What is the Javanese for “we”?
English “we” is the speaker together with other people: “We are eating”, “We are from Solo”, “Let’s go home”. English has one word, and it changes to “us” and “our”. Javanese has several words for “we”, and chooses between them by speech level and by whether the person spoken to is included. None of them changes for “us” or “our”.
- Awaké dhéwé is the everyday ngoko “we”. It is built from awak, “body”, with -é and dhéwé, “self”: “our own selves”. It normally includes the person spoken to. Lessons 12, 15 and 20 have already used it: Awaké dhéwé kudu mangkat saiki, “We must set off now.” - Kita is “we” including the listener. It was borrowed from Malay, the parent of Indonesian, and it is at home in writing, in speeches, in the Bible and in polite speech. Lesson 2 used it: Omah kita iku gedhé, “Our house is big.” - Kula sedaya, “all of us (humbly)”, is the krama “we” that leaves the listener out: Kula sedaya saking Solo, “We are from Solo.” Older and literary krama has kawula sadaya and dalem sadaya. - Aku lan …, “… and I”, is the plain ngoko way to say “we” without the listener: Aku lan Bapak wis mangan, “Father and I have eaten.”
Javanese pronouns do not mark number. Kita kabèh is “we all”, with kabèh, “all”; in krama sedaya does the same work. In prayer the humble kawula serves for “I” and “we” alike.
Etymology: awak is “body”, and the same pattern gives awakmu dhéwé, “yourself” (Lesson 14). Kita comes from Malay, and it is the same word as Indonesian kita. Javanese has no native suffix for “our”: -ku is only “my”.
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 awake dhewe without accents. Do not confuse dhéwé, “self”, with dhèwèké, “he, she” (Lesson 16).
FAQ: How do I say “we” in Javanese?
Q: How do I say “we” to friends? A: Awaké dhéwé: Awaké dhéwé mangan, “We’re eating.”
Q: How do I say “our”? A: Put kita after the noun: omah kita, “our house”. Do not use -ku.
Q: How do I say “let’s go home”? A: Ayo awaké dhéwé mulih, or simply Ayo mulih.
Q: How do I say “we” politely, about my own group? A: Kula sedaya: Kula sedaya sampun nedha, “We have all eaten.”
Q: How do I say “us”? A: The same word: Mbah Putri ngenteni kita, “Grandma is waiting for us.”
Key Takeaways:
- Awaké dhéwé is the everyday ngoko “we”, normally including the listener - Kita is “we” including the listener, more formal and written; it is also “our” after a noun: omah kita - Kula sedaya is the krama “we” for one’s own group, leaving the listener out - No case change: “we”, “us” and “our” are one form - Padha before the verb marks that several people act: awaké dhéwé padha sinau, “we’re all studying”
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awaké dhéwé /awaʔe ɖewe/ — a-wa-ké dhé-wé: the k before -é is a glottal stop; dh is the retroflex d, with the tongue tip curled back; all three é’s are close, as in French “été”.
kita /kitɔ/ — ki-ta: the final a is the open [ɔ] of British “hot”.
kabèh /kabɛh/ — ka-bèh: an open è, as in “bed”, and a breathed h at the end.
kula /kulɔ/ — ku-la: the final a is [ɔ].
sedaya /sədɔjɔ/ — se-da-ya: the first e is the neutral vowel of “about”; both a’s are [ɔ].
kawula /kawulɔ/ — ka-wu-la.
padha /pɔɖɔ/ — pa-dha: both a’s are [ɔ]; dh is retroflex.
ayo /ajo/ — a-yo: “let’s”.
Final k is a glottal stop: cedhak [cəɖaʔ], Bapak [bapaʔ], and also before a suffix: awaké [awaʔe].
