apakah

Indonesian

Etymology

apa +‎ -kah.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /apa.kah/

Conjunction

apakah

1. whether

   Aku tidak tahu apakah suratku sudah sampai. ― I don't know whether (or not) my letter has arrived.

Further reading

• “apakah” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Malay

Etymology

Affixation of apa +‎ -kah.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /apakah/, /apəkah/
• Rhymes: -kah, -ah

Interjection

apakah (Jawi spelling اڤاکه)

1. Used to express surprise or disbelief; "what!".

   Apakah, dia yang main tipu rupanya?!

   What, so he was the one who's been cheating?!

Pronoun

apakah (Jawi spelling اڤاکه)

1. Interrogative pronoun used to inquire something about a certain thing; what.

   Apakah nama buku yang kita baca malam semalam?

   What is the name of the book that we read last night?

   • 2003, Nor Arlisa Irena Abu Bakar, Penulis buku politik Kelantan tiada agenda:

     Apakah tujuan Ikmal sebenarnya?

     What is Ikmal's true motive?

2. Interrogative pronoun used to inquire about the truth of a statement; "is it that", "is it the case that".

   Synonym: adakah

   Apakah kita tidak mampu berdikari lagi?

   Is it the case that we can't stand by ourselves anymore?

   • 2017, Mahizan Husain, Cahaya Delima:

     Apakah akhirnya dia akan kembali pada tanah?

     Is it that he will finally return to land?

Usage notes

The -kah suffix is only used in formal or literary contexts. Usually, the suffix is avoided in regular everyday speech.

Further reading

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