Emotive Particles - Bahasakita.com

These particles are scattered through colloquial Jakartan speech and writing. They don’t carry concrete meaning, but rather express the speaker’s feelings about what is being said. Their effect is subtle and often hard to pin down.

Particularly common ones are: kan, nih, tuh, lho, kok, deh, sih, dong. They are illustrated in the section below.

Note that their effect is captured only approximately by the English translations.

* KAN

– kan (1)

On the end of questions, kan? is just short for bukan, i.e. a question tag like “right?”, “isn’t it”? “can’t I?”, etc.

– Tita emang cantik kan?

Tita really is pretty, isn’t she?

– Mau nanya. Boleh, kan?

I want to ask something. I can, right?

– kan (2)

– kan on statements suggests the hearer already knows whatever it is you’re telling them.

– Nggak mau jalan. Kan jauh.

I didn’t want to walk there. It’s a long way (as you know)

– Tapi gue kan ga kaya elo Nur. Gua nih jadi gugup kalo deketin cowok.

But I’m not like you Nur (as you know). I get nervous when I approach guys.

* NIH

nih isn’t always used to mean “this”. Sometimes it is just added to emphasise what the person is saying.

– Abis wisuda aku ga bisa ke mana-mana nih …

After I graduated I wasn’t able to go off traveling anywhere, nih …

– Ini nih yang bikin turis gak mau balik ke Indonesia lagi.

It’s this, nih, that makes tourists not want to come back to Indonesia.

* TUH

Similarly, tuh isn’t always used to mean “that”. Sometimes it is just added to emphasise what the person is saying.

– Banyak tuh temen-temen gue yg pake jilbab.

There are lots, tuh, of my friends who wear a Moslem headscarf.

– Bukan sekali itu tuh gue keilangan dompet.

It’s not just that one time, tuh, that I lost my wallet.

* LHO

– lho (1)

Lho at the start of sentences expresses surprise.

– Lho, udah pagi.

Gosh, it’s morning already.

– Lho, siapa bilang marketing itu nggak penting?

Hey, who says marketing isn’t important?

– lho (2)

Lho at the end of statements is a kind of emphatic reminder (or warning) that what you’re saying is true

– Kita juga capek lho.

We’re tired as well, you know.

– Bintang film tuh ga harus cantik lho.

Film stars don’t necessarily have to be pretty, you know.

– (talking about a type of diet pill)

Aku juga pake! Bagus lho.

I use them too! They’re good, believe me.

*SIH

– sih (1)

sih on questions is very common. It tends to make the asker sound not really keen to get an answer. This softens many questions, by making them sound less abrupt.

(idle social questions to an acquaintance):

– Umurnya berapa sih?

How old are you anyway?

– Tinggalnya di mana sih?

So where do you live then?

– sih (2)

This same quality of sih, i.e. that it makes the asker sound as if they don’t really care so much about the answer, can at other times make a question sound irritable or sarcastic.

– Nih cewek maunya apa sih?

What does this girl want, for godsake?

(to someone acting arrogant)

– Siapa sih lo?

Who do you think you are?

– sih (3)

Sih coming after the subject, i.e. after the thing being talked about, has the effect of “As for X”

– Gua sih suka banget ama ini filem.

As for me, I really like this film.

– Menurut gue, orang bule sih baik-baik aja.

In my opinion, as for whiteys, they’re fine.

– sih (4)

sih at the end of clauses is common, but its effect in that position can be very hard to pinpoint. It often helps create a matter of fact, explanatory tone.

– Gue ditawarin laptop ama suami tapi gue menolak. Emang nggak perlu sih.

I was offered a laptop computer by my husband but I refused. The thing is I really don’t need one.

– Abis ujian aku ga bisa ke mana-mana nih. Ga ada duit sih.

After my exams I wasn’t able to travel anywhere. I didn’t have any money, you see.

* DEH

deh often emphasises that something is true.

– Aduh, malu deh.

Gosh, I was embarrassed, I’m telling you.

– Kalo gak murah gua ga mau deh.

If it isn’t cheap then I don’t want it, I really don’t.

* KOK

– kok (1)

kok at the start of a clause suggests you are surprised and is similar to “Why..? or “How come..?)

– Kok mahal banget Mas.

How come it’s so expensive, Mas.?

– [to friend who has just got back from a holiday]

– Kok nggak ada foto?

What, no photos?

– kok (2)

kok at the end of statements adds emphasis. It usually suggests too that you are challenging or contradicting what was said before.

– Siapa bilang susah? Gampang aja kok sebenernya.

Who says it’s hard?? It’s a cinch.

A: “Baru kenal, kok nanya pacar”? B: “Cuma pingin tahu aja kok.”

– A: “We’ve only just met and you’re asking if I’ve got a boyfriend”?
– B: “Hey, I just wanted to know”.

* DONG

dong on a command or a statement adds emphasis. It conveys a sense that you’re setting the person straight: that the person should already know what to do, or know what you’re telling them.

– Uang pas dong.

Hey, c’mon, (give me) the exact change.

– Mereka nggak bisa disalahin dong.

– They can’t be blamed, you know!

* COMBINATIONS

Lho, kok gitu sih?

Gosh, how can that be, I wonder?

Emotive particles are very often used in combination. Often you can roughly identify what each particle means in the sentence (as in this example above). But in many other cases you can’t really say what each one means – you can just see that the combination makes the sentence sound smooth and natural.