kenapa

Indonesian

Etymology

Inherited from Malay kenapa, a blend of kena (“to be hit”) +‎ apa (“what”).[1]

Pronunciation

  • (Standard Indonesian) IPA(key): /kəˈnapa/ [kəˈna.pa]
  • Rhymes: -apa
  • Syllabification: ke‧na‧pa

Pronoun

kênapa

  1. (informal) why; for what reason
    Synonym: (literary) mengapa
    Kenapa air laut asin? ― Why is sea water salty?
    • 2017 November 22, Linda Putri, “Ganjar: Kalau Tidak Salah Kenapa Takut [Ganjar: If Not Wrong Why Fear]”, in Suara Merdeka‎[2], archived from the original on 31 December 2018:
      "Kenapa harus takut kalau tidak salah? Kenapa harus khawatir dengan omongan inkonsisten? Coba cek deh satu persatu, dari 2013 sampai jadi saksi-saksi kemarin apa ada satu saja yang konsisten?," terang Ganjar lagi.
      "Why should you be afraid if not wrong? Why should you worry about talking inconsistently? Try checking one by one, from 2013 to yesterday's witnesses, is there only one that is consistent?", Ganjar further explained.

References

  1. ^ Schmoldt, A., Benthe, H. F., Haberland, G. (October 2024) “Seventeenth-century Malay wordlists and their potential for etymological scholarship”, in Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia, volume 25, number 3, →DOI, page 556

Further reading

Malay

Alternative forms

Etymology

Blend of kena (“to affect”) +‎ apa (“what”).[1]

Pronunciation

  • (Johor-Riau) IPA(key): /kəˈnapə/ [kəˈna.pə]
    • Rhymes: -apə
  • (Baku) IPA(key): /kəˈnapa/ [kəˈna.pa]
    • Rhymes: -apa
  • Hyphenation: ke‧na‧pa

Adverb

kenapa (Jawi spelling کناڤ)

  1. (informal) Why; for what reason.
    Synonyms: asal (colloquial), awat (colloquial, dialectal), mengapa (formal), pahal (colloquial)
    Kenapa kau begitu degil? ― Why are you so stubborn?
    • 2018 December 27, “Kenapa tapak tangan selalu basah, berpeluh? [Why are palms always wet and sweaty?]”, in Media Permata‎[3], archived from the original on 28 December 2018:
      “Doktor, tapak tangan saya berpeluh banyak sangat sampai tidak boleh buat kerja. Kenapa boleh jadi begitu?”
      "Doctor, my palms sweat too much until I cannot do work. Why could this have happened?

References

  1. ^ Maxwell, William Edward (1907) A Manual of the Malay language‎[1], LESSON IX, On the Verb Kĕna, page 90

Further reading

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