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

Affixed terms and other derivations

Regular affixed derivations:

• beliau-beliau [reduplication] (redup)

Further reading

• “beliau” 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.

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	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

Further reading

• “beliau” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.
• "beliau" in Kamus Dewan, Fourth Edition, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, →ISBN, 2005.