bengawan

Indonesian

Etymology

Borrowed from Javanese ꦧꦼꦔꦮꦤ꧀ (bengawan, “large river”), from Old Javanese baṅawan (“(great) river”).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /bəˈŋawan/ [bəˈŋa.wan]
• Rhymes: -awan
• Syllabification: be‧nga‧wan

Noun

bêngawan (plural bengawan-bengawan)

1. (dialectal) river (large stream which drains a landmass)

   Bengawan Solo ― name of the longest river in Java

2. (literary) swamp

   Synonyms: rawa, paya

Synonyms

• (river): sungai: batang, kali, wai

Further reading

• “bengawan”, 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

Javanese

Romanization

bengawan

1. romanization of ꦧꦼꦔꦮꦤ꧀

Malay

bengawan

Etymology

Borrowed from Javanese ꦧꦼꦔꦮꦤ꧀ (bengawan).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bə.ŋa.wan/
• Rhymes: -awan

Noun

bengawan (Jawi spelling بڠاون, plural bengawan-bengawan or bengawan²)

1. river (large stream which drains a landmass)

Synonyms

• sungai
• batang air
• wai
• kali (Javanese)
• ci (Sundanese)
• alur
• alir

Further reading

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