hantu

See also: Hán tự

Indonesian

Etymology

From Malay hantu.

Noun

hantu (first-person possessive hantuku, second-person possessive hantumu, third-person possessive hantunya)

1. ghost (spirit appearing after death)

---

Malay

Etymology

From Proto-Malayic *hantu, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *qanitu, from Proto-Austronesian *qaNiCu.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /hantu/
• Rhymes: -antu, -tu, -u

Noun

hantu (Jawi spelling هنتو, plural hantu-hantu, informal 1st possessive hantuku, 2nd possessive hantumu, 3rd possessive hantunya)

1. ghost (spirit appearing after death)

   Ia takut hantu.

   He is afraid of ghosts.

2. demon (evil spirit)

   Ia sakit setelah kesurupan hantu.

   He fell ill after being possessed by demons.

Derived terms

• burung hantu (“owl”)
• kera hantu (“tarsier”)

Descendants

• Indonesian: hantu

Further reading

• “hantu” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.