kakak

See also: kakák

Indonesian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ka.kaʔ/
• Hyphenation: ka‧kak

Etymology 1

From Malay kakak (“older sister”), from Classical Malay kakak, from Proto-Malayic *kakaʔ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kaka, from Proto-Austronesian *kaka.

• For sense of older brother, semantic loan from Hokkien 哥哥 (ko-ko, “older brother”) and semantic loan from Javanese ꦏꦏꦁ, ꦏꦏ, ꦏꦏꦏ꧀ (kakang, kaka, kakak).
• For sense of form of address to husband in marital relationship, semantic loan from Javanese ꦏꦏꦁ, ꦏꦏ, ꦏꦏꦏ꧀ (kakang, kaka, kakak).

Noun

kakak (plural kakak-kakak)

1. (literally or figuratively, formal) older sibling
2. (literally or figuratively, chiefly Sumatra and Kalimantan) older sister
3. (literally or figuratively, chiefly Jakarta and Java) older brother
4. (chiefly Jakarta) a general form of address, typically to an older person (but applicable to same age groups)
5. (colloquial) a form of address to any stranger

Usage notes

• People in areas with Malay populations and speaking vernacular Malay dialects only use kakak to address older sisters, otherwise outside those places like Jakarta, it is gender neutral.
• In formal situations (e.g. to address a customer), kakak may be used to address someone to give an impression of a 'youthful nuance' (i.e., by denoting someone as such).

Alternative forms

• KK

Synonyms

• (older sister): see Thesaurus:kakak
• (older brother): see Thesaurus:abang

Derived terms

• kakak ipar

Etymology 2

Inherited from Malay kakak. Onomatopoeic, compare to Tagalog kakak.

Root

kakak

1. quack, cluck
2. laugh

   Synonyms: kakah, kahkah

Derived terms

• berkakak
• berkakakan
• mengakak
• terkakak-kakak

Further reading

• “kakak” 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.

Javanese

Romanization

kakak

1. Romanization of ꦏꦏꦏ꧀.

Malay

Etymology 1

From Proto-Malayic *kakaʔ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kaka, from Proto-Austronesian *kaka. Sense of older male sibling lost in Singapore and Malay Peninsular.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kakaʔ/
• Rhymes: -akaʔ, -kaʔ, -aʔ

• Audio (Malaysia):

  (file)

Noun

kakak (Jawi spelling کاکق, plural kakak-kakak)

1. sister (older woman or girl having the same parents)
2. (rare) sibling (older person who shares same parents)
3. (rare) brother (older male sibling)

   Synonyms: abang, uda

4. term of address for a female acquaintance who is a bit older

   engko (“engku”)

Derived terms

• Malay: kakanda, kak, Kak

Related terms

• akak
• akang
• kak
• kakanda
• kakang
• kanda
• kang
• kangmas
• kekanda

Etymology 2

Onomatopoeic, compare to Tagalog kakak.

Noun

kakak (Jawi spelling کاکق, plural kakak-kakak)

1. cackle (of duck and geese)
2. laugh

   Synonyms: dekah, kakah, kahkah

Derived terms

Affixed terms and other derivations

Regular affixed derivations:

• berkakak [stative / habitual] (beR-)
• berkakakan [stative / habitual + repetition / reciprocity] (beR- + -an)
• mengakak [agent focus] (meN-)
• terkakak [agentless action] (teR-)

Irregular affixed derivations, other derivations and compound words:

• terkakak-kakak
• kakaktua

References

• Pijnappel, Jan (1875) “کاکق kakak”, in Maleisch-Hollandsch woordenboek, John Enschede en Zonen, Frederik Muller, page 75
• Wilkinson, Richard James (1901) “کاکق kakak”, in A Malay-English dictionary, Hong Kong: Kelly & Walsh limited, page 497
• Wilkinson, Richard James (1932) “kakak”, in A Malay-English dictionary (romanised), volume I, Mytilene, Greece: Salavopoulos & Kinderlis, page 499

Tagalog

Alternative forms

• cacac — obsolete, Spanish-based spelling

Etymology

Onomatopoeic. Compare Indonesian kakak.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈkakak/ [ˈkaː.xɐk̚]
• Rhymes: -akak
• Syllabification: ka‧kak

Noun

kakak (Baybayin spelling ᜃᜃᜃ᜔)

1. cackle or cackling of a hen, duck, etc.

   Synonym: putak

Derived terms

• ipangakak
• kumakak
• mangakak

See also

• kuwak
• putak

Further reading

• “kakak”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018