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21.1a Awaké our-body dhéwé self mangan eat
21.1b Awaké /awaʔe/ body-DEF dhéwé /ɖewe/ self mangan /maŋan/ eat
21.2a Kita we kabèh all seneng happy
21.2b Kita /kitɔ/ 1PL.INCL kabèh /kabɛh/ all seneng /sənəŋ/ happy
21.3a Ayo let’s awaké our-body dhéwé self mulih go-home
21.3b Ayo /ajo/ HORT awaké /awaʔe/ body-DEF dhéwé /ɖewe/ self mulih /mulɪh/ go.home
21.4a Omah house kita our cedhak near
21.4b Omah /omah/ house kita /kitɔ/ 1PL.INCL cedhak /cəɖaʔ/ near
21.5a Kula I sedaya all saking from Solo Solo
21.5b Kula /kulɔ/ 1.KR sedaya /sədɔjɔ/ all.KR saking /sakɪŋ/ from.KR Solo /solo/ Surakarta
21.6a Awaké our-body dhéwé self padha all sinau study basa language Jawa Javanese
21.6b Awaké /awaʔe/ body-DEF dhéwé /ɖewe/ self padha /pɔɖɔ/ PL sinau /sinau/ study basa /bɔsɔ/ language Jawa /ɟɔwɔ/ Java
21.7a Sésuk tomorrow awaké our-body dhéwé self arep will menyang go-to pasar the-market
21.7b Sésuk /sesʊʔ/ tomorrow awaké /awaʔe/ body-DEF dhéwé /ɖewe/ self arep /arəp/ FUT menyang /məɲaŋ/ to pasar /pasar/ market
21.8a Bu Mrs Guru teacher ngajari teaches kita us nembang to-sing
21.8b Bu /bu/ mother.HON Guru /ɡuru/ teacher ngajari /ŋaɟari/ AV-teach-APPL kita /kitɔ/ 1PL.INCL nembang /nəmbaŋ/ AV-sing
21.9a Awaké our-body dhéwé self durung not-yet mangan eaten mula so saiki now ngelih hungry
21.9b Awaké /awaʔe/ body-DEF dhéwé /ɖewe/ self durung /durʊŋ/ not.yet mangan /maŋan/ eat mula /mulɔ/ so saiki /saiki/ now ngelih /ŋəlɪh/ hungry
21.10a Mbah Grand- Putri -mother tansah always ngenteni waits-for kita us ing at ngarep front omah house
21.10b Mbah /mbah/ grandparent Putri /putri/ female tansah /tansah/ always ngenteni /ŋəntəni/ AV-wait-APPL kita /kitɔ/ 1PL.INCL ing /ɪŋ/ at ngarep /ŋarəp/ front omah /omah/ house
21.11a Awaké our-body dhéwé self padha all ora not ngerti know dalané the-way mula so takon asked marang to bakul a-stallholder ing at pinggir edge dalan road
21.11b Awaké /awaʔe/ body-DEF dhéwé /ɖewe/ self padha /pɔɖɔ/ PL ora /ɔrɔ/ NEG ngerti /ŋərti/ AV-know dalané /dalane/ road-DEF mula /mulɔ/ so takon /takɔn/ ask marang /maraŋ/ to bakul /bakʊl/ vendor ing /ɪŋ/ at pinggir /pɪŋɡɪr/ edge dalan /dalan/ road
21.12a Aku I lan and Bapak Father wis already mangan eaten nanging but kowé you durung not-yet
21.12b Aku /aku/ 1SG lan /lan/ and Bapak /bapaʔ/ father wis /wɪs/ PERF mangan /maŋan/ eat nanging /naŋɪŋ/ but kowé /kowe/ 2SG durung /durʊŋ/ not.yet
21.13a Sanajan although désa village kita our adoh far awaké our-body dhéwé self tetep still mulih go-home saben every Lebaran Lebaran
21.13b Sanajan /sanaɟan/ although désa /desɔ/ village kita /kitɔ/ 1PL.INCL adoh /adɔh/ far awaké /awaʔe/ body-DEF dhéwé /ɖewe/ self tetep /tətəp/ remain mulih /mulɪh/ go.home saben /sabən/ every Lebaran /ləbaran/ Eid.al-Fitr
21.14a Matur say nuwun thanks Bu madam kula I sedaya all sampun already nedha eaten
21.14b Matur /matʊr/ say.HUM nuwun /nuwʊn/ request.KR Bu /bu/ mother.VOC kula /kulɔ/ 1.KR sedaya /sədɔjɔ/ all.KR sampun /sampʊn/ PERF.KR nedha /nəɖɔ/ eat.KR
21.15a Pak Mr Guru teacher ngendika said yèn that sésuk tomorrow kita we kabèh all kudu must teka come ésuk-ésuk early amarga because bis the-bus sing that nggawa takes awaké our-body dhéwé self menyang to Borobudur Borobudur mangkat leaves jam hour pitu seven
21.15b Pak /paʔ/ father.HON Guru /ɡuru/ teacher ngendika /ŋəndikɔ/ say.KI yèn /jɛn/ COMP sésuk /sesʊʔ/ tomorrow kita /kitɔ/ 1PL.INCL kabèh /kabɛh/ all kudu /kudu/ must teka /təkɔ/ come ésuk-ésuk /esʊʔ esʊʔ/ RED-morning amarga /amarɡɔ/ because bis /bɪs/ bus sing /sɪŋ/ REL nggawa /ŋɡɔwɔ/ AV-carry awaké /awaʔe/ body-DEF dhéwé /ɖewe/ self menyang /məɲaŋ/ to Borobudur /borobudur/ Borobudur mangkat /maŋkat/ depart jam /ɟam/ hour pitu /pitu/ seven
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21.1 Awaké dhéwé mangan. → “We’re eating.”
