P

Last updated on January 3, 2019

Meaning: at or to
Synonym: para(correspond to ‘pada’ in colloquial)
Application: In formal Indonesian the word ‘pada‘ is usually used instead of ‘di‘ when location in time is referred to. ‘Pada‘ is also used in other contexts of figurative space.
In colloquial Indonesian ‘pada’ acts as a plural marker for humans. It comes before the following predicate. It is thus restricted to indicating an action performed by everyone in a particular group and is usually translatable ‘(they) all’.

Saya tertarik pada pelajaran itu. Dia memberikan surat itu pada saya. Jenazah para korban dibawa ke rumah sakit. Orang-orang pada bilang dia sakit.(colloq.) Lu pada nggak kerja apa?(colloq.)

I am interested in that subject. He gave that letter to me. The bodies of the victims were taken to the hospital. Everyone said she is not well. Don’t you all have anything to do?

Meaning: most, look back, superlative
Application: paling, paling-paling, berpaling

Dia paling cantik di kelas. Dengan komputer paling tidak pekerjaannya jadi lebih mudah. Tidak ada gunanya berpaling ke masa lalu. Yang datang ke rapat paling banyak 10 orang. Supaya lulus paling sedikit nilainya harus enam. Dia lulus dengan angka paling rendah. Ketika dipanggil dia berpaling ke arah lain. Untuk apa saya kasih dia makanan, paling-paling juga dibuang.

She is the prettiest in her class. With computer at least his job becomes a lot easier. There’s no use to look back into the past. At the most only 10 people come to the meeting. To graduate you need at least 6 point. He graduated with the lowest mark. He looks to another direction when I call him. Why should I give her food, she will throw it anyway.

Meaning: acceptable, appropiate, ethical, justly, reasonable, suitable, proper
Synonym:layak, patut
Application: pantas, pantes, pantesan

Kelakuannya sangat tidak pantas. Kata-kata itu tidak pantas diucapkan di depan ibunya. Tolong kasih saya harga yang pantas. Kamu nggak pantes pake warna biru. Kalau ke kantor pakailah baju yang pantas. Pantesan(pantas) dia bertingkah seperti itu …

His acts are not acceptable. Those words are not appropriate to be said in front of his mother. Please give me a reasonable price. Blue color doesn’t suit you. If you go to the office please wear a proper dress. No wonder he’s acting like that ….

Meaning: when(of past event)
Synonym: waktu, ketika
Application: ‘waktu’ is used both in formal Indonesian and colloquial Indonesian. ‘Pas’ is only used in colloquial Indonesian.

Dulu, pas(waktu) jaman Sukarno .. Pas(ketika) balik ke sini dia putus sama cowoknya. Pas lagi cerita, dia masuk ke ruangan.

Previously, in Sukarno’s time … When she returned here she broke up with her boyfriend. While I was telling the story he came into the room.

Meaning: break, broken
Application: patah, pecah, perpecahan, putus, terputus, keputusan, memutuskan
These three words have different application for different situation

Kakinya patah waktu jatuh dari pohon. Dia patah semangat waktu ayahnya meninggal. Dia merasa putus asa karena berkali kali gagal dalam ujian. Tali jemuran di rumah saya putus. Saya putus dengan pacar saya. Pembicaraan telepon kami terputus putus. Keputusan saya sudah bulat. Keputusan hakim Saya tidak bisa memutuskan apa-apa. pecahan gelas patah hati pecah belah Gagang kaca mata saya patah Lensa kaca mata saya pecah

He broke his leg when he fell from the tree. He broke down when his father passed away. He feels hopeless because he failed his exam many times. The washing line in my house is broken. I broke up with my boyfriend. Our phone conversation was intermittent. My mind is set. The judge ruling I can not decide on anything broken glass broken heart glassware, bric-a-brac I broke my eyeglass frame I broke my eyeglass lense

Meaning: want, desire
Synonym: ingin
Application: ‘pengen’ is colloquial form of ‘ingin’. Other variants include pingin, kepengen, kepingin.

Dia nggak pengen kerja lagi. Dia tidak ingin bekerja lagi. Untuk hadiah ulang tahun, kamu kepengen apa? Untuk hadiah ulang tahun, kamu ingin apa?

He hasn’t wanted to work anymore.  For birthday present, what do you want?

Meaning: squeeze, extort, black mail. extract, wring
Synonym: remas
Application: peras, memeras, diperas, pemerasan

Saya suka minum jeruk peras. Ibu saya sedang memeras jeruk. Saya harus memeras otak untuk memecahkan masalah ini. Dia memeras tenaga untuk menghidupi anak-anaknya. Beginilah caranya memeras cucian. Dia meremas tangan saya. Temannya mencoba memeras uang dengan mengancam akan melaporkan perbuatannya ke polisi.

I like drinking orange juice. My mother is squeezing the orange. I have to rack my brain to solve this problem.  He works like a horse to feed his children. This is the way to wring the clothes. He squeezes my hands. His friend tried to extort hush money from him by threatening to tell what he did to the police.

*) Reference: Colloquial Jakartan Indonesian by James Neil Sneddon, 2006