Last updated on April 18, 2022
Canggung
Meaning: self-conscious, awkward
Synonym: kikuk, kagok
Application: canggung, kecanggungan
| Waktu pertama kali ketemu calon mertua rasanya canggung juga. Canggung rasanya waktu pertama kali naik panggung. Kok canggung amat bawa mobilnya? |
I felt self-conscious when I first met my mother-in-law to be. It felt awkward when I first went on stage. Why you drive clumsily? |
Cerewet
Meaning: fretful, talkative, chatterbox
Synonym: rewel, bawel
Application: cerewet, kecerewetan
Cewek and Cowok*
Meaning of ‘cewek’: girl, female, girlfriend, gal, woman
Synonym of ‘cewek’: pacar perempuan, anak perempuan, perempuan, wanita
Meaning of ‘cowok’: boy, man, male, guy, boyfriend, bloke
Synonym of ‘cowok’: pacar laki-laki, anak laki laki, lelaki, pria
Application: These two words are so common in the speech of educated youths that it can be argued the label ‘slang’ is not justified. They are, however, highly marked as ‘low variants’ because they do not occur in the meetings nor frequently in the speech of most older people. The high variables(laki-laki, pria, perempuan, wanita) do not occur at all in most younger conversations. The words ‘cewek’ and ‘cowok’ can also refer to animals.
| Anak gue satu cowok dua cewek. Aku belum pengen punya cowok. Gua nggak suka cewek rambut panjang. Anjing elu cewek apa cowok? |
I have one son and two daughters. I don’t want to have a boyfriend yet. I don’t like girl with long hair. Is your dog male or female? |
Cuma*
Meaning: only, just
Synonym: hanya, saja
Application: cuma, cuma-cuma(for free), percuma(without result)
Cuma sometimes is also written as ‘cuman’. Cuma is colloquial form for ‘hanya’.
| cuma satu/satu saja Mobilnya cuma satu. Gue cuma pegawai biasa. hanya satu Buku ini saya dapat cuma cuma. Percuma saya datang jauh jauh. Percuma |
only one He has only one car. I am just an ordinary employee. just one I get this book for free. I came this far for nothing useless |
*) Reference: Colloquial Jakartan Indonesian by James Neil Sneddon, 2006
