belakang

Indonesian

Etymology

Inherited from Malay belakang, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *balakaŋ (“hips”).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /bəˈlakaŋ/ [bəˈla.kaŋ]
• Rhymes: -akaŋ
• Syllabification: be‧la‧kang

Noun

bêlakang (plural belakang-belakang)

1. back (the rear of the body)

   Synonym: punggung

2. back (that which is farthest away from the front)

   Synonym: balik

3. following, ensuing, later

   Synonyms: kelak, nanti

Derived terms

• belakangan
• berbelakang-belakangan
• keterbelakangan
• membelakang
• membelakangi
• membelakangkan
• memperbelakangkan
• mengebelakangkan
• pembelakangan
• terbelakang
• terkebelakang

• belakang hari
• belakang layar
• belakang tangan

Further reading

• “belakang”, 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

Malay

Alternative forms

• blkg (text messaging)

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *balakaŋ (“hips”).

Pronunciation

• (Baku, schwa-variety) IPA^(key): /bəˈlakaŋ/ [bəˈla.kaŋ]
• Rhymes: -akaŋ
• Hyphenation: be‧la‧kang

Noun

belakang (Jawi spelling بلاکڠ, plural belakang-belakang or belakang²)

1. (anatomy) back (the rear of body)

   Synonym: punggung

2. back; rear (that which is farthest away from the front)

   Sila pergi ke pintu belakang. ― Please go to the back door.

Adverb

belakang

1. behind (in position or sequence); following.

   Dia berjalan di belakang. ― He walked behind.

   Taman itu terletak di belakang rumah. ― The garden is located behind the house.

   Dalam perlumbaan itu, dia berada jauh di belakang pelari lain. ― In the race, he was far behind the other runners.

Derived terms

Affixations

• membelakangi
• membelakangkan
• terkebelakang

Compounds

• halaman belakang
• kebelakangan
• latar belakang
• tulang belakang

Descendants

• > Indonesian: belakang (inherited)

Further reading

• "belakang" in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu (PRPM) [Malay Literary Reference Centre (PRPM)] (in Malay), Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017