a Adi Adi Kampus campus kula my saking from ngriki here namung only sepuluh ten menit minutes mlampah walking
19.23b Adi /adi/ Adi Kampus /kampʊs/ campus kula /kulɔ/ 1SG.KR saking /sakɪŋ/ from.KR ngriki /ŋriki/ here.PROX.KR namung /namʊŋ/ only.KR sepuluh /səpuluh/ ten menit /mənɪt/ minute mlampah /mlampah/ walk.KR
19.24a Ibu Mother Dina day iki this kowé you wis already mangan eaten durung not-yet
19.24b Ibu /ibu/ mother Dina /dinɔ/ day iki /iki/ this.PROX kowé /kowe/ 2SG wis /wɪs/ PERF mangan /maŋan/ eat durung /durʊŋ/ not.yet
19.25a Adi Adi Sampun already Bu Mum Wau earlier énjing morning kula I nedha ate sekul rice pecel pecel ing at ngajeng front kos lodging menika this
19.25b Adi /adi/ Adi Sampun /sampʊn/ PERF.KR Bu /bu/ mother.VOC Wau /wau/ earlier.KR énjing /eɲɟɪŋ/ morning.KR kula /kulɔ/ 1SG.KR nedha /nəɖɔ/ eat.KR sekul /səkʊl/ rice.KR pecel /pəcəl/ pecel ing /ɪŋ/ at ngajeng /ŋajəŋ/ front.KR kos /kɔs/ lodging menika /mənikɔ/ this.KR
19.26a Adi Adi Bu Mum Sabtu Saturday menika this Bapak Father saged can mriki come-here
19.26b Adi /adi/ Adi Bu /bu/ mother.VOC Sabtu /saptu/ Saturday menika /mənikɔ/ this.KR Bapak /bapaʔ/ father saged /saɡət/ can.KR mriki /mriki/ to.here.PROX.KR
19.27a Ibu Mother Iya yes Sabtu Saturday iki this Bapak Father arep will mrana go-there nggawa bringing beras rice lan and sambel chilli-sauce saka from omah home
19.27b Ibu /ibu/ mother Iya /ijɔ/ yes Sabtu /saptu/ Saturday iki /iki/ this.PROX Bapak /bapaʔ/ father arep /arəp/ FUT mrana /mrɔnɔ/ to.there.DIST nggawa /ŋɡɔwɔ/ AV-carry beras /bəras/ uncooked.rice lan /lan/ and sambel /sambəl/ chilli.sauce saka /sɔkɔ/ from omah /omah/ house
19.28a Adi Adi Matur say nuwun thanks Bu Mum Dalu night menika this kula I badhé will nelpon phone Ibu Mother malih again
19.28b Adi /adi/ Adi Matur /matʊr/ say.HUM nuwun /nuwʊn/ request.KR Bu /bu/ mother.VOC Dalu /dalu/ night.KR menika /mənikɔ/ this.KR kula /kulɔ/ 1SG.KR badhé /baɖe/ FUT.KR nelpon /nəlpɔn/ AV-telephone Ibu /ibu/ mother malih /malɪh/ again.KR
19.29a Ibu Mother Iya yes Sinau study sing in-a-way-that-is sregep diligent ya OK Di Adi Iki this kesempatanmu is-your-chance
19.29b Ibu /ibu/ mother Iya /ijɔ/ yes Sinau /sinau/ study sing /sɪŋ/ REL sregep /srəɡəp/ diligent ya /jɔ/ PTCL Di /di/ Adi.VOC Iki /iki/ this.PROX kesempatanmu /kəsəmpatanmu/ opportunity-POSS.2SG
19.30a Adi Adi Inggih yes Bu Mum Sapunika now kula I badhé am-going dhateng to kampus campus
19.30b Adi /adi/ Adi Inggih /iŋɡɪh/ yes.KR Bu /bu/ mother.VOC Sapunika /sapunikɔ/ now.KR kula /kulɔ/ 1SG.KR badhé /baɖe/ FUT.KR dhateng /ɖatəŋ/ to.KR kampus /kampʊs/ campus
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19.16 Ibu: “Di, piyé kosmu? Kirimen fotoné saiki.” → Mother: “Adi, how’s your room? Send me a photo now.”
