bahasa ibu
Indonesian
Etymology
Compound of bahasa (“language”) + ibu (“mother”), calque of Dutch moedertaal.
Noun
bahasa ibu
- (linguistics) mother tongue, native language, first language, the language one first learned; the language one grew up with.
Synonyms
- bahasa ibunda (Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore)
Further reading
- “bahasa ibu” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Language Development and Fostering Agency — Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic Indonesia, 2016.