Nemplok Meaning In Indonesian

Meaning of Tumben In Indonesian

Halo semuanya, apa kabar? Ketemu lagi sama saya, Iman Prabawa. This time, I will talk about the meaning of the word [tumben] in Indonesian. We are also going to be watching scenes from movies or things related to our discussion about the meaning of the word [tumben].

Meaning of Tumben In Indonesian Language

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So, without further ado, let's talk about it.


The Meaning of Tumben

[Tumben] is a term used when someone does something they don't usually do. For example, I usually wake up every day at 11 AM, and then one day, I wake up at 7 AM. Then my friend sees me wake up at 7 AM, and then he says.

Tumben jam segini loe udah bangun? (Wow, you’re already awake? That’s not like you.)

Below is the audio version.

I will give you another example. You have a friend who rarely gives you a present and one day, he comes to you, and suddenly he gives you a gift, and today is not your birthday. 

     Read also: Gue Meaning In the Indonesian Language

You will kind of amazed and say this,

Tumben amat loe ngasih gue hadiah? Ada apa nih? (This is not like you giving me a present like this. What's wrong?)

Below is the audio version.

Next, we will hear and learn how to pronounce the word tumben.


How to Pronounce Tumben

Let's hear how to pronounce tumben in the video below.

Next, we will see a scene from a music video, and I will explain it.


Examples of Tumben In Use

Here, we will watch short clips where the word [tumben] is used so you can better understand the meaning of this word and also how to use it.

This first clip actually is not taken from a movie. It is taken from a music video from Andmesh titled Tiba-tiba. Let's watch it below.


At the end of this music video, there is a scene. I cut the scene so that you'll be able to just watch this scene. Let's watch it down below.


The conversation in the scene with English translations is as follows.

Man: Kamu kenapa? Kok tumben senyum-senyum sendiri? (What’s wrong? Why are you smiling all of a sudden?)

Woman: Ngga papa. Tiba-tiba aja. (Nothing. Suddenly, (I remember something.))

I will explain a bit of the scene to better understand the meaning of [tumben] in this scene.

In this scene, this man saw the woman suddenly smile, and then he wondered why she was smiling. [Senyum-senyum sendiri] is a phrase that we usually use when we suddenly remember something funny or beautiful memories just crossed our minds.

The man says these words,
Kok tumben senyum-senyum sendiri?
Actually, we don't need the word [tumben] here because we can just say,
Kok senyum-senyum sendiri?
[Tumben] means that the man rarely sees her smiling at herself. That's why it's weird to me because we often do [senyum-senyum sendiri] when we suddenly remember a beautiful memory or something funny. Or maybe this woman rarely smiles at herself when suddenly she thinks of something funny or a beautiful memory, which is why the man says [tumben senyum-senyum sendiri].

And [tumben] in this context, you can translate this as [tiba-tiba] = all of a sudden, just like the song's title. In this context, tumben = tiba-tiba.
Kok tumben senyum-senyum sendiri? = Kok tiba-tiba senyum-senyum sendiri?
I think the director of this music video tries to match the song's title, which is [tiba-tiba], with the word [tumben] here. [Tiba-tiba] means all of a sudden.

The woman then says, "Ngga papa," which means "nothing" in this case. And then she continues with, "tiba-tiba aja." [Tiba-tiba aja] is not a complete sentence. If I complete the sentence, it would be like,
Tiba-tiba aja aku teringat sesuatu. (All of a sudden, I remember something beautiful.)
And that memory of something beautiful that made her all of a sudden smile.


The second clip is taken from a TV Serial called Mimpi Metropolitan, Episode 57. Let's watch the clip down below.


In the scene, Bambang Soedarmo says,
Kita hidup di jaman, pas lagi salah langsung dimarahin dan dimaki, kalau pas lagi benar, dibilangnya tumben.
This sentence is spoken in a conversational tone. If I make this sentence into a formal sentence, then the sentence will become,
Kita hidup di zaman, saat kita berlaku salah kita akan langsung dimarahi dan dimaki, sementara saat kita berlaku benar, orang-orang akan mengatakan kata 'tumben' kepada kita.
If I translate this into English, then the translations will be.
We live in an age where we will immediately be scolded when we act wrong, but people will say the word 'tumben' to us when we act right.


Vocabulary From the Scene

[Dimarahin] is the colloquial form of [dimarahi] = being scolded.

