ꦧꦱꦗꦮ

Javanese

Austronesian

FamilyAustronesian Speakers~98M ScriptLatin / Javanese CountriesIndonesia Official inNo (regional) Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3jav

Javanese (basa Jawa) is the largest Austronesian language by native speakers, with ~98M speakers, primarily in central and eastern Java, Indonesia (Yogyakarta and Surakarta as cultural centers), with significant diaspora in Suriname, New Caledonia, and Malaysia. Famous for its three-tier speech-level (krama) system reflecting social hierarchy: ngoko (informal, used among intimates), madya (middle, semi-formal), krama (high formal, used to elders/strangers), with krama inggil as a deferential register for highest-status addressees including royalty. Choosing the wrong register is a major social misstep. Has a literary tradition dating to the 9th c. (Old Javanese / Kawi) with classics like the Ramayana Kakawin and the 18th-c. Babad Tanah Jawi chronicle. Originally written in the Brahmic-derived Javanese script (Hanacaraka, ꦲꦤꦕꦫꦏ), now widely written in Latin script (basa Jawa modern). Co-developed pegon (Arabic-script) for Islamic contexts.

Where it is spoken

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87 core words in Javanese

Water

banyu

baɲu

Fire

geni

ɡəni

Sun

srengéngé

srəŋeŋe

Moon

bulan

bulan

Star

lintang

lintaŋ

Night

bengi

bəŋi

Rain

udan

ˈudan

Snow

salju

salɟu

Wind

angin

aŋin

Earth

lemah

ləmah

Stone

watu

ˈwatu

Mountain

gunung

ɡunuŋ

Sea

segara

səˈɡɔrɔ

Mother

ibu

ibu

Father

bapak

bapak

Daughter

anak wadon

anaʔ wadɔn

I

aku

aku

You

kowe

kowe

We

awaké dhéwé

awaʔe ɖewe

Name

jeneng

dʒənəŋ

Person

wong

wɔŋ

Head

sirah

sirah

Eye

mata

mɔtɔ

Ear

kuping

kupiŋ

Nose

irung

iruŋ

Mouth

cangkem

ˈtʃaŋkəm

Tooth

untu

untu

Tongue

ilat

ilat

Hand

tangan

taŋan

Foot

sikil

sikil

Heart

ati

ati

Bone

balung

baluŋ

Blood

getih

ɡətih

Poop

tai

ˈtai

Love

tresna

ˈtrɛsnɔ

Tree

wit

wit

Dog

asu

asu

Cat

kucing

kutʃiŋ

Fish

iwak

ˈiwaʔ

Bird

manuk

manʊʔ

Butterfly

kupu

kupu

Egg

endhog

ənɖɔɡ

Bear

bruwang

bruwaŋ

Horse

jaran

dʒaran

House

omah

omah

Milk

susu

susu

Honey

madu

madu

Salt

uyah

ujah

Wine

anggur

aŋɡur

Rice

beras

bəras

Chocolate

coklat

ˈtʃoklat

Iron

wesi

ˈwəsi

Wheel

rodha

rɔɖɔ

Silk

sutra

ˈsutrɔ

Book

buku

ˈbuku

Eat

mangan

maŋan

Drink

ngombe

ŋombe

Sleep

turu

turu

One

siji

sidʒi

Two

loro

ˈlɔrɔ

Three

telu

təlu

Four

papat

papat

Five

lima

lɪmɔ

Hundred

satus

satus

Hello

halo

halo

Thank you

matur nuwun

matur nuwun

Good

apik

apik

New

anyar

aɲar

Red

abang

abaŋ

White

putih

putɪh

Black

ireng

irəŋ

Green

ijo

ˈidʒo

Blue

biru

biru

Cuckoo

kedhasih

kəˈɖasih

Cock-a-doodle-doo

kukuruyuk

kukuruˈjʊʔ

Computer

komputer

kɔmˈputər

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi

Sushi

sushi

ˈsuʃi

Tea

teh

tɛh

Coffee

kopi

kopi

Sugar

gula

ˈɡulɔ

Orange

jeruk

dʒəruk

Ninety-nine

sangang puluh sanga

saŋaŋ puluh sɔŋɔ

Dopamine

dopamin

dopaˈmin

Sources

Words compared

Compared with languages in the same classification: Austronesian

Meaning JavaneseCaribbean JavaneseOld JavaneseSundaneseBanjarBalineseSasak
Water banyu /baɲu/ banyu /baɲu/ ꦮꦫꦶꦃ /warih/ cai /tʃai/ banyu /baɲu/ yeh /jeh/ aiq /aiʔ/
Fire geni /ɡəni/ geni /ɡəni/ ꦄꦒ꧀ꦤꦶ /aɡni/ seuneu /sɯnɯ/ api /api/ api /api/ api /api/
Sun srengéngé /srəŋeŋe/ srengéngé /srəŋeŋe/ ꦱꦸꦂꦪ /surja/ panonpoé /panɔnpɔe/ matahari /matahari/ matanai /matanai/ jelo /dʒəlo/
Moon bulan /bulan/ rembulan /rəmbulan/ ꦕꦤ꧀ꦢꦿ /tʃandra/ bulan /bulan/ bulan /bulan/ bulan /bulan/ bulan /bulan/
Star lintang /lintaŋ/ lintang /lintaŋ/ ꦭꦶꦤ꧀ꦠꦁ /lintaŋ/ béntang /bentaŋ/ bintang /bintaŋ/ bintang /bintaŋ/ bintang /bintaŋ/
Night bengi /bəŋi/ bengi /bəŋi/ ꦮꦼꦔꦶ /wəŋi/ peuting /pəutiŋ/ malam /malam/ peteng /pətəŋ/ malem /maləm/
Rain udan /ˈudan/ udan /ˈudan/ ꦈꦢꦤ꧀ /udan/ hujan /ˈhudʒan/ hujan /ˈhudʒan/ ujan /ˈudʒan/ ujan /uˈdʒan/
Snow salju /salɟu/ salju /saldʒu/ — salju /saldʒu/ salju /saldʒu/ salju /saldʒu/ salju /saldʒu/
Page 1/11

Word order compared

Compare with major world languages

Javanese
Aku pengen nyoba jas sing aku delok neng toko ngarep hotel
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Ich möchte einen Anzug anprobieren den ich in einem Geschäft gegenüber vom Hotel gesehen habe
मैं होटल के सामने एक दुकान में देखा सूट को पहनकर देखना चाहता हूँ
私は ホテルの 向かいの お店 で 見た スーツを 試着 したいです
我 想 试穿 酒店 对面的 商店 里 看到的 那套西装
أنا أريد أن أجرب بدلة رأيتها في محل مقابل الفندق
Я хочу примерить костюм который я увидел в магазине напротив отеля

Compare with languages in the same classification

Gusto nako sulayan ang suit nga nakita nako sa tindahan atbang sa hotel
Au via vakatovolei e dua na ivakatagedegede ka au raica e na sitoa e na otela
Makemake au e hoʻāʻo i kahi kamaʻa aʻu i ʻike ai ma kahi hale kūʻai ma mua o ka hōkele
Kayatko a padasan ti suit a nakitak iti tiendaan sangbay ti hotel
Javanese
Aku pengen nyoba jas sing aku delok neng toko ngarep hotel

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