atau

See also: atáu and ʻatau

Indonesian

Alternative forms

• atawa (pre-1947)
• ataoe

Etymology

From earlier ataoe, from Malay atau (“or”), from Old Malay अथवा (athavā), from Pali atha vā (“or”), from Sanskrit अथो (atho) < अथवा (athavā, “or, rather”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /atau̯/

• Audio

  (file)

Conjunction

atau

1. or

Further reading

• “atau” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation — Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic Indonesia, 2016.

Malay

Etymology

Borrowed from Sanskrit अथवा (athavā, “or, rather”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /atau̯/
• Rhymes: -atau̯, -tau̯, -au̯

Conjunction

atau (Jawi spelling اتاو)

1. or
   • 1812, William Marsden, A Dictionary of the Malayan language in two parts, Malayan and English and English and Malayan‎^[1], →OCLC, page 2:

     Pada sūltan atau pada mantrī-nia

     To the sultan or to his ministers