Notes:
1. In the case of initial vowels and n-, m- and ng-, there will be ambiguity regarding the possible base-word, so the user may have to look in two places in order to find the correct form.
2. There are some irregularities in the application of these rules, for example with monosyllabic base-words, which often are extended with an initial e-.
3. There are a number of words beginning with nga- or nge- for which a base-word beginning with a-, ka- or ke- is not clearly indicated, especially with intransitive verbs (that is, verbs without a corresponding passive form, in which the base-word can be seen). In such cases it is best to look under ng-, where a cross-reference (if necessary) will be found. In a few instances, the base-word itself begins with an initial ng-.
Function:
1. A nasalised form may be either intransitive or transitive. If the latter, then it is always active. Passive forms are never nasalised, but have their own forms which are predictable and therefore not listed. Example:
active njupuk to take (takes, took, etc.)
passive dijupuk taken; tak jupuk taken by me; kok jupuk taken by you.
2. In combination with suffixes, the nasalised form is again active, but with a range of possible extra meanings.
Suffix -i
If this form exists, its specific meaning is not completely predictable and is therefore defined. Many have a locative meaning, some are causative, and all but a small group are transitive. For rules of formation, refer to a grammar.
Suffix -ake (Krama -aken)
Where this form exists, the specific meaning is not completely predictable, and is therefore defined. Some are causative, occasionally benefactive, and all but a small group are transitive. For rules of formation, refer to a grammar.
The passive forms of these verbs are predictable. Similarly the imperatives, irrealis and propositives, which are therefore not listed.
Two special verbal categories
These forms serve to modify a verb in a particular way, in order to provide another element of meaning.
pating:
A word listed in combination with pating conveys the meaning of a state or action characterised by "plurality" (otherwise marked with pl), suggesting that a number of actors are present or that the action is carried out in a dispersed way (all over the place, everywhere).
mak: The mark repr indicates that the word listed is preceded by mak in order to suggest that the sound, action or feeling occurs in a sudden or unexpected way. These expressions contain a "representative" or onomatopoeic element, and Javanese is especially rich in them.
Adjectives
Alongside the usual form of an adjective, there also exists a derived form using the prefix ke- and suffix -en in combination to convey an "excessive" meaning, e.g. from dawa (long), kedawan (too long). As these are predictable they are generally not listed separately. For rules of formation, please refer to a grammar.
Words belonging to more than one grammatical category
It sometimes happens that the one form belongs to more than one category (part of speech), and hence can function quite differently in a sentence. These separate meanings are carefully distinguished in the dictionary. A simple example is:
kembang 1. flower; 2. to flower.
In order to clarify this distinction, all verbs are listed in their infinitive form in English, viz. "to...".
The prefixes a- and ma-, which occur with words in some literary sources and are archaic, have been deliberately omitted from this dictionary.
Spelling
The spelling used for Javanese is the one officially accepted in Indonesia, with the exception that we use two simple diacritical marks, namely e and e, as these are considered essential to distinguish these two sounds from the mute e or schwa (without mark; in Javanese called pepet).
The current spelling is thus different from the one used in Home's dictionary, which was published before the new system was introduced. Users should note in particular the spellings th and dh (instead of the earlier t and d with a dot below), representing the retroflex stops, unvoiced and voiced respectively, which must be clearly distinguished from t and d, the unvoiced and voiced dental stops.
The letter k represents both the guttural and glottal stops. The letter q is not used for the latter. In some positions, the glottal stop is not customarily written at all, e.g. saiki [sa'iki], 'now'.
In the antepenultimate syllable of Javanese words, the vowel tends to be weakened, so that for example an a is pronounced as e; for the purposes of the dictionary, however, in such cases the spelling with a is kept.
Similarly, with the prefixes ka-/ke-, pa-/pe-, and sa-/se- (where these spellings are equivalent), the forms ka-, pa- and sa- have been preferred, but readers should also check under the alternative.
In the case of the final consonants -t and -d, and -p and -b, it was observed that there is some confusion, even in Javanese script and amongst native speakers, probably because a voiced consonant becomes unvoiced in final position. Even so, we believe that it is an important distinction and have tried to follow the most original spelling.
Stuart Robson
List of Abbreviations
| adr | term of address |
| chld | children's word |
| coll | colloquial |
| cr | crude |
| esp | especially |
| excl | exclamation |
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fig
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