percuma

Indonesian

Etymology

Affixed per- +‎ cuma, from Malay percuma.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /pərˈt͡ʃuma/ [pərˈt͡ʃu.ma]
• Rhymes: -uma
• Syllabification: per‧cu‧ma

Adjective

percuma (comparative lebih percuma, superlative paling percuma)

1. pointless; wasted; useless

   Synonym: sia-sia

2. (dated or literary) free, without charge

   Synonyms: cuma-cuma, gratis

   Bolehlah naik dengan percuma. ― I can ride it for free, can't I?

Usage notes

The word is part of false friends between Standard Malay and Indonesian due to shared etymology. The Standard Malay usage can be seen in percuma.

Further reading

• “percuma”, 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

Etymology

Affixation of per- +‎ cuma. Compare Japanese ただ (tada).

Pronunciation

• (schwa-variety) IPA^(key): /pə(r)ˈt͡ʃumə/ [pə(r)ˈt͡ʃu.mə]
  • Rhymes: -mə, -ə

• (/a/-variety) IPA^(key): /pə(r)ˈt͡ʃuma/ [pə(r)ˈt͡ʃu.ma]
  • Rhymes: -ma, -a

• (Baku) IPA^(key): /pərˈt͡ʃuma/ [pərˈt͡ʃu.ma]
  • Rhymes: -ma, -a
• Hyphenation: per‧cu‧ma

Adjective

percuma (Jawi spelling ڤرچوما, comparative lebih percuma, superlative paling percuma)

1. Obtainable without payment; free.

   Synonym: gratis (Indonesia)

   aiskrim percuma ― free ice cream

2. (Indonesia) Pointless, wasted, useless.

   Synonym: sia-sia

Adverb

percuma (Jawi spelling ڤرچوما)

1. Without any payments; for free.

   Dia bekerja percuma di tempat itu.

   He worked at that place for free.

Usage notes

The word is part of false friends between Standard Malay and Indonesian due to shared etymology. The Indonesian usage can be seen in percuma.

Descendants

• > Indonesian: percuma (inherited) (obosolte)

References

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