kau orang

Malay

Alternative forms

• korang

Etymology

Calque of Hokkien 汝儂 / 汝侬 (lú-lâng, “you (plural)”, literally “you people”). Compare kita orang and dia orang, analogous to the development of Dutch jullie.

Pronunciation

• (short form):
  • IPA^(key): [ko.raŋ]

    • Audio (Malaysia):

      (file)

    • Rhymes: -oraŋ, -raŋ, -aŋ
• (full form, uncommon):
  • IPA^(key): [kau̯ ʔo.raŋ]

    • Audio (Malaysia):

      (file)

Pronoun

kau orang

1. (informal) Second person plural pronoun; you guys, you all, you.

   Synonym: kalian

   Kau orang tengah buat apa?

   What are you guys doing?

See also

Malay personal pronouns

	Singular	Plural
1st person	saya1 aku3	kita4 kami2 & 5 kita orang3 & 5
2nd person	awak1 anda2 awda8 (eng)kau3 kamu3	(2nd person) + semua6 kalian2 (eng)kau orang3
3rd person	dia ia beliau7 -nya2	mereka2 dia orang3

¹ Polite.
² Formal.
³ Informal.
⁴ Includes the listener (inclusive).
⁵ Excludes the listener (exclusive).
⁶ Formality depends on the second person pronoun used.
⁷ Honorific.
⁸ Formal (Brunei).

Notes:

• This table mostly only shows personal pronouns that are commonly used in the standard language and within the Klang Valley area.
• The second person pronouns are often replaced by kinship terms, titles, or the like.
• The enclitic -nya is only used obliquely (as an object or possessor).
• The second person pronoun kamu is usually only used when speaking with younger speakers.

See each entry for more information.

Further reading

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