kakak
See also: kakák
Indonesian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ka.kaʔ/
- Hyphenation: ka‧kak
Etymology 1
- For sense of older brother, semantic loan from Hokkien 哥哥 (ko-ko, “older brother”) and semantic loan from Javanese ꦏꦏꦁ, ꦏꦏ, ꦏꦏꦏ꧀ (kakang, kaka, kakak).
- For sense of older sister, Semantic loan from Malay kakak (“older sister”).
- For sense of form of address to husband in marital relationship, semantic loan from Javanese ꦏꦏꦁ, ꦏꦏ, ꦏꦏꦏ꧀ (kakang, kaka, kakak).
Noun
kakak (plural kakak-kakak, first-person possessive kakakku, second-person possessive kakakmu, third-person possessive kakaknya)
- (literally or figuratively, formal) older sibling
- (literally or figuratively, chiefly Sumatra and Kalimantan) older sister
- (literally or figuratively, chiefly Jakarta and Java) older brother
- a form of address to an older person (same generation or one generation before)
- (chiefly Jakarta) a form of address to the husband in a marriage or marital relationship
Usage notes
- In common situations, kakak may be used to address older sibling (brothers or sisters, gender neutral). But, in area with Malay as native language, kakak is only used to address older sisters, as in Standard Malay kakak.
- In formal situations (e.g. to address a customer), kakak may be used to address someone with impression she/he is not 'old person' (youthful nuance).
Alternative forms
- KK
Synonyms
- (older sister): see Thesaurus:kakak
- (older brother): see Thesaurus:abang
Derived terms
- kakak ipar
Etymology 2
Onomatopoeic, compare to Tagalog kakak.
Root
kakak
- quack, cluck
- laugh
Derived terms
- berkakak
- berkakakan
- mengakak
- terkakak-kakak
Further reading
- “kakak” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Language Development and Fostering Agency — Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic Indonesia, 2016.
Javanese
Romanization
kakak
- Romanization of ꦏꦏꦏ꧀.
Malay
Etymology
From Proto-Malayic *kakaʔ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kaka, from Proto-Austronesian *kaka.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /kakaʔ/
- Rhymes: -akaʔ, -kaʔ, -aʔ
Audio (MY) (file)
Noun
kakak (Jawi spelling کاکق, plural kakak-kakak, informal 1st possessive kakakku, 2nd possessive kakakmu, 3rd possessive kakaknya)
- sister (older woman or girl having the same parents)
- (rare) sibling (older person who shares same parents)
- (rare) brother (older male sibling)
- term of address for a female acquaintance who is a bit older
Synonyms
- abang
- engko
- nana
- uda
Derived terms
- kakaktua
Related terms
- akak
- akang
- kak
- kakanda
- kakang
- kanda
- kang
- kangmas
- kekanda
Tagalog
Etymology
Onomatopoeic, compare to Indonesian kakak.
Noun
kakak
- cackle or cackling of a hen, duck, etc.
Related terms
- putak