21.2 Kita kabèh seneng. → “We are all happy.”
21.3 Ayo awaké dhéwé mulih. → “Let’s go home.”
21.4 Omah kita cedhak. → “Our house is near.”
21.5 Kula sedaya saking Solo. → “We are from Solo.” (polite)
21.6 Awaké dhéwé padha sinau basa Jawa. → “We are all learning Javanese.”
21.7 Sésuk awaké dhéwé arep menyang pasar. → “Tomorrow we’re going to the market.”
21.8 Bu Guru ngajari kita nembang. → “Our teacher teaches us to sing.”
21.9 Awaké dhéwé durung mangan, mula saiki ngelih. → “We haven’t eaten yet, so now we’re hungry.”
21.10 Mbah Putri tansah ngenteni kita ing ngarep omah. → “Grandma always waits for us in front of the house.”
21.11 Awaké dhéwé padha ora ngerti dalané, mula takon marang bakul ing pinggir dalan. → “None of us knew the way, so we asked a stallholder at the roadside.”
21.12 Aku lan Bapak wis mangan, nanging kowé durung. → “Father and I have eaten, but you haven’t yet.”
21.13 Sanajan désa kita adoh, awaké dhéwé tetep mulih saben Lebaran. → “Although our village is far away, we still go home every Lebaran.”
21.14 Matur nuwun, Bu, kula sedaya sampun nedha. → “Thank you, madam, we have all eaten already.” (polite)
21.15 Pak Guru ngendika yèn sésuk kita kabèh kudu teka ésuk-ésuk, amarga bis sing nggawa awaké dhéwé menyang Borobudur mangkat jam pitu. → “The teacher said we must all come early tomorrow, because the bus taking us to Borobudur leaves at seven.”
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21.1 Awaké dhéwé mangan.
21.2 Kita kabèh seneng.
21.3 Ayo awaké dhéwé mulih.
21.4 Omah kita cedhak.
21.5 Kula sedaya saking Solo.
21.6 Awaké dhéwé padha sinau basa Jawa.
21.7 Sésuk awaké dhéwé arep menyang pasar.
21.8 Bu Guru ngajari kita nembang.
21.9 Awaké dhéwé durung mangan, mula saiki ngelih.
21.10 Mbah Putri tansah ngenteni kita ing ngarep omah.
21.11 Awaké dhéwé padha ora ngerti dalané, mula takon marang bakul ing pinggir dalan.
21.12 Aku lan Bapak wis mangan, nanging kowé durung.
21.13 Sanajan désa kita adoh, awaké dhéwé tetep mulih saben Lebaran.
21.14 Matur nuwun, Bu, kula sedaya sampun nedha.
21.15 Pak Guru ngendika yèn sésuk kita kabèh kudu teka ésuk-ésuk, amarga bis sing nggawa awaké dhéwé menyang Borobudur mangkat jam pitu.
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These are the grammar rules for awaké dhéwé, kita and the other words for “we” in Javanese:
1. Position. A word for “we” stands where aku stands: before the verb as subject, Awaké dhéwé mangan, “We’re eating” (21.1); after it as object, with no change of form, Bu Guru ngajari kita nembang, “Our teacher teaches us to sing” (21.8); after a preposition, marang kita, “to us”, kanggo awaké dhéwé, “for us” (F.1, 21.22). English “we”, “us” and “our” are one Javanese word.
2. “Our”. Javanese has no suffix for “our”. The possessive -ku is only “my”: omahku is “my house”. For “our”, put kita after the noun: omah kita, “our house” (21.4); désa kita, “our village” (21.13); dosa kita, “our sins” (F.3).
3. Awaké dhéwé or kita? In ngoko conversation awaké dhéwé is the usual word (21.1, 21.3, 21.9). Kita is more formal and more written, and it is the word of speeches, notices and the Bible (F.1–F.3). In practice speakers mix them, often in one breath: kita for “our” and in kita kabèh, awaké dhéwé as the subject of a verb (21.13, 21.15).
4. Including the listener or not. Awaké dhéwé and kita normally include the person spoken to, like “we, you and I”. To leave the listener out, ngoko names the people: Aku lan Bapak wis mangan, nanging kowé durung, “Father and I have eaten, but you haven’t” (21.12). In krama, a speaker’s own group is kula sedaya, “all of us (humbly)” (21.5, 21.14). Javanese pronouns do not mark number, so a humble “I” can stand for the group: in the Lord’s Prayer kawula is “we” and “us” (Section F-D).
