apakah
Indonesian
Etymology
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /apa.kah/
Conjunction
apakah
- whether
- Aku tidak tahu apakah suratku sudah sampai. ― I don't know whether (or not) my letter has arrived.
Further reading
- “apakah” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.
Malay
Etymology
Pronunciation
- (Johor-Riau) IPA(key): [a.pə.kah]
Audio (Malaysia): (file)
- (Baku) IPA(key): [a.pa.kah]
Audio (Malaysia): (file)
- Rhymes: -kah, -ah
- Hyphenation: a‧pa‧kah
Interjection
apakah (Jawi spelling اڤاکه)
- Used to express surprise or disbelief; "what!".
- Apakah, dia yang main tipu rupanya?!
- What, so he was the one who's been cheating?!
Pronoun
apakah (Jawi spelling اڤاکه)
- Interrogative pronoun used to inquire something about a certain thing; what.
- Apakah nama buku yang kita baca malam semalam?
- What is the name of the book that we read last night?
- 2003, Nor Arlisa Irena Abu Bakar, Penulis buku politik Kelantan tiada agenda:
- Apakah tujuan Ikmal sebenarnya?
- What is Ikmal's true motive?
- Interrogative pronoun used to inquire about the truth of a statement; "is it that", "is it the case that".
- Synonym: adakah
- Apakah kita tidak mampu berdikari lagi?
- Is it the case that we can't stand by ourselves anymore?
- 2017, Mahizan Husain, Cahaya Delima:
- Apakah akhirnya dia akan kembali pada tanah?
- Is it that he will finally return to land?
Usage notes
- The -kah suffix is usually only used in formal or literary speech or writing.
- It is also only used when apa is the subject of the sentence so while it would be used in a sentence like this:
- Apakah nama kereta itu?
- What is the name of that car?
- It wouldn't be used in a sentence like this where apa is the object of the sentence:
- Nama kereta itu apa?
- What is the name of that car? (lit. "The name of that car is what?")
Further reading
- “apa” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.