rakyat

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Malay rakyat.

Noun

rakyat (plural rakyats)

1. (Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia) An ordinary citizen.
2. (Malaysia) The people or citizens of a country, as a collective.

Indonesian

Alternative forms

• ra'jat (obsolete, pre-1942)
• rakjat (obsolete, 1942-1947, 1947–1972)

Etymology

From Malay rakyat, from Classical Malay رعيت (“people”), from Arabic رَعِيَّة (raʕiyya).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈraʔjat/ [ˈraʔ.jat̪̚]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aʔjat
• Syllabification: rak‧yat

Noun

rakyat

1. citizen, subject

   Rakjat Nippon jang melakoekan kedjahatan dihoekoem menoeroet oendang-oendang hoekoeman kriminil Dai Nippon. ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

2. people, populace
3. (archaic) troop

   Synonym: pasukan

4. (archaic) subordinate

   Synonyms: anak buah, bawahan

Adjective

rakyat

1. folk

   cerita rakyat Indonesia ― Indonesian folk tales

Derived terms

• kerakyatan
• merakyat
• merakyatkan
• perakyatan

 

• rakyat biasa
• rakyat gembel
• rakyat jelata
• rakyat kebanyakan
• rakyat kecil

 

Further reading

• “rakyat” 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 Arabic رَعِيَّة (raʕiyya).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /rakjat/, [raʔjat], [rakjat]
• Rhymes: -jat, -at

• Audio (Myanmar); [raʔjat]:

  (file)

Noun

rakyat (Jawi spelling رعيت, plural rakyat-rakyat, informal 1st possessive rakyatku, 2nd possessive rakyatmu, 3rd possessive rakyatnya)

1. citizen, subject

Derived terms

• kerakyatan

 

Descendants

• Indonesian: rakyat
• → English: rakyat

Further reading

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