tengah

Indonesian

Etymology

Inherited from Malay tengah (“center”), from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *təŋaq.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /təˈŋah/ [t̪əˈŋah]
• Rhymes: -ah
• Syllabification: te‧ngah

Noun

têngah (plural tengah-tengah)

1. middle
2. centre, center

   Synonym: pusat

3. half

   Synonyms: paruh, perdua

Derived terms

• diketengahi
• diketengahkan
• ditengahi
• menengah
• menengahi
• mengetengahi
• mengetengahkan
• penengah
• pertengahan
• setengah
• setengah-setengah
• tengahan

• ke tengah
• tengah hari
• tengah kanan
• tengah kiri
• tengah malam
• tengah naik
• tengah pusat
• tengah tahunan

• garis tengah
• jari tengah

Conjunction

têngah

1. while: during the same time that

   Synonyms: ketika, sementara

Adverb

têngah

1. (auxiliary) progressive aspect without necessarily a final perspective.

   Synonym: sedang

Further reading

• “tengah” 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.

Javanese

Etymology

From Old Javanese tĕngah.

Noun

tengah

1. middle
2. center
3. navel

Malay

Alternative forms

• tgah, tgh (Internet, text messaging)

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *təŋaq. Cognate with Balinese tengah, Cebuano tunga; and distantly with Maori tonga (“south”), Samoan toga (“south”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /təˈŋah/ [t̪əˈŋah]

  • Audio (Malaysia):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -əŋah, -ŋah, -ah
• Hyphenation: te‧ngah

Adverb

tengah (Jawi spelling تڠه)

1. (informal) progressive aspect marker, indicating an ongoing or incomplete action

   Synonym: sedang

   Adam tengah makan.

   Adam is eating

   • 2005 [1849], Abdullah bin Abdul Kadir, edited by Amin Sweeney, Hikayat Abdullah (Karya Lengkap Abdullah bin Abdul Kadir Munsyi; 3)‎, Kepustakaan Populer Gramedia, →ISBN, page 427:

     Maka pada masa itu aku tengah mengajar seorang2 saudagar di rumah Tuan John Morgan.

     Still at that time I was teaching a merchant at the house of Lord John Morgan.

Noun

tengah (Jawi spelling تڠه)

1. middle, midst

   Ada seekor beruang di tengah padang.

   There's a bear in the middle of the field.

Affixations

• bertengah
• ke tengah
• menengah
• menengahi
• mengetengahkan
• penengah
• pertengahan
• sesetengah
• setengah
• setengah-setengah

Compounds

• tengah berat
• tengah hari
• tengah harungan
• tengah malam
• tengah naik
• tengah rumah, tengah ruang
• tengah tapak bayang
• tengah tubuh
• tengah turun

Descendants

• > Indonesian: tengah (inherited)

See also

• pusat (“centre”)

Further reading

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