kasih

Indonesian

Etymology

Inherited from Malay kasih, from Proto-Malayic *kasih, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *ka-qasiq (“mercy; pity; affection”), *qasiq (“pity, compassion, affection, love, sympathy, forgiveness”).

The sense of "to give" may be semantic extension from the action of loving into repaying or providing reciprocal affection.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈkasih/ [ˈka.sɪh]
• Rhymes: -asih
• Syllabification: ka‧sih

Noun

kasih (plural kasih-kasih) (uncountable, uncommon)

1. love, often referring to unconditional and compassionate love

   Synonyms: asih, cinta, sayang

   1. a deep caring for the existence of another
   2. a profound and caring affection towards someone

Verb

kasih (active mengasih, passive dikasih) (ditransitive, colloquial)

1. synonym of beri (“to give”)

Derived terms

Affixations

• berkasih
• berkasih-kasih
• berkasih-kasihan
• kasihan
• kasihi
• kasihkan
• kekasih
• mengasihani
• mengasihi
• pekasih
• pengasih
• pengasihan
• terkasih

Compounds

• kasih mesra
• kasih sayang
• kasih setia

• belas kasih
• berlaga kasih
• cinta kasih
• gondang kasih
• kisah kasih
• memadu kasih
• membalas kasih
• menjunjung kasih
• pilih kasih
• tali kasih
• terima kasih
• terpaut kasih

Further reading

• “kasih”, 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

Maguindanao

Etymology

Borrowed from Malay kasih, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *ka-qasiq (“mercy, pity, affection”).

Noun

kasih

1. love

Malay

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *ka-qasiq (“mercy, pity, affection”).

First attested in the Kota Kapur inscription, 686 CE, as Old Malay [script needed] (kasīh), in inflected form kasīhan (current spelling kasihan). Sense of "giving" may be semantic extension from the action of loving into repaying or providing reciprocal affection.

Pronunciation

• (schwa-variety) IPA^(key): /ˈkaseh/ [ˈka.seh]
  • Rhymes: -aseh, -seh, -eh

• (Baku) IPA^(key): /ˈkasih/ [ˈka.sih]
  • Rhymes: -asih, -sih, -ih
• Hyphenation: ka‧sih

Noun

kasih (Jawi spelling کاسيه, plural kasih-kasih or kasih²)

1. love, care, affection

   Synonym: sayang

Derived terms

Compounds

• kasih sayang (“affection; fondness”)
• terima kasih (“thank you”)

Verb

kasih (Jawi spelling کاسيه)

1. to love, to show affection for
2. (rare) to give

   Synonyms: kasi, beri, bagi

Derived terms

Affixations

• berkasih-kasihan (“to be in love with each other”)
• kasihan (“pity; sympathy”)
• kekasih (“lover”)
• mengasihani (“to pity”)
• mengasihi (“to love”)
• pengasih (“lover”)

Compounds

• menjunjung kasih
• terima kasih

Others

• kasi

Descendants

• > Indonesian: kasih (inherited)
• → Maguindanao: kasih
• → Tagalog: kasi
• → Tausug: kasi

References

• Pijnappel, Jan (1875), “کاسه kasih”, in Maleisch-Hollandsch woordenboek, John Enschede en Zonen, Frederik Muller, page 74
• Wilkinson, Richard James (1901), “کاسه kaseh”, in A Malay-English dictionary, Hong Kong: Kelly & Walsh limited, pages 494-5
• Wilkinson, Richard James (1932), “kaseh”, in A Malay-English dictionary (romanised), volume I, Mytilene, Greece: Salavopoulos & Kinderlis, page 514

Further reading

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