Halo semuanya, ketemu lagi sama saya, Iman Prabawa. In this article, I want to talk to you about the meaning of the word [lho] in Indonesian. As always, we will look at examples from YouTube videos, movies, comics, and other sources where Indonesians use the word.
Lho in Indonesian
You might see this word written as [lho] or loh. Both spellings mean the same thing and are used in the same way.
Here are two common ways Indonesians use [lho] in everyday conversation.
1. To emphasize something.
In this case, [lho] doesn’t have a specific meaning on its own. Instead, it adds emphasis or a certain feeling to the sentence. If you leave it out, the basic meaning stays the same, but the sentence might sound a little less natural or expressive.
Here are some examples:
1. Dari semua kandidat itu yang tahu jawabannya cuma kamu, lho. Hebat! (Of all the candidates, you’re the only one who knows the answer. That’s impressive!)
2. Cara ngerjainnya itu kaya gini, lho. (This is how you do it.)
2. To express surprise when something isn’t what you expected.
You can also use [lho] to show surprise when you discover that something is different from what you expected.
Here’s an example:
A: Lho? Kok loe masih di rumah sih? Bukannya loe bilang tadi loe ada kuliah? (Wait, why are you still at home? Didn’t you say you had a class today?)
B: Gue dapat kabar dosennya ngga masuk. Ya udah, gue ngga jadi berangkat deh. (I heard that the lecturer wasn’t coming in today, so I decided not to go.)
How to Pronounce Lho
This is how you pronounce [lho] in Bahasa Indonesia.
Next, let’s look at examples where Indonesians use the word [lho].
Example of Lho In Use
The first example is from Maudy Ayunda’s YouTube Channel. Let’s watch the clip below.