kunyah

Malay

Etymology

From Proto-Malayic *kuñah, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *ŋuya. Compare Tagalog nguya and Coastal Kadazan kuza'.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kuɲah/
• Rhymes: -uɲah, -ɲah, -ah

Verb

kunyah (Jawi spelling کوڽه)

1. (transitive) to chew (to crush food with teeth prior to swallowing)

   Synonym: mamah

Derived terms

Affixed terms and other derivations

Regular affixed derivations:

• pengunyah [agentive / qualitative / instrumental / abstract / measure] (peN-)
• kunyahan [resultative / locative / collective / variety / verbal noun / fruit] (-an)
• mengunyah [agent focus] (meN-)
• mengunyahkan [agent focus + causative benefactive] (meN- + -kan)
• dikunyah [patient focus] (di-)
• dikunyahkan [patient focus + causative benefactive] (di- + -kan)
• terkunyah [agentless action] (teR-)

Descendants

• Indonesian: kunyah

Further reading

• “kunyah” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.