apakah

Indonesian

Etymology

From apa +‎ -kah.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /apa.kah/

Conjunction

apakah

  1. whether
    Aku tidak tahu apakah suratku sudah sampai.I don't know whether (or not) my letter has arrived.

Further reading

Malay

Etymology

Affixation of apa +‎ -kah.

Pronunciation

  • (Johor-Riau) IPA(key): [a.pə.kah]
    • Audio (Malaysia):(file)
  • (Baku) IPA(key): [a.pa.kah]
  • Rhymes: -kah, -ah
  • Hyphenation: a‧pa‧kah

Interjection

apakah (Jawi spelling اڤاکه)

  1. 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)

  1. 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?
  2. 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