5. Kabèh and sedaya, “all”. Kabèh after the pronoun makes “we all, all of us”: kita kabèh (21.2, 21.15), awaké dhéwé kabèh (21.22). Its krama is sedaya: kula sedaya (21.5).
6. Padha before the verb. Padha marks that several people do the action: Awaké dhéwé padha sinau basa Jawa, “We are all learning Javanese” (21.6). It comes after the subject and before the verb, and before ora: padha ora ngerti, “none of us knew” (21.11). The Bible has the same: kita padha tresna, “we love” (F.1). Its krama is sami.
7. Ayo, “let’s”. Ayo with or without awaké dhéwé makes a suggestion: Ayo awaké dhéwé mulih, “Let’s go home” (21.3); Ayo, awaké dhéwé mangkat saiki, “Come on, let’s go now” (21.27).
8. Dhéwé after kita. Dhéwé after a pronoun means “ourselves, on our own” (Lessons 15 and 16): kita kudu tuku bensin dhéwé, “we have to buy the petrol ourselves” (21.23). In awaké dhéwé the same dhéwé has become part of the pronoun.
9. The words for “we” at the levels:
- awaké dhéwé — ngoko, everyday; includes the listener - kita — ngoko and krama, more formal or written; includes the listener - aku lan … — ngoko, “… and I”; leaves the listener out - kula sedaya — krama, “all of us”, humble; leaves the listener out - kawula — literary and in prayer, humble “I, we”
10. Krama verbs go with krama pronouns. Kula sedaya sampun nedha, “We have all eaten” (21.14): sampun, not wis, and nedha, the humble krama of mangan. Never use the krama inggil dhahar for oneself; it is for those one honours.
Common Mistakes:
- Using -ku for “our”: *omahku for “our house”. Correct: omah kita. - Mixing levels: *Awaké dhéwé sampun nedha. In krama the pronoun moves with the verb: Kula sedaya sampun nedha. - Saying *awakku dhéwé for “we”: that is “myself”. The pronoun is awaké dhéwé, with -é. - Confusing dhéwé, “self”, with dhèwèké, “he, she”. - Changing kita for “us”: there is no separate form. Ngenteni kita, “waits for us”.
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Awaké dhéwé and kita. Every Javanese speaker also speaks Indonesian, the language of school, office and television, and the two languages share kita. So kita is the safe, neutral “we” of announcements, sermons, school and public life, while awaké dhéwé sounds homely and close. A speaker who says awaké dhéwé to friends is likely to say kita kabèh from a platform.
Speaking for the group. In krama the speaker humbles the whole group, not only themselves: kula sedaya, “we, your humble servants”. A guest thanking a hostess for a meal speaks for everyone: Matur nuwun, Bu, kula sedaya sampun nedha (21.14). Older krama and the Bible use kawula in the same way.
Going home. Example 21.13 mentions the journey home at Lebaran, the feast at the end of the fast. Families who live in the cities travel back to the village, and mulih, “go home”, is the word on everyone’s lips in those weeks.
Parangtritis. The messaging dialogue below plans a day at Parangtritis, the beach on the south coast in Bantul, south of Yogyakarta, on the Indian Ocean. The waves there are strong. The friends, the plan and the messages are invented for the lesson.
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1 John 4:19 and 4:10, from the Javanese Bible published by alkitab.mobi as version “Jawa”, the version quoted in Lesson 20. The text is given exactly as printed, without accents. The apostle says that we love because God loved us first, and that love is not our loving God, but God’s loving us.
