Kakak In Indonesian
An Indonesian Word
Halo semuanya, apa kabar? Ketemu lagi dengan saya, Iman Prabawa. This time, I'm going to talk about the meaning of [kakak] in bahasa Indonesia. We are also going to be watching examples from movies where the word [kakak] is used by Indonesians.
So, let's jump right in.
Kakak in Bahasa Indonesia
[Kakak] is used when we address someone older than us. Unlike [mba] and [mas], which have a specific gender, [mas] is for older men, and [mba] is for older women. For [kakak], you can use it to address women or men who are older than you are. But this applies if you are on Java Island.
When I moved to Bintan Island, located near Sumatra Island, I found that [kakak] is used to address a woman who is older than you, and they do not use [kakak] to address a man who is older than you. They use [bang] when they address a man who is older than them. I found out that this applies throughout Sumatra Island.
How to Pronounce Kakak
Below is how you pronounce the word [kakak] in bahasa Indonesia.
Oftentimes, you will hear Indonesian people shorten [kakak] into just [kak]. Let’s hear below how to pronounce [kak]. Like [kakak], you don’t pronounce the last letter [k] there.
Let’s hear it down below.
Now, let’s watch examples from movies where the word [kakak] is spoken by Indonesians.
Examples of Kakak in use
The first example is from Radio Galau (2012). Let’s watch the clip.
Conversation from the clip above with English translations.
Tata: Kak Bara, kak Bara. Kak Bara, kan? Yang sering nulis cerita di Mading? (Bara, Bara. You are Bara, who often writes for Wall Magazine, right?)
Bara: Iya. (Yes.)
Tata: Halo kak, namaku Tata. (Hi, my name’s Tata.)
Bara: Halo. (Hi.)
Tata: Hmm.. oh iya, kak. Teman aku ada yang mau kenalan lho, sama kakak. Kakak tunggu di sini sebentar, ya? Kak, ini teman aku yang mau kenalan sama kakak. Kak, aku duluan ya. Fel, good luck ya. (I have a friend who wants to get to know you. Could you please wait for a second? Here is my friend, who wants to get to know you. I’m off now. Fel, good luck.)
Tata is younger than Bara, so she calls him with an honorific title [kakak] before his name. She calls him [Kak Bara]. [Kak] is short for [kakak].
This movie takes place in Jakarta, which is on Java Island. As you can see, you can use [kakak] for males or females as long as they are older than you are.
Vocabulary From the Clip
[Kan] is here to make sure that someone is indeed the person that she knows.
[Nulis] here is short for [menulis], which means to write. She drops [me] in [menulis] and just says [nulis] instead. This is common in conversational Indonesian.
[Mading] is a blended word from [MAjalah] and [dinDING]. It means wall magazine.
[Aku] is informal for [saya] = I. [Aku] is used between friends or in informal situations.
[Namaku] is short for [nama aku] = my name.
[Mau] = want.
[Tunggu] = wait.
[Duluan ya] is used when you want to leave your friend. You will hear this phrase often in conversational situations in Indonesia.
That wraps up this article. If you have any questions, just leave them in the comments below. Thank you for reading my article, and bye now.