beliau

Indonesian

Etymology

From Malay beliau.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bəˈli.au̯/
  • Rhymes: -iau̯
  • Hyphenation: be‧li‧au

Pronoun

bêliau (third-person singular pronoun)

  1. (honorific) he, she; him, her (referring to someone highly respected, of higher status or older)
  2. (honorific) his, her

Derived terms

  • beliau-beliau

See also

Indonesian personal pronouns
singular plural
1st person exclusive regular aku,
saya1 		kami
enclitic -ku -
proclitic ku- -
1st person inclusive - kita
2nd person regular kamu,
Anda2,
kau3 		kalian,
Anda2,
Anda sekalian2,
Anda semua2
enclitic -mu -
3rd person regular dia,
beliau4,
ia3 		mereka
enclitic -nya -
reflexive diri5, diri sendiri
emphatic sendiri
1 Polite.
2 Formal.
3 Now mostly literary.
4 Respectful.

5 Sometimes used as an emphatic marker instead of being reflexive.
Notes:
  • This table only shows personal pronouns that are commonly used in the standard language.
  • The second person pronouns are often replaced by kinship terms, titles, or the like.
  • The enclitics are only used obliquely (object or possessor), while the proclitic is only used as a subject.
See each entry for more information.

Further reading

Malay

Etymology

Uncertain, probably from Malay belia (“young”), from Sanskrit बाल्य (bālya, “relating to children”).

  • Originally used to refer to someone who the speaker did not want to name. The word undergoes amelioration, but the reduplicated form (beliau-beliau) for plural pronoun still preserved the original meaning of "undesirable third persons" used as pejoration.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bə.liau̯/
  • Rhymes: -iau̯, -jau̯, -au̯

Pronoun

beliau (Jawi spelling بلياو)

  1. (honorific) he, she (someone highly respected or of high status)

Descendants

  • Indonesian: beliau

See also

Malay personal pronouns
Singular Plural
1st person

saya1
aku3

kita4
kami2 & 5
kita orang3 & 5

2nd person

awak1
anda2
awda8
(eng)kau3
kamu3

(2nd person) + semua6
kalian2
(eng)kau orang3

3rd person

dia
ia
beliau7
-nya2

mereka2
dia orang3

1 Polite.
2 Formal.
3 Informal.
4 Includes the listener (inclusive).
5 Excludes the listener (exclusive).
6 Formality depends on the second person pronoun used.
7 Honorific.
8 Formal (Brunei).

Notes:
  • This table mostly only shows personal pronouns that are commonly used in the standard language and within the Klang Valley area.
  • The second person pronouns are often replaced by kinship terms, titles, or the like.
  • The enclitic -nya is only used obliquely (as an object or possessor).
  • The second person pronoun kamu is usually only used when speaking with younger speakers.
See each entry for more information.

Further reading

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