F.1a Anggon that kita we padha all tresna love iku that amarga is-because Gusti the-Lord Allah God wus already ngasihi loved marang to kita us luwih more dhisik first
F.1b Anggon /aŋɡɔn/ NMLZ kita /kitɔ/ 1PL.INCL padha /pɔɖɔ/ PL tresna /trəsnɔ/ love iku /iku/ that.MED amarga /amarɡɔ/ because Gusti /ɡusti/ lord Allah /allah/ God wus /wʊs/ PERF.LIT ngasihi /ŋasihi/ AV-love-APPL marang /maraŋ/ to kita /kitɔ/ 1PL.INCL luwih /luwɪh/ more dhisik /ɖisɪʔ/ first
F.2a Katresnan love iku is mangkene like-this Dudu not kita we kang who wus have padha all tresna loved marang to Gusti the-Lord Allah God
F.2b Katresnan /katrəsnan/ KA-love-AN iku /iku/ that.MED mangkene /maŋkene/ like.this Dudu /dudu/ NEG.NOM kita /kitɔ/ 1PL.INCL kang /kaŋ/ REL.LIT wus /wʊs/ PERF.LIT padha /pɔɖɔ/ PL tresna /trəsnɔ/ love marang /maraŋ/ to Gusti /ɡusti/ lord Allah /allah/ God
F.3a nanging but Gusti the-Lord Allah God kang who wus has nresnani loved kita us lan and wus has ngutus sent Kang the Putra Son minangka as pangruwating the-atonement-for dosa sins kita our
F.3b nanging /naŋɪŋ/ but Gusti /ɡusti/ lord Allah /allah/ God kang /kaŋ/ REL.LIT wus /wʊs/ PERF.LIT nresnani /nrəsnani/ AV-love-APPL kita /kitɔ/ 1PL.INCL lan /lan/ and wus /wʊs/ PERF.LIT ngutus /ŋutʊs/ AV-send Kang /kaŋ/ DEF.LIT Putra /putrɔ/ son.KI minangka /minaŋkɔ/ as pangruwating /paŋruwatɪŋ/ PA-release-GEN dosa /dosɔ/ sin kita /kitɔ/ 1PL.INCL
Anggon kita padha tresna iku, amarga Gusti Allah wus ngasihi marang kita luwih dhisik. (1 John 4:19)
Katresnan iku mangkene: Dudu kita kang wus padha tresna marang Gusti Allah, nanging Gusti Allah kang wus nresnani kita lan wus ngutus Kang Putra minangka pangruwating dosa kita. (1 John 4:10)
That we love is because God loved us first.
Love is this: not that we have loved God, but that God has loved us and has sent the Son as the atonement for our sins.
Anggon kita padha tresna iku, amarga Gusti Allah wus ngasihi marang kita luwih dhisik.
Katresnan iku mangkene: Dudu kita kang wus padha tresna marang Gusti Allah, nanging Gusti Allah kang wus nresnani kita lan wus ngutus Kang Putra minangka pangruwating dosa kita.
Kita in every role. In these two verses one word, kita, is subject (kita padha tresna, “we love”), object (nresnani kita, “loved us”), the object of a preposition (marang kita, “to us”) and possessor (dosa kita, “our sins”). This is rule 1 and rule 2 of Section D at work. The Bible uses kita, not awaké dhéwé, because it is written, solemn and addressed to all believers together, the listener included.
Padha. Both verses put padha before tresna: kita padha tresna (rule 6). With a plural subject it is natural Javanese, and it makes clear that “we” are many.
Dudu again. Dudu kita kang wus padha tresna, “(it is) not we who loved”, is the cleft sentence of Lesson 20 (rule 3 there): the predicate is a pronoun, so the negative is dudu, not ora.
Literary words. Wus is the literary form of wis, “already”, and kang the literary form of sing, “who, which”; both are common in the Bible and in written Javanese. Anggon kita padha tresna iku, “the fact that we love”, turns a whole clause into a noun with anggon; its everyday form is anggoné. Katresnan, “love”, is tresna with ka-…-an; nresnani and ngasihi are verbs from tresna and asih, both “love”. Pangruwat is “release, deliverance”, from ruwat, the ritual that frees a person from misfortune; -ing links it to dosa kita, “our sins”.
The humble “we” of prayer. Compare Matthew 6:11 in the same version, from the Lord’s Prayer, spoken to God in krama: Kawula mugi kaparingan rejeki kawula sacekapipun ing dinten punika, “Give us today our sufficient daily bread” (literally: “may we be given our sustenance, as much as is enough, on this day”). Here the humble kawula is “we”, “us” and “our”, with no mark of number at all (rule 4). When the faithful speak to God they speak in krama and humble themselves; when the apostle speaks to believers he uses kita.
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Five friends in Yogyakarta plan a Saturday at the beach in a group chat. The people are invented for the lesson. They write in ngoko, as friends do; Dewi starts the chat.
