The partial reduplication of noun can also indicate plurality or variety. For some root words, plurality can be formed by full reduplication or partial reduplication.
For example:
- Daun (leaf) → daun-daun (leaves)
- Daun (leaf) → dedaunan (leaves)
According to Sneddon et al (2010), partial reduplication occurs only with bases which begin with a consonant. It involves placing before the base a syllable consisting of the first consonant of the base word followed by ‘e’ and suffix-an.
| Root | Meaning | Partial Reduplication | Full Reduplication | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| singular | plural | plural | ||
| pohon | tree | pepohonan | pohon-pohon | trees |
| daun | leaf | dedaunan | daun-daun | leaves |
| rumput | grass | rerumputan | rumput-rumput | grass |
| tamu | guest | tetamu | tamu-tamu | guests |
| tua | old | tetua | – | elders |