masalah

Indonesian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [maˈsalah], [masˈʔalah]
• Rhymes: -lah, -ah, -h
• Hyphenation: ma‧sa‧lah

Etymology 1

From Malay masalah, from Classical Malay مسئله (masalah), from Arabic مَسْأَلَة (masʔala).

Noun

masalah (plural masalah-masalah, first-person possessive masalahku, second-person possessive masalahmu, third-person possessive masalahnya)

1. problem.

   Synonyms: perkara, persoalan, pertanyaan, problem, tanda tanya, teka-teki

Alternative forms

• masälah (pre-1947)

Derived terms

• apa masalahnya
• bermasalah
• dimasalahkan
• dipermasalahkan
• memasalahkan
• mempermasalahkan
• permasalahan

 

Etymology 2

From Indonesian masyaallah, from Arabic مَا شَاءَ الله (mā šāʔa llāh).

Interjection

masalah

1. (colloquial) Alternative spelling of masyaallah (“mashallah, what God wills; God has willed”).

Further reading

• “masalah” 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

From Arabic مَسْأَلَة (masʔala).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [maˈsalah], [masˈʔalah], [masaˈʔalah]
• Rhymes: -lah

Noun

masalah (Jawi spelling مسئله, plural masalah-masalah, informal 1st possessive masalahku, 2nd possessive masalahmu, 3rd possessive masalahnya)

1. problem
2. thing

Descendants

• Indonesian: masalah

Further reading

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