21.16a Dewi Dewi Kanca-kanca friends Setu Saturday iki this awaké our-body dhéwé self piknik picnic menyang to Parangtritis Parangtritis piyé how-about-it
21.16b Dewi /dewi/ Dewi Kanca-kanca /kɔncɔ kɔncɔ/ RED-friend Setu /sətu/ Saturday iki /iki/ this.PROX awaké /awaʔe/ body-DEF dhéwé /ɖewe/ self piknik /pɪknɪʔ/ picnic menyang /məɲaŋ/ to Parangtritis /paraŋtritɪs/ Parangtritis piyé /pije/ how
21.17a Bima Bima Setuju agreed Awaké our-body dhéwé self wis already suwé long ora not menyang go-to segara the-sea
21.17b Bima /bimɔ/ Bima Setuju /sətuju/ agree Awaké /awaʔe/ body-DEF dhéwé /ɖewe/ self wis /wɪs/ PERF suwé /suwe/ long.time ora /ɔrɔ/ NEG menyang /məɲaŋ/ to segara /səɡɔrɔ/ sea
21.18a Sari Sari Aku I mèlu am-coming Kita we mangkat leave jam hour pira what
21.18b Sari /sari/ Sari Aku /aku/ 1SG mèlu /mɛlu/ join Kita /kitɔ/ 1PL.INCL mangkat /maŋkat/ depart jam /ɟam/ hour pira /pirɔ/ how.many
21.19a Dewi Dewi Awaké our-body dhéwé self mangkat leave jam hour enem six ésuk morning supaya so-that ora not panas hot
21.19b Dewi /dewi/ Dewi Awaké /awaʔe/ body-DEF dhéwé /ɖewe/ self mangkat /maŋkat/ depart jam /ɟam/ hour enem /ənəm/ six ésuk /esʊʔ/ morning supaya /supɔjɔ/ so.that ora /ɔrɔ/ NEG panas /panas/ hot
21.20a Andi Andi Awaké our-body dhéwé self numpak ride apa what Motorku my-motorbike mung only siji one
21.20b Andi /andi/ Andi Awaké /awaʔe/ body-DEF dhéwé /ɖewe/ self numpak /numpaʔ/ ride apa /ɔpɔ/ what Motorku /motorku/ motorbike-POSS.1SG mung /mʊŋ/ only siji /siɟi/ one
21.21a Bima Bima Mengko later aku I takon ask Bapak Father kita we olèh may nganggo use mobilé his-car apa or ora not
21.21b Bima /bimɔ/ Bima Mengko /məŋko/ later aku /aku/ 1SG takon /takɔn/ ask Bapak /bapaʔ/ father kita /kitɔ/ 1PL.INCL olèh /olɛh/ may nganggo /ŋaŋɡo/ AV-use mobilé /mobile/ car-POSS.3 apa /ɔpɔ/ Q ora /ɔrɔ/ NEG
21.22a Sari Sari Aku I sing the-one-who nggawa brings panganan food kanggo for awaké our-body dhéwé self kabèh all
21.22b Sari /sari/ Sari Aku /aku/ 1SG sing /sɪŋ/ REL nggawa /ŋɡɔwɔ/ AV-carry panganan /paŋanan/ eat-NMLZ kanggo /kaŋɡo/ for awaké /awaʔe/ body-DEF dhéwé /ɖewe/ self kabèh /kabɛh/ all
21.23a Bima Bima Jaré says Bapak Father olèh allowed nanging but kita we kudu must tuku buy bensin petrol dhéwé ourselves
21.23b Bima /bimɔ/ Bima Jaré /ɟare/ REPORT Bapak /bapaʔ/ father olèh /olɛh/ may nanging /naŋɪŋ/ but kita /kitɔ/ 1PL.INCL kudu /kudu/ must tuku /tuku/ buy bensin /bensɪn/ petrol dhéwé /ɖewe/ self
21.24a Dewi Dewi Ora not apa-apa anything awaké our-body dhéwé self mbayar pay-for bensiné the-petrol bareng-bareng together
21.24b Dewi /dewi/ Dewi Ora /ɔrɔ/ NEG apa-apa /ɔpɔ ɔpɔ/ RED-what awaké /awaʔe/ body-DEF dhéwé /ɖewe/ self mbayar /mbajar/ AV-pay bensiné /bensine/ petrol-DEF bareng-bareng /barəŋ barəŋ/ RED-together
21.25a Andi Andi Adhiku my-little-sister olèh may mèlu come-with awaké our-body dhéwé self
21.25b Andi /andi/ Andi Adhiku /aɖiku/ younger.sibling-POSS.1SG olèh /olɛh/ may mèlu /mɛlu/ join awaké /awaʔe/ body-DEF dhéwé /ɖewe/ self
21.26a Sari Sari Olèh may mesthi certain waé just Kita we malah in-fact seneng glad
