apakah

Indonesian

Etymology

From apa +‎ -kah.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /apa.kah/

Pronoun

apakah

  1. (interrogative) be
    Apakah kalian suka akan anime ini?Do you like this anime?

Conjunction

apakah

  1. whether
    Aku tidak tahu apakah suratku sudah sampai.I don't know whether (or not) my letter has arrived.

Further reading

Malay

Etymology

Affixation of apa +‎ -kah.

Pronunciation

  • (Johor-Riau) IPA(key): [a.pə.kah]
    • Audio (Malaysia):(file)
  • (Baku) IPA(key): [a.pa.kah]
  • Rhymes: -kah, -ah
  • Hyphenation: a‧pa‧kah

Interjection

apakah (Jawi spelling اڤاکه)

  1. Used to express surprise or disbelief; "what!".
    Apakah, dia yang main tipu rupanya?!
    What, so he was the one who's been cheating?!

Pronoun

apakah (Jawi spelling اڤاکه)

  1. Interrogative pronoun used to inquire something about a certain thing; what.
    Apakah nama buku yang kita baca malam semalam?
    What is the name of the book that we read last night?
    • 2003, Nor Arlisa Irena Abu Bakar, Penulis buku politik Kelantan tiada agenda:
      Apakah tujuan Ikmal sebenarnya?
      What is Ikmal's true motive?
  2. Interrogative pronoun used to inquire about the truth of a statement; "is it that", "is it the case that".
    Synonym: adakah
    Apakah kita tidak mampu berdikari lagi?
    Is it the case that we can't stand by ourselves anymore?
    • 2017, Mahizan Husain, Cahaya Delima:
      Apakah akhirnya dia akan kembali pada tanah?
      Is it that he will finally return to land?

Usage notes

  • The -kah suffix is usually only used in formal or literary speech or writing.
  • It is also only used when apa is the subject of the sentence so while it would be used in a sentence like this:
    Apakah nama kereta itu?
    What is the name of that car?
  • It wouldn't be used in a sentence like this where apa is the object of the sentence:
    Nama kereta itu apa?
    What is the name of that car? (lit. "The name of that car is what?")

Further reading