macam

See also: maçam

English

Alternative forms

• macham, machiam

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Malay macam (“like”).

Pronunciation

• (Singapore) IPA^(key): /ˈmat͡ʃam/, (with Hokkien-influenced pronunciation, rare) [ˈma˧t͡ɕ˭jam˦]
  • With pitch accent: IPA^(key): [ˈma˧t͡ʃam˦], [-˦˧]

Preposition

macam

1. (Singapore, Singlish, Malaysia) Like, similar to, resembling.
   • 2006, Elangovan, Smegma, Singapore, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 33:

     Eee! Who-ah? You-ah? Oi! Cannot tahan man. Never shit so long-ah? Macham atomic bomb man. Uncle! Your old backside got big gas refinery is it?

   • 2018, Jean Tay, Sisters & Senang: The Island Plays, Epigram Books, →ISBN, Scene 3, Island Talk 1:

     Macham [like] monster like that. My eyes lagi [even more] worse.

   • 2020 April 10, All Singapore Stuff, Facebook:

     Macam like rats stuck in pigeon holes

Indonesian

Etymology

Inherited from Malay macam.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈmat͡ʃam/ [ˈma.t͡ʃam]
• Rhymes: -at͡ʃam
• Syllabification: ma‧cam

Noun

macam (plural macam-macam)

1. type; kind (a grouping based on shared characteristics)

   Synonyms: jenis, tipe

   berbagai macam cara ― all sorts of ways

2. (rare) way (a method or manner of doing something; a mannerism)

   Synonym: bagaimana

Preposition

macam

1. like (similar to, reminiscent of)

   Synonyms: seperti, bagaikan, bangsa

Derived terms

• bermacam
• bermacam-macam
• macam-macam
• semacam

• macam mana

Further reading

• “macam”, 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

Alternative forms

• cam (apheresis)
• mcm (Internet, text messaging)

Etymology

Ulltimately from Arabic مقام (“way, kind, type, variety; music: scale”), probably via Persian [Term?].

First attested in c. 1380s in Hikayat Amir Hamzah, in the form of semacamnya.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmat͡ʃam/ [ˈma.t͡ʃam]
• Rhymes: -at͡ʃam, -t͡ʃam, -am
• Hyphenation: ma‧cam

Noun

macam (Jawi spelling ماچم, plural macam-macam or macam²)

1. type

   Synonym: jenis

Conjunction

macam (Jawi spelling ماچم)

1. like, similar to

   Synonyms: seperti, laksana

   Kecomelan amoi tu macam arnab.

   The cuteness of that Chinese girl looks similar to a bunny.

Derived terms

• bermacam
• bermacam-macam
• macam mana
• macam-macam
• semacam

Descendants

• > Indonesian: macam (inherited)

Further reading

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

Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈma.t͡sam/
• Rhymes: -at͡sam
• Syllabification: ma‧cam

Verb

macam

1. first-person singular present of macać