nyai

Indonesian

Etymology

From Javanese nyai (ꦚꦲꦶ).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈɲai̯]
• Hyphenation: nyai

Noun

nyai (first-person possessive nyaiku, second-person possessive nyaimu, third-person possessive nyainya)

1. respected older woman.
2. (obsolete) mistress of a European or Chinese man.

   Hypernym: gundik

Hyponyms

• nyai ajeng
• nyai tumenggung

 

Descendants

• → Min Nan: 雅 (ngá)

Further reading

• “nyai” 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.