Gabut in the Indonesian Language

Halo semuanya. Apa kabar? Ketemu lagi dengan saya, Iman Prabawa. In this article, I want to talk to you about the meaning of the word [gabut]. This word is considered as [bahasa gaul] or a slang term. As usual, we will watch scenes from movies, YouTube videos, and whatnot where this word [gabut] is spoken.

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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 jump dive right in.

Meaning of Gabut in the Indonesian Language

You need to first see from the context because [gabut] can be an acronym for [GAji BUTa] or [gabut], which is not an acronym for [gaji buta]. So let's discuss these two meanings of [gabut].

[Gabut], which is the acronym for [gaji buta], means a salary received by someone who does not do part or all of his work. For example, you are an employee, but you didn't come to work in one month, yet you still received your full salary for that month. Therefore, the salary for that month is called [gaji buta], and what you did in that month will be called [magabut] or an acronym for [makan gaji buta].

[Gabut], which is NOT the acronym for [gaji buta], means that you have free time, but in that free time, you don't have anything to do, and you don't know what to do with your free time, so you will waste your free time doing something unimportant. It can also mean you are bored, and because you are bored, you are doing something useless to fight the boredom.

How to Pronounce Gabut

Here is how you pronounce [gabut] in Bahasa Indonesia.

Moving on, we are going to watch examples, mostly from movies where the word [gabut] is spoken by the Indonesian people.

Examples of Gabut In Use

The first scene that we are about to watch is taken from a movie called Cinta Driver Online (2018). Let's watch the scene down below.

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

Puri: Lo itu emang ga ada kerjaan banget, ya? Ha? Itu handphone lo kalo bisa nangis, dari tadi tu udah nangis kali dia. Kepenuhan sama foto selfie lo! (Hey, don't you have anything else to do? If your cellphone can cry, I think she's already cried by now because you made her full of your selfie's photo.)

Resya: Sayangnya dia ngga nangis. Lagian mo gimana, dong? Namanya juga mahasiswi semester akhir. Kan banyak gabutnya. Tinggal nunggu tugas akhir terus sidang. (Unfortunately, she didn't cry. But what am I suppose to do then? I'm a final-semester student now. I have lots of free time, and I don't know what to do with my free time. Now, I'm just waiting for my final assignment and then go for my thesis defense.)

In this scene, Resya said that because she had lots of free time as a final-semester student, she was doing something unimportant, taking a selfie. 

So [gabut], in this case, means to have a lot of free time and don't know what to do to spend that free time. 

Vocabulary From the Scene

[Lo] is informal for [Anda] = you. For more about this, you can read my article, Loe in the Indonesian Language.

[Emang] is the colloquial form of [memang] = indeed, certainly.

[Ga] or [ngga] is the colloquial form of [tidak] = no.

[Kalo] is the colloquial form of [kalau] = if.

[Bisa] = able, can.

[Nangis] is the colloquial form of [menangis] = to cry.

[Dari tadi] = from earlier.

[Tu] is short for [itu] = that.

[Udah] is the colloquial form of [sudah] = already.

[Kepenuhan] = [terlalu penuh] = too full.

[Sama] = with.

[Sayangnya] = unfortunately.

[Lagian] = [lagi pula] = [tambahan lagi] = moreover, besides.

[Mo] is the colloquial form of [mau] = want.

[Namanya juga..] is usually used when you want to emphasize something common to do for someone because of who they are.

[Banyak gabutnya] = have a lot of free time.

[Sidang] here is short for [sidang skripsi] = thesis defense.

The second clip is taken from a video on Indra Sasak's YouTube channel. Let's watch the clip below.

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

Melissa: Ngapain? (What are you doing?)

Indra: Rapikan dapur. Karena ini sudah seperti hobi saya ya. Karena di rumah ngga ada kerjaan, gabut. Jadi, kadang-kadang gelas yang sudah bersih saya kotorkan lagi. Piring yang sudah rapi saya berantakkin lagi. Supaya ngerapiin lagi. Supaya ada kerjaan. (Tidying up the kitchen. This is now is just like my hobby. Because I don't have anything to do in this house, sometimes these clean glass I make them dirty again. I mess up the tidy plates again so that I can tidy them up again. By doing that, I have something to do then.)

Melissa: Iya. (Yes.)

In this scene, Indra said [ngga ada kerjaan] before the word [gabut], so we can see that he's already explained the meaning of [gabut] in this context, that is [ngga ada kerjaan] or [don't have anything to do].

Vocabulary From the Scene

[Ngapain] is the colloquial form of [Sedang melakukan apa?], which is used when you want to know what somebody's doing at the time of speaking.

[Rapikan] = to tidy up something.

[Dapur] = kitchen.

[Kadang-kadang] = sometimes.

[Piring] = plates.

[Rapi] = tidy.

[Kotorkan] = to make something dirty.

[Berantakkin] is the colloquial form of [memberantakkan] = to put into disorder, to make a mess.

[Ngerapiin] is the colloquial form of [merapikan] = to tidy up something.

     Read also: Mpok in the Indonesian Language

So, I think that's all for now. If you have any questions, just leave them in the comment section below, and I'll be happy to answer them. If I find another scene where this word [gabut] is spoken, Insha Allah, I will update this article again.

Thank you for reading this article, and I'll see you soon. Bye now.