piawai

Indonesian

Etymology

From Malay piawai, from Minangkabau [Term?].

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [piˈawai̯]
• Hyphenation: pi‧a‧wai

Adjective

piawai

1. skillful, clever.

   Synonyms: cakap, pandai, mampu

2. right,
   1. true, conforming to the actual state of reality or fact; factually correct.

      Synonym: betul

   2. (figuratively) complying with justice, correctness or reason; correct, just, true.

      Synonym: adil

Usage notes

The word is part of false friends between Standard Malay and Indonesian due to shared etymology. The Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore usage can be seen in Malay piawai.

Derived terms

• kepiawaian

Further reading

• “piawai” 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

From Minangkabau [Term?].

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /piawai̯/
• Rhymes: -awai̯, -wai̯, -ai̯

Adjective

piawai (Jawi spelling ڤياواي)

1. standard (falling within an accepted range of size, amount, power, quality, etc.)

   Synonyms: baku, standard

2. skillful, clever

   Synonyms: cekap, pandai, pintar

3. right, true (conforming to the actual state of reality or fact; factually correct)

   Synonyms: betul, tepat

Noun

piawai (plural piawai-piawai, informal 1st possessive piawaiku, 2nd possessive piawaimu, 3rd possessive piawainya)

1. standard

Derived terms

Affixed terms and other derivations

Regular affixed derivations:

• pemiawai [agentive / qualitative / instrumental / abstract / measure] (peN-)
• pemiawaian (“standardisation”) [agentive / qualitative / instrumental / abstract / measure + resultative / locative / collective / variety / verbal noun / fruit] (peN- + -an)
• piawaian [resultative / locative / collective / variety / verbal noun / fruit] (-an)
• kepiawaian [abstract / locative] (ke-an)
• memiawaikan [agent focus + causative benefactive] (meN- + -kan)
• dipiawaikan [patient focus + causative benefactive] (di- + -kan)
• terpiawai [agentless action] (teR-)

Descendants

• Indonesian: piawai

Usage notes

The word is part of false friends between Standard Malay and Indonesian due to shared etymology. The Indonesian usage can be seen in Indonesian piawai.

Further reading

• “piawai” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.