21.26b Sari /sari/ Sari Olèh /olɛh/ may mesthi /məsʈi/ certain waé /wae/ just Kita /kitɔ/ 1PL.INCL malah /malah/ even seneng /sənəŋ/ happy
21.27a Bima Bima Aku I wis already tekan reached omahé the-house-of Dewi Dewi Ayo come-on awaké our-body dhéwé self mangkat leave saiki now
21.27b Bima /bimɔ/ Bima Aku /aku/ 1SG wis /wɪs/ PERF tekan /təkan/ arrive omahé /omahe/ house-POSS.3 Dewi /dewi/ Dewi Ayo /ajo/ HORT awaké /awaʔe/ body-DEF dhéwé /ɖewe/ self mangkat /maŋkat/ depart saiki /saiki/ now
21.28a Dewi Dewi Matur say nuwun thanks kanggo for dina day iki this Awaké our-body dhéwé self kesel tired nanging but seneng happy banget very
21.28b Dewi /dewi/ Dewi Matur /matʊr/ say.HUM nuwun /nuwʊn/ request.KR kanggo /kaŋɡo/ for dina /dinɔ/ day iki /iki/ this.PROX Awaké /awaʔe/ body-DEF dhéwé /ɖewe/ self kesel /kəsəl/ tired nanging /naŋɪŋ/ but seneng /sənəŋ/ happy banget /baŋət/ very
21.29a Bima Bima Bapakku my-father kirim sends salam greetings kanggo for kita us kabèh all
21.29b Bima /bimɔ/ Bima Bapakku /bapaʔku/ father-POSS.1SG kirim /kirɪm/ send salam /salam/ greeting kanggo /kaŋɡo/ for kita /kitɔ/ 1PL.INCL kabèh /kabɛh/ all
21.30a Sari Sari Mbésuk some-day awaké our-body dhéwé self piknik picnic manèh again ya OK
21.30b Sari /sari/ Sari Mbésuk /mbesʊʔ/ future awaké /awaʔe/ body-DEF dhéwé /ɖewe/ self piknik /pɪknɪʔ/ picnic manèh /manɛh/ again ya /jɔ/ yes
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21.16 Dewi: “Kanca-kanca, Setu iki awaké dhéwé piknik menyang Parangtritis, piyé?” → Dewi: “Friends, how about we go for a picnic at Parangtritis this Saturday?”
21.17 Bima: “Setuju! Awaké dhéwé wis suwé ora menyang segara.” → Bima: “Agreed! We haven’t been to the sea for ages.”
21.18 Sari: “Aku mèlu. Kita mangkat jam pira?” → Sari: “I’m in. What time do we leave?”
21.19 Dewi: “Awaké dhéwé mangkat jam enem ésuk, supaya ora panas.” → Dewi: “We leave at six in the morning, so it isn’t hot.”
21.20 Andi: “Awaké dhéwé numpak apa? Motorku mung siji.” → Andi: “What are we going in? I’ve only got one motorbike.”
21.21 Bima: “Mengko aku takon Bapak, kita olèh nganggo mobilé apa ora.” → Bima: “I’ll ask my dad later whether we can use his car.”
21.22 Sari: “Aku sing nggawa panganan kanggo awaké dhéwé kabèh.” → Sari: “I’ll be the one to bring food for all of us.”
21.23 Bima: “Jaré Bapak olèh, nanging kita kudu tuku bensin dhéwé.” → Bima: “Dad says we can, but we have to buy the petrol ourselves.”
21.24 Dewi: “Ora apa-apa, awaké dhéwé mbayar bensiné bareng-bareng.” → Dewi: “No problem, we’ll pay for the petrol together.”
21.25 Andi: “Adhiku olèh mèlu awaké dhéwé?” → Andi: “Can my little sister come with us?”
21.26 Sari: “Olèh, mesthi waé. Kita malah seneng.” → Sari: “Of course she can. We’d be glad, in fact.”
21.27 Bima: “Aku wis tekan omahé Dewi. Ayo, awaké dhéwé mangkat saiki.” → Bima: “I’ve got to Dewi’s house. Come on, let’s go now.”
21.28 Dewi: “Matur nuwun kanggo dina iki. Awaké dhéwé kesel, nanging seneng banget.” → Dewi: “Thanks for today. We’re tired, but very happy.”
