-ku

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ku"

Indonesian

Alternative forms

• -koe (1901–1947)

Etymology

From Malay -ku, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *ku, from Proto-Austronesian *ku. Compare Tagalog ko.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈku/ [ˈku]
• Rhymes: -u
• Syllabification: -ku

Suffix

-ku

1. (casual or informal) first person singular oblique enclitic pronoun
   1. as a possessive adjective

      anakku ― my child

   2. as a direct or indirect object

      dia mencintaiku ― he loves me

      dia memberiku hadiah ― he gave me a gift

   3. as an object of a preposition, with the exception for di, ke, and dalam

      mereka sombong kepadaku ― they are arrogant to me

Usage notes

As with other clitic pronouns in the language, this clitic is optional.

See also

Indonesian personal pronouns

		singular	plural
1st person exclusive	regular	aku, saya1	kami
	enclitic	-ku	-
	proclitic	ku-	-
1st person inclusive		-	kita
2nd person	regular	kamu, Anda2, kau3	kalian, Anda2, Anda sekalian2, Anda semua2
	enclitic	-mu	-
3rd person	regular	dia, beliau4, ia3	mereka
	enclitic	-nya	-
reflexive		diri5, diri sendiri
emphatic		sendiri

¹ Polite.
² Formal.
³ Now mostly literary.
⁴ Respectful.

⁵ Sometimes used as an emphatic marker instead of being reflexive.

Notes:

• This table only shows personal pronouns that are commonly used in the standard language.
• The second person pronouns are often replaced by kinship terms, titles, or the like.
• The enclitics are only used obliquely (object or possessor), while the proclitic is only used as a subject.

See each entry for more information.

Further reading

• “-ku”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Japanese

Romanization

-ku

1. Rōmaji transcription of く

Makasar

Alternative forms

• -ngku

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *ku, from Proto-Austronesian *ku.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ku]

Suffix

-ku (possessive suffix, Lontara spelling ᨀᨘ)

1. my
2. our (first person plural exclusive)

See also

Makasar free and bound pronouns

	independent	absolutive	nominative	possessive
1st sg / 1st pl exclusive	nakke	-a'	ku-	-ku
1st pl exclusive (archaic)	kambe	-kang	ki-	-mang
1st pl inclusive / 2nd sg polite	katte	-ki'	ki-	-ta
2nd sg / pl familiar	kau	-ko	nu-	-nu
3rd sg / pl	ia	-i	na-	-na

Malay

Etymology

From ku, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *ku, from Proto-Austronesian *ku. Compare Tagalog ko.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ku/ [ku]

  • Audio (Malaysia):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ku, -u
• Hyphenation: -ku

Suffix

-ku (Jawi spelling ـکو) (poetic, archaic)

1. me (direct object of a verb)

   Dia memarahiku. ― He scolded me.

2. me (object of a preposition)

   Dia pergi denganku. ― He went with me.

3. me (indirect object of a verb)
4. my (belonging to me)

   "Negaraku" ― "My Country"

   Ini rumahku. ― This is my house.

See also

Malay personal pronouns

	Singular	Plural
1st person	saya1 aku3	kita4 kami2 & 5 kita orang3 & 5
2nd person	awak1 anda2 awda8 (eng)kau3 kamu3	(2nd person) + semua6 kalian2 (eng)kau orang3
3rd person	dia ia beliau7 -nya2	mereka2 dia orang3

¹ Polite.
² Formal.
³ Informal.
⁴ Includes the listener (inclusive).
⁵ Excludes the listener (exclusive).
⁶ Formality depends on the second person pronoun used.
⁷ Honorific.
⁸ Formal (Brunei).

Notes:

• This table mostly only shows personal pronouns that are commonly used in the standard language and within the Klang Valley area.
• The second person pronouns are often replaced by kinship terms, titles, or the like.
• The enclitic -nya is only used obliquely (as an object or possessor).
• The second person pronoun kamu is usually only used when speaking with younger speakers.

See each entry for more information.

Māori

Suffix

-ku

1. Used in contractions with particles of possession to mean me

See also

Māori personal pronouns

			singular	dual	plural
1st person			au, ahau	māua (exclusive) tāua (inclusive)	mātou (exclusive) tātou (inclusive)
2nd person			koe	kōrua	koutou
3rd person			ia	rāua	rātou

Pipil

Alternative forms

• -k

Suffix

-ku

1. (no longer productive) locative suffix (meaning "in") used after a consonant

Further reading

• Campbell, L. (1985). The Pipil Language of El Salvador. Mouton De Gruyter. p.47

Quechua

Not to be confused with -nku, -yku

Suffix

-ku

1. reflexive suffix: to or for oneself

   mayllay (“to wash something”) → mayllakuy (“to wash oneself”)

   rantiy (“to buy something”) → rantikuy (“to buy something for oneself”)

Derived terms

Quechua terms suffixed with -ku

allquchakuy

churakuy

maqakuy

mayllakuy

p'achallikuy

phiñakuy

q'imikuy

rantikuy

rikch'akuy

rimaykuy

suyakuy

uñachakuy

yachachikuq

yachakuy

Turkish

	preceding vowel
	a / ı	e / i	o / u	ö / ü
default	-gı	-gi	-gu	-gü
assimilated	-kı	-ki	-ku	-kü

Etymology

From Ottoman Turkish ـگی (-gi), from Old Anatolian Turkish ـکو (-gü), from Proto-Turkic *-gü.

Suffix

-ku

1. Form of -gi after the vowels O / U.

Derived terms

Turkish terms suffixed with -ku

coşku

tutku