-ku

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ku"

Indonesian

Alternative forms

• -koe (pre-1947)

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ku/

Suffix

-ku

1. (casual or informal) First person singular oblique enclitic pronoun.
   1. As an possesive adjective.

      anakku ― my child

   2. As an 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 enclitic pronouns in the language, this enclitic is optional.

See also

• -mu
• -nya

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

	Independent	Absolutive	Nominative	Possessive
1st sg / 1st pl excl	nakke	-a'	ku-	-ku
1st pl excl (archaic)	kambe	-kang	ki-	-mang
1st pl incl / 2nd sg polite	katte	-ki'	ki-	-ta
2nd sg / pl familiar	kau	-ko	nu-	-nu
3rd sg / pl	ia	-i	na-	-na

Makasar free and bound pronouns

Malay

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ku/
• Rhymes: -ku, -u

Suffix

-ku (Jawi spelling -کو) (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-／كو- (informal/towards God) -ku／-كو (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-／كاو- (informal/towards God) awak／اوق (friendly/older towards younger) -mu／-مو (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／-ڽ (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

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

Maori personal pronouns

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