21.29 Bima: “Bapakku kirim salam kanggo kita kabèh.” → Bima: “My dad sends his regards to us all.”
21.30 Sari: “Mbésuk awaké dhéwé piknik manèh, ya!” → Sari: “Let’s have another picnic some time, OK?”
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Grup Piknik
21.16 Dewi: “Kanca-kanca, Setu iki awaké dhéwé piknik menyang Parangtritis, piyé?”
21.17 Bima: “Setuju! Awaké dhéwé wis suwé ora menyang segara.”
21.18 Sari: “Aku mèlu. Kita mangkat jam pira?”
21.19 Dewi: “Awaké dhéwé mangkat jam enem ésuk, supaya ora panas.”
21.20 Andi: “Awaké dhéwé numpak apa? Motorku mung siji.”
21.21 Bima: “Mengko aku takon Bapak, kita olèh nganggo mobilé apa ora.”
21.22 Sari: “Aku sing nggawa panganan kanggo awaké dhéwé kabèh.”
21.23 Bima: “Jaré Bapak olèh, nanging kita kudu tuku bensin dhéwé.”
21.24 Dewi: “Ora apa-apa, awaké dhéwé mbayar bensiné bareng-bareng.”
21.25 Andi: “Adhiku olèh mèlu awaké dhéwé?”
21.26 Sari: “Olèh, mesthi waé. Kita malah seneng.”
21.27 Bima: “Aku wis tekan omahé Dewi. Ayo, awaké dhéwé mangkat saiki.”
21.28 Dewi: “Matur nuwun kanggo dina iki. Awaké dhéwé kesel, nanging seneng banget.”
21.29 Bima: “Bapakku kirim salam kanggo kita kabèh.”
21.30 Sari: “Mbésuk awaké dhéwé piknik manèh, ya!”
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Awaké dhéwé, the chat’s “we”. The friends write as they speak, so awaké dhéwé is their usual word: as subject (21.16, 21.17, 21.19, 21.20, 21.24, 21.27, 21.28, 21.30) and after a word like kanggo, “for”, or mèlu, “come with” (21.22, 21.25). It does not change form in either place (Section D, rule 1).
Kita alongside it. The same friends also say kita, often in short questions and set phrases: Kita mangkat jam pira? (21.18); kita olèh nganggo mobilé (21.21); kita kabèh (21.29). Speakers move between the two without any change of meaning (rule 3).
Kabèh. Awaké dhéwé kabèh (21.22) and kita kabèh (21.29) are “all of us” (rule 5).
Dhéwé, “ourselves”. Kita kudu tuku bensin dhéwé (21.23): dhéwé at the end of the clause is “ourselves, at our own cost” (rule 8), not part of the pronoun.
Ayo. Ayo, awaké dhéwé mangkat saiki (21.27), “Come on, let’s go now” (rule 7).
Suggestions without “let’s”. Setu iki awaké dhéwé piknik … piyé? (21.16) is literally “this Saturday we picnic … how?”, a gentle way to propose a plan. Mbésuk awaké dhéwé piknik manèh, ya! (21.30) ends with ya, “yes?”, asking the others to agree.
Sésuk and mbésuk. Sésuk (21.7) is “tomorrow”; mbésuk (21.30) is “some time in the future, one day”.
Jaré. Jaré Bapak olèh (21.23), “according to Dad, (it’s) allowed”: jaré reports what someone said.
Other words: kanca, “friend” (kanca-kanca, “friends”); Setu, “Saturday”; piknik, “picnic”; piyé, “how”; setuju, “agree”; suwé, “a long time”; segara, “sea”; mèlu, “join, come along”; jam pira, “what time”; enem, “six”; ésuk, “morning”; supaya, “so that”; panas, “hot”; numpak, “ride, travel by”; motor, “motorbike”; siji, “one”; mengko, “later”; olèh, “may, be allowed”; nganggo, “use”; mobil, “car”; panganan, “food”; bensin, “petrol”; mbayar, “pay”; bareng-bareng, “together”; mesthi waé, “of course”; malah, “even, in fact”; tekan, “arrive at”; kesel, “tired”; banget, “very”; kirim salam, “send greetings”.
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Awaké dhéwé. Five syllables, a-wa-ké dhé-wé, [awaʔe ɖewe]. The k of awak becomes a glottal stop before the suffix -é, as in dhèwèké [ɖɛwɛʔe]. Dhé begins with the retroflex [ɖ]: curl the tongue tip back. All three é’s are close [e].
Kita. [kitɔ]: the final a is the open [ɔ], as in ora, aja, kula and padha. Indonesian says [kita] with a clear a; Javanese does not.
Kula sedaya. [kulɔ sədɔjɔ]. The e of sedaya is the neutral vowel; both a’s of daya are [ɔ], because the a in the open syllable before a final a is rounded too. Older spelling and some dictionaries write sadaya.
Padha. [pɔɖɔ], with a retroflex dh.
The three e’s. é /e/ is close (awaké, dhéwé, kowé, désa, sésuk, mbésuk, piyé, suwé, mobilé, jaré, waé), è /ɛ/ is open (kabèh, mèlu, olèh, manèh, yèn), and plain e is the neutral vowel /ə/ (seneng, ngelih, tetep, saben, sedaya, nedha, Setu, setuju, segara, enem, kesel, banget, mengko). Everyday writing prints them all as e; the Javanese Bible prints none of the accents.
Final k is a glottal stop: cedhak [cəɖaʔ], Bapak [bapaʔ], piknik [pɪknɪʔ], dhisik [ɖisɪʔ], and before a suffix: Bapakku [bapaʔku].
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 21 Javanese complete — awaké dhéwé, kita (we)
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