indah

Indonesian

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈindah/ [ˈin.dah]
• Rhymes: -indah
• Syllabification: in‧dah

Etymology 1

Inherited from Malay indah, from Old Javanese indah (“being different, extraordinary beauty”). Displaced native elok. Cognate of Javanese ꦲꦺꦤ꧀ꦢꦃ (éndah, “beautiful, fine; good”).

Adjective

indah (superlative terindah, equative seindah)

1. beautiful

   Synonyms: cantik, elok

Derived terms

• keindahan
• memperindah
• mengindah
• pemerindah
• pengindah
• pengindahan
• seindah
• terindah

Etymology 2

Learned borrowing from Old Javanese indah (“hear! listen!”).

Verb

indah

1. to pay attention, to care about, to be interested

Derived terms

• mengindahkan

Etymology 3

Borrowed from Sundanese [Term?].

Noun

indah (plural indah-indah)

1. (dialect) infant feces in the form of yellow fluid mixed with small granules resembling mustard seeds

Further reading

• “indah”, 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

Javanese writing system
Carakan	ꦲꦶꦤ꧀ꦢꦃ
Pegon
Roman	indah

Etymology

From Old Javanese indah.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈīn.dɑːh]
• Hyphenation: in‧dah

Verb

indah

1. hear, listen

Adjective

indah

1. being different, extraordinary beauty

Related terms

• endah (Old Javanese)

Descendants

• Banyumasan: indah

References

• The Linguistic Center of Yogyakarta (2011), “indah”, in Kamus Basa Jawa (Bausastra Jawa) [Javanese Language Dictionary (Javanese Dictionary)] (in Javanese), 2nd edition, Yogyakarta: Kanisius, →ISBN

Malay

Etymology

Derived from Old Javanese indah.

Alternatively a native Malay word.

Adjective

indah (Jawi spelling اينده, comparative lebih indah, superlative paling indah)

1. beautiful, lovely, attractive, fine, precious

   indah permai ― very beautiful

Derived terms

Affixed terms and other derivations

Regular affixed derivations:

• pengindah (“beautifier”) [agentive / qualitative / instrumental / abstract / measure] (peN-)
• pengindahan (“beautification”) [agentive / qualitative / instrumental / abstract / measure + resultative / locative / collective / variety / verbal noun / fruit] (peN- + -an)
• keindahan (“beauty”) [abstract / locative] (ke-an)
• indah-indah [reduplication] (redup)
• seindah (“as beautiful as”) [comparability] (se-)
• perindah (“to decorate”) [causative passive] (peR-)
• memperindah (“to embellish”) [causative passive + agent focus] (peR- + meN-)
• diperindah (“to be beautified”) [causative passive + patient focus] (peR- + di-)
• indahkan (“to treat or regard as precious”) [causative benefactive] (-kan)
• indahi [causative (locative) benefactive] (-i)
• mengindahkan (“to beautify”) [agent focus + causative benefactive] (meN- + -kan)
• diindahkan (“to be beautified”) [patient focus + causative benefactive] (di- + -kan)
• terindah (“the most beautiful”) [agentless action] (teR-)

Descendants

• > Betawi: indah (inherited)
• > Indonesian: indah (inherited)

Further reading

• "indah" in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu (PRPM) [Malay Literary Reference Centre (PRPM)] (in Malay), Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017
  (also see "indah" at PRPM first version)

Old Javanese

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈīn.dɑːh]
• Hyphenation: in‧dah

Verb

indah

1. to hear

   Synonyms: amiharṣa, amirĕṅ, añruti, aṅapö, inudāsīnakĕn, ḍĕṅö, ḍĕṅĕt, rĕṅö, ruṅu

2. to listen

Descendants

• → Indonesian: indah (learned)

Adjective

indah

1. being different, extraordinary beauty

Derived terms

• apendah
• aṅendahakĕn
• aṅendahi
• endah
• kendah
• kendahan
• mapendah
• mendah

• sarwendah
• tan pendah

Related terms

• endah

Descendants

• > Javanese: ꦲꦺꦤ꧀ꦢꦃ (éndah) (inherited)
• > Banyumasan: indah (inherited)
• > Osing: indah (inherited)
• > Tengger: indah (inherited)
• → Malay: indah
  • > Betawi: indah (inherited)
  • > Indonesian: indah (inherited)

References

• P.J. Zoetmulder, S.O. Robson (1982), Old Javanese-English Dictionary, Gravenhage: Martinus Nijhoff

Sarawak Malay

Alternative forms

• ndah, endah

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /in.dah/, /ən.dah/

Adverb

indah

1. instead; on the other hand; however (indicating a contrast or an unexpected action).

   Urang lain gago kerja, nya tidur indah. ― Others are busy working, [but] he sleeps instead.

   Aku ingat nya manas, paduhal nya suka indah. ― I thought he was angry, turns out he likes it instead.