Manja Meaning In Bahasa Indonesia

Halo semuanya, apa kabar? This time, I'm going to talk about the meaning of this word, which is [manja]. And we will also watch scenes from movies where the word [manja] is spoken to better understand the meaning and how Indonesian people use this word.

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If you are a beginner in the Indonesian language, you can learn step by step with My Lesson Here.

So, let's talk about this word.

Manja In Bahasa Indonesia

Manja means clingy. When you're being [manja] means that you're being too clingy. 

Now, let's also look at the meaning of the word [manja] according to Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia.

Let me translate these 2 meanings for you. The first meaning, if translated into English, is,

Not having a good behavior because of whatever (s)he wishes for always being granted, never scolded by his or her parents whenever (s)he makes a mistake.

The second meaning is,

Act very kind, very loving to someone.

Next, let's hear how to pronounce the word [manja].

How to Pronounce Manja

Below is how you pronounce the word [manja].


Next, I will give you three example sentences using the word [manja].

Example Sentences Using Manja

The first example sentence is.

Dia terlalu dimanja oleh orang tuanya sehingga dia tidak mandiri. (She is being spoiled too much by her parents, that's why she can't be independent.

And here is how you pronounce the sentence above.

The second example sentence is.

Anaknya sih kalau gue bilang terlalu manja ya. (I am going to say that she is being spoiled too much by her parents.)

And here is how you pronounce the sentence above.

The third example sentence is.

Kamu bisa ngga sih ngga usah terlalu manja kaya gitu? (Can you please not being too clingy?)

And here is how you pronounce the sentence above.

Now, let's watch scenes that I took from movies where the word [manja] is spoken by the Indonesians.

Examples of Manja In Use

The first clip we are about to watch is taken from Ada Apa Dengan Cinta 1 (2002). Let's watch it below.

Below is the conversation from the scene above with English translations.

Rangga: Bisa ngomong sebentar? Ngga bisa? (Can we talk? Can’t?) 

Cinta: Masalahnya apa dulu, nih? Kita ngomong di luar. Ada apa? (What’s the problem? Let’s talk outside. What’s wrong?) 

Rangga: Maksudnya apa, nih? (What is this?) 

Cinta: Surat gue dibaca juga? Kirain cuma mo baca bacaan penting aja. Karya sastra. (Oh, so you read my letter? I thought that you just want to important things like literature works.) 

Rangga: Kamu ni kenapa sih? Tersinggung gara-gara saya ngga mau diwawancara? Ya udah, wawancara sekarang. Ngga usah manja. (What’s wrong with you? Were you mad because I refused being interviewed by you? Then, go ahead interview me now. Stop being clingy!) 

Cinta: Enak aja loe ngatain gue manja. Elo, mo diwawancara sekarang? Basi! Madingnya udah siap terbit! (What? Did you just say I was being clingy? So, you want me to interview you now? Too late! The wall magazine is ready to be published!)

In this scene, Rangga wants to talk to Cinta, and when Rangga is talking seriously, Cinta is playing with her nails instead. That makes Rangga mad, and then Rangga says this,

Ngga usah manja.

In this context, it has meaning, kind of like, "Don't be like a pain in the ass! Listen to me," because while Rangga is speaking, Cinta is not listening carefully.

Vocabulary From the Scene

[Bisa ngomong sebentar?] is a phrase that is used when you want to talk to someone. You ask them whether they have the time to speak to you at the moment.

[Masalah] = problem.

[Masalahnya apa dulu nih?] <---  here is used by Cinta when Rangga wants to talk to her. She wants to make sure that she won't waste her time talking about something that is not important. That's why she is asking first about the thing that Rangga wanted to talk about.

[Ngomong] is the colloquial way of saying [berbicara] = to speak.

[Di luar] = outside.

[Ada apa?] is usually used when you want to know what is happening or what is wrong.

[Maksud] = meaning.

[Maksudnya apa, nih?] <--- the literal translation for this is [what is the meaning of this?]. Rangga asks that question because he wants to know what is the meaning behind sending him a letter.

[Gue] is informal for [saya] = I. For more about this, you can read my article, Gue In the Indonesian Language.

[Baca] = to read.

[Bacaan] = something to read. When you add the suffix [an] to the verb, it becomes a noun.

[Kirain] is the colloquial way of saying [saya kira] = I thought.

[Penting] = important.

[Aja] is a common reduction for [saja] = just.

[Mo] is the colloquial way of saying [mau] = want.

[Ni] is a common reduction for [ini] = this.

[Kamu (ini) kenapa sih?] is usually used when you want to know what is wrong with somebody. You notice something is wrong with that person, and you want to know why. Usually, you can just omit the word [ini]. That's why I put the word [ini] ini a bracket.

[Tersinggung] = get offended.

[Gara-gara] = because of.

[Diwawancara] = get interviewed by someone.

[Sekarang] = now.

[Basi] literally means [stale], but in this context, it means it's already too late, but it has a strong negative meaning to it when Cinta says it.

[Udah] is a common reduction for [sudah] = already.

[Mading] is short for MAjalah dinDING = wall magazine.

[Siap terbit] = ready to be published.

     Read also: Ngerjain Meaning In Bahasa

I think this is a wrap. If I find another example, Insha Allah, I will update this article again. If you have any questions, just leave them in the comment section box below.

Thank you for reading my article, and I'll talk to you soon. Bye now.