19.17 Adi: “Menika fotonipun, Bu. Kamar kula alit, nanging resik.” → Adi: “Here’s the photo, Mum. My room is small, but clean.”
19.18 Ibu: “Sing iki kasurmu? Kok cilik banget.” → Mother: “Is this one your bed? It’s so small!”
19.19 Adi: “Inggih, Bu. Nanging kasur menika cekap kanggé kula.” → Adi: “Yes, Mum. But this bed is enough for me.”
19.20 Ibu: “Lha iki apa, sing ana ing ndhuwur méja?” → Mother: “And what’s this, on the table?”
19.21 Adi: “Menika kompor alit, Bu. Kula badhé masak piyambak.” → Adi: “That’s a little stove, Mum. I’m going to cook for myself.”
19.22 Ibu: “Ngéné iki apik. Masak dhéwé luwih irit tinimbang tuku ing warung.” → Mother: “That’s good. Cooking for yourself is cheaper than buying at a warung.”
19.23 Adi: “Kampus kula saking ngriki namung sepuluh menit mlampah.” → Adi: “My campus is only ten minutes’ walk from here.”
19.24 Ibu: “Dina iki kowé wis mangan durung?” → Mother: “Have you eaten today?”
19.25 Adi: “Sampun, Bu. Wau énjing kula nedha sekul pecel ing ngajeng kos menika.” → Adi: “Yes, Mum. This morning I had rice with pecel in front of this boarding house.”
19.26 Adi: “Bu, Sabtu menika Bapak saged mriki?” → Adi: “Mum, can Father come here this Saturday?”
19.27 Ibu: “Iya, Sabtu iki Bapak arep mrana nggawa beras lan sambel saka omah.” → Mother: “Yes, this Saturday Father will come over to you with rice and chilli sauce from home.”
19.28 Adi: “Matur nuwun, Bu. Dalu menika kula badhé nelpon Ibu malih.” → Adi: “Thank you, Mum. I’ll ring you again tonight.”
19.29 Ibu: “Iya. Sinau sing sregep ya, Di. Iki kesempatanmu.” → Mother: “All right. Study hard, Adi. This is your chance.”
19.30 Adi: “Inggih, Bu. Sapunika kula badhé dhateng kampus.” → Adi: “Yes, Mum. I’m off to campus now.”
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Kos Anyar
19.16 Ibu: “Di, piyé kosmu? Kirimen fotoné saiki.”
19.17 Adi: “Menika fotonipun, Bu. Kamar kula alit, nanging resik.”
19.18 Ibu: “Sing iki kasurmu? Kok cilik banget.”
19.19 Adi: “Inggih, Bu. Nanging kasur menika cekap kanggé kula.”
19.20 Ibu: “Lha iki apa, sing ana ing ndhuwur méja?”
19.21 Adi: “Menika kompor alit, Bu. Kula badhé masak piyambak.”
19.22 Ibu: “Ngéné iki apik. Masak dhéwé luwih irit tinimbang tuku ing warung.”
19.23 Adi: “Kampus kula saking ngriki namung sepuluh menit mlampah.”
19.24 Ibu: “Dina iki kowé wis mangan durung?”
19.25 Adi: “Sampun, Bu. Wau énjing kula nedha sekul pecel ing ngajeng kos menika.”
19.26 Adi: “Bu, Sabtu menika Bapak saged mriki?”
19.27 Ibu: “Iya, Sabtu iki Bapak arep mrana nggawa beras lan sambel saka omah.”
19.28 Adi: “Matur nuwun, Bu. Dalu menika kula badhé nelpon Ibu malih.”
19.29 Ibu: “Iya. Sinau sing sregep ya, Di. Iki kesempatanmu.”
19.30 Adi: “Inggih, Bu. Sapunika kula badhé dhateng kampus.”
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Iki and menika side by side. The mother says iki (19.18, 19.20, 19.24, 19.27, 19.29); her son, writing up to his mother, says menika for the same thing (19.17, 19.19, 19.21, 19.25, 19.26, 19.28). As in Lesson 18, the level follows the listener, not the thing.
