dahulu

Indonesian

Alternative forms

• dh, dh., d.h.
• d/h (proscribed)

Etymology

Inherited from Malay dahulu. Doublet of dulu.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /daˈhulu/ [daˈhu.lu]
• Rhymes: -ulu
• Syllabification: da‧hu‧lu

Adverb

dahulu

1. before, earlier, previously

   Itu dahulu, ini sekarang.

   That was before, this is now.

Adjective

dahulu (comparative lebih dahulu, superlative paling dahulu)

1. early, former, previous

Further reading

• “dahulu”, 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

Etymology

Contraction of di hulu, from di (“at, in, on”) +‎ hulu (“head, upstream, beginning”) with the vowel adjacent to /h/ in the penultimate syllable regularly neutralised to /a/. Compare Toba Batak jolo (“before”). Doublet of dulu.

Pronunciation

• (schwa-variety, Standard Literary, /a/-variety) IPA^(key): /daˈhulu/ [daˈhu.lu]
• Rhymes: -lu, -u
• Hyphenation: da‧hu‧lu

Adverb

dahulu (Jawi spelling دهولو)

1. before, earlier, previously

Adjective

dahulu (Jawi spelling دهولو, comparative lebih dahulu, superlative paling dahulu)

1. early, former, previous

   Synonym: bekas

Derived terms

Affixations

• dahulu dikenali sebagai (“formerly known as”)
• dahulunya (“formerly”)

Descendants

• > Indonesian: dahulu (inherited)

Further reading

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