jambu

English

Etymology 1

Noun

jambu (plural jambus)

1. Alternative form of jambul

Etymology 2

Semantic extension from Malay jambu, which originated from Sanskrit जम्बु (jambu, “a fruit or a rose apple”).

Pronunciation

• (Singapore) IPA^(key): /ˈdʒʌmbʊ/

Adjective

jambu (comparative more jambu, superlative most jambu)

1. (Singapore, colloquial, informal) Cute, adorable or beautiful.
   • 2000 2 December, m0bius, soc.culture.singapore

     You discover that she has SISTERS, who are also very jambu.

   • 2007 27 August, http://her-whimsical-escapade.blogspot.sg

     She has this healthy glow, almost like she's golden skinned, but oh so jambu lah!

   • 2008 26 July, CR[7], Singapore Bikes Forum

     got this mat saleh soooo jambu.

   • 2011 9 April, Salmah, DACE Oct 2010

     Add me pls . There are only 5 Salmah Samions ! The most jambu looking profile is me lah !

   • 2014 16 October, https://web.archive.org/web/20160910012100/https://faithinloveandyou.wordpress.com/

     I also wanna look jambu also what on that 2-day event.

   • 2014 6 December, theatelierweddings, Instagram

     My very jambu Shahida for her engagement today. I have a thing for braces girls.

   • 2015 1 August, figo16, Singapore Hardware Zone Forum

     don't sabo that minah jambu lah.

   • 2015 21 December, Farhan, All Singapore Stuff

     A reader has shared with us a Facebook post by jambu ICA officer Adilla Ramli. She gives her view on the recent ICA jams.

Usage notes

Used to describe women. Does not have any sexual innuendo. Commonly found in speech and electronic media. Uncommon in newspapers and print materials.

Indonesian

Etymology

From Malay jambu, from Sanskrit जम्बु (jambu, “rose apple”). Cognate of Javanese ꦗꦩ꧀ꦧꦸ (jambu), Chinese 染霧／染雾.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈd͡ʒam.bu]
• Hyphenation: jam‧bu

Noun

jambu (first-person possessive jambuku, second-person possessive jambumu, third-person possessive jambunya)

1. rose apple.

Compounds

• jambu air
• jambu air mawar
• jambu batu
• jambu biji
• jambu bol
• jambu bol mini
• jambu ceri
• jambu dersana
• jambu jamblang
• jambu keling
• jambu madu deli hijau
• jambu madu hijau
• jambu mete
• jambu monyet

 

Further reading

• “jambu” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Language Development and Fostering Agency — Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic Indonesia, 2016.

Javanese

Romanization

jambu

1. Romanization of ꦗꦩ꧀ꦧꦸ

Malay

Etymology

From Sanskrit जम्बु (jambu, “rose apple”) via Old Javanese. Cognate of Javanese ꦗꦩ꧀ꦧꦸ (jambu), Chinese 染霧／染雾.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈd͡ʒam.bu]
• Hyphenation: jam‧bu

Noun

jambu (Jawi spelling جمبو‎, plural jambu-jambu, informal 1st possessive jambuku, 2nd possessive jambumu, 3rd possessive jambunya)

1. Generic term for any plant bearing pear-like or bulging fruit from the Myrtaceae family, especially in the Syzygium genus or otherwise.
2. wax apple or rose apple (Sygyzium samarangense)

   Synonyms: jambu air mawar, jambu mawar

3. Malay apple (Sygyzium malaccense).

   Synonyms: jambu bol, jambu bubul, jambu dersana, jambu keling, jambu tersana

Compounds

• jambu air
• jambu air mawar
• jambu batu
• jambu biji
• jambu bol
• jambu bubul
• jambu dersana
• jambu golok
• jambu keling
• jambu madu
• jambu mawar
• jambu monyet
• jambu padang
• jambu susu
• jambu tersana
• jambulang

 

References

• Kosakata Bahasa Sanskerta dalam Bahasa Melayu Masa Kini, Jakarta, Indonesia: Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa. Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan Republik Indonesia, 1994, →ISBN, page 83
• Pijnappel, Jan (1875), “جمبو djamboe”, in Maleisch-Hollandsch woordenboek, John Enschede en Zonen, Frederik Muller, page 103
• Wilkinson, Richard James (1901), “جمبو jambu”, in A Malay-English dictionary, Hong Kong: Kelly & Walsh limited, page 96
• Wilkinson, Richard James (1932), “jambu”, in A Malay-English dictionary (romanised), volume I, Mytilene, Greece: Salavopoulos & Kinderlis, pages 441

Further reading

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

Old Javanese

Etymology

From Sanskrit जम्बु (jambu), जम्बू (jambū).

Noun

jambu

1. rose apple tree and its fruit
   • Brahmāṇḍapurāṇa, 145.5:

     Hana ta jambu si Sudarśana ṅaranya, tumuwuh karnah kidul.

Pali

Alternative forms

• jambū

Alternative forms

• 𑀚𑀫𑁆𑀩𑀼 (Brahmi script)
• जम्बु (Devanagari script)
• জম্বু (Bengali script)
• ජම‍්බු (Sinhalese script)
• ဇမ္ဗု or ၹမ္ၿု or ၹမ်ၿု (Burmese script)
• ชมฺพุ or ชัมพุ (Thai script)
• ᨩᨾᩛᩩ (Tai Tham script)
• ຊມ຺ພຸ or ຊັມພຸ (Lao script)
• ជម្ពុ (Khmer script)
• 𑄎𑄟𑄴𑄝𑄪 (Chakma script)

Etymology

Inherited from Sanskrit जम्बु (jambu).

Noun

jambu f

1. the rose apple tree

Declension

Declension table of "jambu" (feminine)

Case \ Number	Singular	Plural
Nominative (first)	jambu	jambuyo or jambū
Accusative (second)	jambuṃ	jambuyo or jambū
Instrumental (third)	jambuyā	jambūhi or jambūbhi
Dative (fourth)	jambuyā	jambūnaṃ
Ablative (fifth)	jambuyā	jambūhi or jambūbhi
Genitive (sixth)	jambuyā	jambūnaṃ
Locative (seventh)	jambuyā or jambuyaṃ	jambūsu
Vocative (calling)	jambu	jambuyo or jambū

Noun

jambu

1. vocative singular of jambū, alternative form of the word above

Noun

jambu n

1. rose apple (the fruit)

Declension

Declension table of "jambu" (neuter)

Case \ Number	Singular	Plural
Nominative (first)	jambu	jambūni or jambū
Accusative (second)	jambuṃ	jambūni or jambū
Instrumental (third)	jambunā	jambūhi or jambūbhi
Dative (fourth)	jambussa or jambuno	jambūnaṃ
Ablative (fifth)	jambusmā or jambumhā	jambūhi or jambūbhi
Genitive (sixth)	jambussa or jambuno	jambūnaṃ
Locative (seventh)	jambusmiṃ or jambumhi	jambūsu
Vocative (calling)	jambu	jambūni or jambū

References

• Pali Text Society (1921-1925), “jambu”, in Pali-English Dictionary‎, London: Chipstead
• Childers, Robert Caesar, Dictionary of the Päli Language, London: Trübner & Company, 1875.

Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈjam.bu/
• Rhymes: -ambu
• Syllabification: jam‧bu

Noun

jambu

1. genitive singular of jamb

Yakan

Noun

jambu

1. tassel
2. fringe