Menika at the head of a sentence. Menika fotonipun, “Here is the photo, this is the photo” (19.17); Menika kompor alit, “That is a small stove” (19.21). The mother has pointed to the stove in the photo, so in English it is “that”; in krama the one word menika serves (Section D, rule 1).
Here and there. The son is in Yogya and writes saking ngriki, “from here” (19.23), and asks whether his father can come mriki, “here” (19.26). His mother, at home, answers that Father will go mrana, “there” (19.27): the same journey is mriki for one and mrana for the other.
Ngéné iki, “like this”. Ngéné iki apik (19.22): ngéné with iki is a common spoken pair, “this, the way things are now”. Here it means “What you are doing is good.”
Wis … durung?, “… yet or not?” Kowé wis mangan durung? (19.24), literally “you already eaten not-yet?”, is the everyday way to ask whether something has happened. It is also a greeting, much like “How are you?”
Sabtu iki and Sabtu menika. Like dina iki, the name of a day with iki means “this coming (day)”: Sabtu iki, “this Saturday” (19.26, 19.27). Dalu menika, “tonight” (19.28), is the krama of bengi iki.
Sapunika, “now” (19.30): the krama of saiki, as sa- with punika (Section D, rule 7).
Krama words in this dialogue: alit (cilik, “small”), cekap (cukup, “enough”), kanggé (kanggo, “for”), badhé (arep, “will”), piyambak (dhéwé, “oneself”), saking (saka, “from”), namung (mung, “only”), mlampah (mlaku, “walk”), wau énjing (mau ésuk, “this morning”), nedha (mangan, “eat”, of oneself), sekul (sega, “cooked rice”), ngajeng (ngarep, “front”), saged (bisa, “can”), dalu (bengi, “night”), malih (manèh, “again”), dhateng (menyang, “to”).
Other words: kos, “boarding room”; kirimen, “send (it)!”, the imperative of kirim; kamar, “room”; kompor, “stove”; irit, “economical”; warung, “food stall”; pecel, vegetables with peanut sauce; beras, “uncooked rice”; sambel, “chilli sauce”; nelpon, “telephone”; sinau, “study”; sregep, “diligent”; kesempatan, “opportunity”; Kok …!, surprise; Lha, “and, well then”.
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Iki. Two close i’s, [iki], with a full k between them. At the end of a word k becomes a glottal stop, but iki ends in a vowel, so the k is heard in full. The same is true of niki, ngriki, mriki and saiki.
Kéné, mréné, ngéné. All three have two close é’s, as in French “été”: [kene], [mrene], [ŋene]. The open è of Senèn or kabèh does not occur in them. In mréné the m and r begin the word together; do not put a vowel between them.
The a of the krama words. A word-final a is [ɔ], and so is an a in the open syllable before it: menika [mənikɔ], menapa [mənɔpɔ], sapa [sɔpɔ], mrana [mrɔnɔ]. Where the last syllable is closed, a stays [a]: mekaten [məkatən], sapunika keeps its first [a] because the a is not next to the final one: [sapunikɔ].
The three e’s. é /e/ is close (kéné, regané, carané, naté, badhé, énjing), è /ɛ/ is open, and plain e is the neutral vowel /ə/ (menika, mekaten, sekolah, banget, resik, sregep). Everyday writing prints them all as e.
Final k and g. A glottal stop: apik [apɪʔ], cilik [cilɪʔ], pinarak [pinaraʔ], masak [masaʔ], kok [kɔʔ].
Sabtu is pronounced [saptu]: the b before t loses its voice.
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 19 Javanese complete — iki (this)
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