Last updated on April 3, 2022
Second-person pronoun substitutes can be very tricky. Engkau, kau and kamu can only be used to address a younger person, one’s subordinate or among good friends. Because of this, kinship terms are used as pronoun substitutes.
Saudara, Saudari
Saudara for male and saudari for female, like anda, is widely used for ‘you’ to people of one’s own age or younger. These second-person pronoun Substitutes have impersonal tone, and it generally used to whom the speaker is not well acquainted.
Bapak, Ibu
These are respectful forms used to older people or to any adult of marriageable age. As pronoun substitutes bapak and ibu can also mean ‘I’. They are restricted to use by older people to younger people, whether their own children or not.
| Bapak tinggal di sini? | Do you live here? | said to an older man |
| Ini anak ibu? | Is this your child? | said to an older woman |
| Ibu mau ke pasar. | I am going to the market. | said by a woman to someone younger |
| Berikan buku itu pada bapak! | Give that book to me. | said by a man to a younger person |
Pak and bu are the abbreviated forms of bapak and ibu, but they can not be used alone as pronoun substitutes. However, in combination with a name they can be used as terms for reference to a third person or in addressing a second person as pronoun substitutes.
| Pak Hasan mau makan sekarang? | Do you want to eat now, Mr. Hasan? | as pronoun substitute |
| Pak Hasan mau makan sekarang? | Does Mr. Hasan want to eat now? | reference to a third person |
Personal Names
Personal names are commonly used as substitutes for ‘I’ and ‘you’, particularly among children.
| Dina mau ikut. | I want to come. | said by a girl named Dina |
| Dina mau ikut? Ini untuk Dina | Do you want to come? This is for you. | addressed to a girl named Dina said to a girl named Dina |
Total Avoidance or -Nya
When there is uncertainty about how a person should be addressed, Indonesians have a number of strategies for avoiding offense. As a result, they may avoid using a pronoun altogether, or use third person-nya. In this case, the pronoun ‘-nya‘ is not used as a third person pronoun but as a second-person pronoun.
| Tinggal dimana? | Where do (you) live? | avoid using a pronoun |
| Dimana rumahnya? | Where do you live? | use –nya as a second-person pronoun |
Other Terms
| Pronoun Substitutes | Meaning | Application |
| gue, gua; | I, my, me; | Colloquial Jakartan, only used among very closed friends |
| elo, elu, lu | you | Colloquial Jakartan, only used among very closed friends |
| abang | big brother | informal, neutral, singular, to older male |
| adik | younger brother/sister | informal, neutral, singular, to younger person |
| om; tante | uncle; aunt(Dutch) | for older person, more informal than bapak, ibu |
| mas; mbak | older brother; older sister(Javanese) | informal, polite, can be used to older or younger people |
To get a better picture, you can read “Question Words for Asking for What You Want in Indonesian“.
Reference:Indonesian Reference Grammar by James Neil Sneddon, 1996.
About the author: James Neil Sneddon, PhD. was Associate Professor in the School of Languages and Linguistics at Griffith University, Queensland, Australia. He has many years’ experience in the teaching of Indonesian language and linguistics. He studied Linguistics and Indonesian at the University of Sydney. He obtained his PhD in Linguistics in 1974 at the Australian National University. His thesis topic was “Tondano Phonology and Grammar”.