[Pas] = [saat] = when, at a time. For more about this, you can read my article here, Pas In Indonesian.

[Dimaki] has the same meaning as [dimarahi], but [dimaki] is more intense than [dimarahi]. If you are [dimaki] by your boss, it means that your boss scolded you and he also shouted at you.

So, [tumben] here means something you don't often or rarely do.


The third clip is taken from a movie called Tetangga Masa Gitu (2014). Let's watch the clip down below.


The conversation from the scene with English translation is as follows.

Bintang: Hai, Bas! Kamu dah pulang? (Hi, Bas! You home already?)

Bastian: Hai, Bi. (Hi, Bi.)

Bintang: Hai. Tumben pulang diem-diem aja? Biasanya udah teriak-teriak manggilin aku. (Hi. It's really not likely you. You've got home but being so quiet. You usually always called me out when you've got home.)

Bastian: Ooh. Tenggorokan aku lagi sakit. (Oh, I've got a sore throat.)

Bintang: Oh? (Really?)

Bintang: Jadi, aku males teriak-teriak. Lagian kalo aku teriak suaranya begini, kamu ngga ngenalin kan? (That's why I didn't call me. If I call you with this kind of voice, you won't recognize me, right?)

In this scene, Bastian was doing something that was not likely for him. Usually, when he got home, he would always call her wife, but now, because Bastian wanted to make a surprise to her wife, he got home quietly.

Vocabulary From the Scene

[Kamu] = is informal for [Anda] = you.

[Udah] and [Dah] are short for [sudah] = already. It is common to drop words or syllables in daily conversation when speaking.

[Diem-diem] is the colloquial form of [diam-diam] = quietly.

[Manggilin] is the colloquial form of [memanggil-manggil] = calling someone's name repeatedly.

[Teriak-teriak] is when you call someone's name or talk aloud.

[Tenggorokan] = throat.

[Males] is the colloquial form of [malas] = being lazy or don't like doing a specific activity. For more about this, you can read my article here, Males In Indonesian.

[Ngenalin] is the colloquial form of [mengenali] = to recognize.  


The fourth clip is taken from a serial TV called Suami-suami Masa Kini (2022). Let's watch the clip below.


Here is the transcription from the clip with English translations.

Security: Tumben banget ini, ke kantor malem-malem. Ada apaan ini? (It's so unlikely of you to come to the office at night. What's wrong?)

Yuda: Ah, mo karaoke ma temen-temen gue. (Oh, I'm just gonna have karaoke with my friends.)

Security: Lho, jauh amat ke Merauke? Liburan? (Wow, it's so far away, to Merauke. Taking a vacation there?)

Yuda: Oh, bukan! Karaoke, karaoke. Tuh lihat tuh barang-barangnya. (No, no, no! I said karaoke not Merauke. You see the things that I brought with me?)

Security: Ooh. Ya udah, ntar.. (Oh, okay then.)

In this clip, Yuda and his friends are going to have karaoke at the office, and then the security says [tumben] because he has never seen Yuda having karaoke at the office before. That's why he said [tumben banget].

Vocabulary From the Scene

[Banget] is the casual way of saying [sekali] = very. For example, you can change [nakal sekali] itu [nakal banget] to sound more casual. [Nakal sekali] = very naughty. For more about this, you can read my article here, Banget In Indonesian.

[Malem] is the casual way of saying [malam] = night. [Malam] is more formal than [malem]. For more about this, you can read my article here, How to Say Good Evening In Indonesian

[Ada apa?] = [Ada apaan?] is the phrase usually used if you want to know what is happening or if you want to know whether there is a problem or not.

[Mo] is the colloquial way of saying [mau] = want. You will hear it a lot in daily conversation in Indonesia.

[Amat] means very. [Amat] has the same meaning with [banget] and [sekali]. [Jauh amat] = [jauh banget] = [jauh sekali] = so far away.

[Liburan] = holiday, vacation.

[Tuh lihat tuh] is a phrase usually used to ask someone to look at something. For more about this, you can read my article here, Tuh In Indonesian.

[Ya udah] is a phrase usually used to end a conversation. For more details, you can read my article, Ya Udah In the Indonesian Language.


I think that's all for now, and if I find another clip from movies or anything, Insha Allah, I will update this article again. Thank you, and bye-bye now.

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