-ku

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ku"

Indonesian

Alternative forms

• -koe (1901–1947)

Etymology

From Malay -ku, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *ku, from Proto-Austronesian *ku. Compare Tagalog ko.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈku/ [ˈku]
• Rhymes: -u
• Syllabification: -ku

Suffix

-ku

1. (casual or informal) first person singular oblique enclitic pronoun
   1. as a possessive adjective

      anakku ― my child

   2. as a direct or indirect object

      dia mencintaiku ― he loves me

      dia memberiku hadiah ― he gave me a gift

   3. as an object of a preposition, with the exception for di, ke, and dalam

      mereka sombong kepadaku ― they are arrogant to me

Usage notes

As with other clitic pronouns in the language, this clitic is optional.

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
	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

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

Japanese

Romanization

-ku

1. Rōmaji transcription of く

Makasar

Alternative forms

• -ngku

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *ku, from Proto-Austronesian *ku.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ku]

Suffix

-ku (possessive suffix, Lontara spelling ᨀᨘ)

1. my
2. our (first person plural exclusive)

See also

Makasar free and bound pronouns

	independent	absolutive	nominative	possessive
1st sg / 1st pl exclusive	nakke	-a'	ku-	-ku
1st pl exclusive (archaic)	kambe	-kang	ki-	-mang
1st pl inclusive / 2nd sg polite	katte	-ki'	ki-	-ta
2nd sg / pl familiar	kau	-ko	nu-	-nu
3rd sg / pl	ia	-i	na-	-na

Malay

Etymology

From ku, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *ku, from Proto-Austronesian *ku. Compare Tagalog ko.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ku/ [ku]
• Rhymes: -ku, -u

Suffix

-ku (Jawi spelling ـکو) (informal)

1. me (direct object of a verb)

   Dia memarahiku. ― He scolded me.

2. me (object of a preposition)

   Dia pergi denganku. ― He went with me.

3. me (indirect object of a verb)
4. my (belonging to me)

   "Negaraku" ― "My Country"

   Ini rumahku. ― This is my house.

See also

Malay personal pronouns

		singular	plural
1st person	standard	saya / ساي aku / اکو, ku- / كوـ (informal/towards God) -ku / ـكو (informal possessive) hamba / همبا (dated)	kami / کامي (exclusive) kita orang / كيت اورڠ (informal exclusive) kita / کيت (inclusive)
	royal	beta / بيتا
2nd person	standard	kamu / کامو anda / اندا (formal)
		engkau / اڠکاو, kau- / كاوـ (informal/towards God) awak / اوق (friendly/older towards younger) -mu / ـمو (possessive)	awak semua / اوق سموا kamu semua / كامو سموا kalian / کالين (informal) kau orang / كاو اورڠ (informal)
	royal	tuanku / توانكو
3rd person	standard	dia / دي ia / اي beliau / بلياو (honorific) -nya / ـڽ (possessive)	mereka / مريک dia orang / دي اورڠ (informal)
	royal	baginda / بݢيندا

Maori

Suffix

-ku

1. Used in contractions with particles of possession to mean me

See also

Maori personal pronouns

			singular	dual	plural
1st person			au, ahau	māua (exclusive) tāua (inclusive)	mātou (exclusive) tātou (inclusive)
2nd person			koe	kōrua	koutou
3rd person			ia	rāua	rātou

Pipil

Alternative forms

• -k

Suffix

-ku

1. (no longer productive) locative suffix (meaning "in") used after a consonant

Further reading

• Campbell, L. (1985). The Pipil Language of El Salvador. Mouton De Gruyter. p.47

Quechua

Not to be confused with -nku, -yku

Suffix

-ku

1. reflexive suffix: to or for oneself

   mayllay (“to wash something”) → mayllakuy (“to wash oneself”)

   rantiy (“to buy something”) → rantikuy (“to buy something for oneself”)

Derived terms

Quechua terms suffixed with -ku

allquchakuy

churakuy

maqakuy

mayllakuy

p'achallikuy

phiñakuy

q'imikuy

rantikuy

rikch'akuy

rimaykuy

suyakuy

uñachakuy

yachachikuq

yachakuy