sebab

Indonesian

Etymology

From Malay sebab, from Classical Malay sebab, from Arabic سَبَب (sabab).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /səˈbab/ [səˈbap̚]
• Rhymes: -ab
• Syllabification: se‧bab

Noun

sêbab (plural sebab-sebab, first-person possessive sebabku, second-person possessive sebabmu, third-person possessive sebabnya)

1. reason

Derived terms

Affixed terms and other derivations

Regular affixed derivations:

• bersebab [stative / habitual] (beR-)
• menyebabkan [agent focus + causative benefactive] (meN- + -kan)
• disebabkan [patient focus + causative benefactive] (di- + -kan)
• tersebab [agentless action] (teR-)
• penyebab (“cause”) [agentive / qualitative / instrumental / abstract / measure] (peN-)

Conjunction

sebab

1. because
   • 2018 August 26, Achmad Hussain, “Kebakaran Lahan Hutan di Klaten Meluas ke Selatan [Forest Land Fires in Klaten Spreads to the South]”, in Suara Merdeka‎^[1], archived from the original on 27 October 2018:

     Menurut Eko, kebakaran diketahui warga desanya sebab ada asap tebal di kawasan hutan dekat dengan makam Ki Ageng Pandanaran.

     According to Eko, the fire was found out by the people of his village because there was thick smoke at the forest area that is close to the tomb of Ki Ageng Pandanaran.

Synonyms

• karena
• lantaran

Further reading

• “sebab” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Malay

Alternative forms

• (SMS) sbb

Etymology

From Arabic سَبَب (sabab).

Pronunciation

• (Baku, Johor-Riau) IPA^(key): [sə.bap]
  • Rhymes: -ap
• (Kelantan-Pattani, Terengganu) IPA^(key): [sə.baʔ]
• Hyphenation: se‧bab

Noun

sebab (Jawi spelling سبب, plural sebab-sebab, informal 1st possessive sebabku, 2nd possessive sebabmu, 3rd possessive sebabnya)

1. A reason.
   • 2018 April 16, Sim Y. H., “Kadar obesiti dicatatkan meningkat [Rate of obesity recorded to be increasing]”, in Media Permata‎^[2], archived from the original on 27 October 2018:

     Salah satu sebab peningkatan trend yang membimbangkan itu adalah amalan kurang aktif atau tidak aktif secara fizikal.

     One of the reasons for this increasingly worrying trend is the practice of being less active or physically unactive.

   • 2018 October 8, “Tayar haus antara punca kenderaan bergetar [Worn-out tires among the reasons for trembling vehicle]”, in Media Permata‎^[3], archived from the original on 27 October 2018:

     Apabila berhadapan dengan keadaan ini, antara sebab utama kerosakan yang berlaku diberi perhatian termasuk tekanan tayar depan terlalu rendah atau ukurannya tidak sama.

     When faced with this situation, one of the main reasons for the occurred damage [that should] be given attention include front tire pressure that is too low or tire measurements that are not same.

Affixations

• bersebab (“having a reason”)
• disebabkan (“because”)
• penyebab (“cause of something”)
• sebab-musabab
• sebabkan (“to cause”)
• tersebab (rare)

 

Compounds

• oleh sebab (“because”)

 

Conjunction

sebab (Jawi spelling سبب)

1. Due to; because.

   Synonyms: kerana, lantaran, pasal, oleh sebab, akibat

   Dia pergi sebab kena paksa saja.

   He went only because he was forced to.

   • 2018 March 4, Abdul Razak Idris, “Kenapa akronim tidak ikut bahasa Melayu? [Why are acronyms not based on the Malay language?]”, in Utusan Malaysia‎^[4], archived from the original on 5 March 2018:

     Saya bukan pejuang bahasa sebab tatabahasa saya pun adakalanya tidak betul. Saya sama sahaja dengan kebanyakan rakyat yang memerhatikan kemerosotan hari demi hari terhadap kedaulatan bahasa ibunda orang Melayu ini. Saya mungkin boleh tidak peduli soal martabat bahasa kebangsaan ini. Tetapi sayang, sebab saya adalah generasi pertama yang dibuat uji kaji penggunaan bahasa Melayu sepenuhnya dalam sistem pendidikan kebangsaan.

     I am not a language fighter because my grammar is sometimes not right. I am the same as most citizens that are observing day-to-day deterioration of the sovereignty of the mother language of the Malay people. It is possible for me to be unconcerned about the issue of dignity of the national language. However, it is a pity, because I was the first generation that had to experiment with the full usage of the Malay language in the national education system.

Usage notes

Note that kerana may somewhat be seen as more formal than sebab by some Malaysian grammarians even though Kamus Dewan makes no such distinction.

Descendants

• Indonesian: sebab

Further reading

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