Bunda In Indonesian
An Indonesian Word
Halo semuanya, apa kabar? Ketemu lagi sama saya, Iman Prabawa. This time, I will talk about the meaning of [bunda] in Indonesian. As always, we will watch scenes from movies where this word [bunda] is spoken to better understand this.
Now, let's dive in!
Bunda In Indonesian
Bunda is short for [ibunda], which means [mother]. This term is used when a child calls her mother. In Indonesia, many words exist for [mother], such as ibu, mamak, bunda, mamah, emak, and mami.
The origin of the word [bunda] in modern Indonesia is from Old Malay and Old Javanese words ‘Ibu’ (mother) and ‘ananda’ (polite form of ‘you’). It’s common in the Old Malay and Old Javanese languages to combine double words into one word.
Thus:
ibu+ananda → ibu+anda → ibunda → bunda
How to Pronounce Bunda
Here is how you pronounce [bunda] in bahasa Indonesia.
Moving on, we’re going to watch examples where Bunda is used by Indonesians.
Examples of Bunda In Use
In this section, you will see examples from movies, YouTube videos, and others where the word [bunda] is used by Indonesians.
The first example is taken from a famous movie in Indonesia called Dilan 1990 (2018). Let’s watch the clip.
Conversation from the clip with English translations.
Milea: Dilan manggil ibu bunda ya? (So, Dilan calls you ‘bunda’?)
Dilan’s Mother: Ehe. Kecuali kalo lagi minta uang. (Yes. Except when he wanted to ask for money.)
Milea: Apa manggilnya, bu? (What did he call you?)
Dilan’s Mother: Bundahara. (*This is from the word [bendahara], which means treasurer, but then the letter [e] in [bendahara] changes into [bundahara].)
Milea: Kalo aku manggil ibu bunda, boleh ngga? (May I call you ‘bunda’?)
Dilan’s Mother: Boleh dong. (Sure, you can.)
In this scene, Milea just met Dilan’s mother. She wants to make sure because she hears Dilan call her mother [Bunda]. That’s why she asks this question,
Dilan manggil ibu, “bunda” ya? (Dilan calls you ‘bunda’? Am I right?)
And then Dilan’s mother says [ehe], which means [yes] in this context. Then Milea asks whether she can also call her [bunda], and Dilan’s mother says yes, she can call her [bunda]. So, [bunda] means mother.
Let’s learn the vocabulary from this short clip.
Vocabulary From the Clip
[Manggil] is short for [memanggil] = to call (someone). The base word is [panggil], and you add the prefix [me] to the base word.
[Kecuali] = except.
[Uang] = money.
[Boleh ngga?] is used when you ask for permission. In this context, Milea asks Dilan’s mother whether she can call her [Bunda].
Examples of [boleh ngga] in a sentence:
Boleh ngga saya masuk? (May I come in?)
Boleh ngga saya pulang duluan? (Can I go home early?)
Boleh ngga saya makan ini? (Can I eat this?)
[Kalo] is informal for [kalau] = if.
[Bu] is short for [ibu] = ma’am.
[Dong] is a phatic expression. It has no meaning. Here, its function is just to emphasize the word [boleh].
That wraps up this article. If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments below. Thank you for reading my article, and I’ll see you soon.