kutu buku

Indonesian

Etymology

From kutu (“louse”) +‎ buku (“book”), probably calque from Chinese 書蟲／书虫 (shūchóng, “bookworm”, literally “book + insect/bug”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /kutu ˈbuku/

Noun

bookworm

Synonyms

ulat buku (Standard Malay)

Further reading

“kutu buku” 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

Noun

(figuratively) synonym of ulat buku