mempunyai

mempunyai

Indonesian

Etymology

• Irregular derivation as mem- +‎ punya +‎ -i, or
• From me- +‎ empunya +‎ -i, itself is a suffixation of empu +‎ -nya.

According to Foong Ha Yap, data from the Malay Concordance Project shows evidence that this verb is a derivative of empunya (“owner”), which comes from empu (“master”) and the third person genitive -nya. In modern Malay, the root word is analyzed as punya, a shortening of empunya. [1]

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /məm.ˈpu.ɲa.i/
• Hyphenation: mem‧pu‧nya‧i
• Rhymes: -puɲai, -ɲai, -i

Verb

mempunyai (passive dipunyai)

1. (transitive) to possess
2. (transitive) to own

   Saya mempunyai kamus baru.

   I have a new dictionary.

References

1. Foong Ha Yap; Karen Grunow-Hårsta; Janick Wrona (2011-06-29), “Referential and non-referential uses of nominalization constructions in Malay”, in Nominalization in Asian Languages‎, retrieved 2023-02-11

Further reading

• “mempunyai” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Language Development and Fostering Agency — Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic Indonesia, 2016.