adalah

Indonesian

Etymology

From Malay adalah, from Classical Malay اداله (adalah). Equivalent to ada +‎ -lah.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈadalah/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: a‧da‧lah
• Rhymes: -alah, -lah, -ah

Verb

adalah

1. to be identical to

   Pancasila adalah falsafah bangsa Indonesia.

   Pancasila is the philosophy of the Indonesian nation.

   Kata adalah bagian terkecil dari bahasa.

   Word is the smallest part of language.

   Menteri adalah menteri yang menyelenggarakan....

   Minister means a minister administering....

2. to have the same meaning as

   Desember adalah bulan kedua belas.

   December is the twelfth month.

3. to be included in a group

   Saya adalah pengagum Dipa.

   I am an admirer of Dipa.

   Dia adalah seorang mahasiswa.

   He/she is a university student.

Synonyms

• (to be identical to): merupakan

Particle

adalah

1. a connector between two pieces of sentence that confirms the details or explanation of the first part

   Yang perlu dikerjakan sekarang adalah membawa korban ke rumah sakit.

   What needs to be done now is to take the victims to the hospital.

   Kerjanya adalah menarik mahasiswa.

   His/her job is to attract university students.

Usage notes

In Indonesian, "to be" can be expressed by juxtaposing words, but "adalah" is used to clarify or emphasize the meaning.

Examples:

• Kerjanya menarik mahasiswa.

  His/her job attracts university students.

• Kerjanya adalah menarik mahasiswa.

  His/her job is to attract university students.

• Menjadi guru impianku

  Becoming the teacher of my dreams

• Menjadi guru adalah impianku.

  Becoming a teacher is my dream.

Synonyms

• ialah (third person)

Antonyms

• bukan

Further reading

• “adalah” 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

Affixation of ada +‎ -lah.

Pronunciation

• (Johor-Riau) IPA^(key): [a.də.lah]
• (Baku) IPA^(key): [a.da.lah]
• Rhymes: -lah, -ah
• Hyphenation: a‧da‧lah

Particle

adalah (Jawi spelling اداله)

1. (formal, predicate marker) To be.

   Ini adalah benar.

   This is true.

2. (obsolete) In fact.

   Synonym: sesungguhnya

Usage notes

• As a predicate marker, adalah is an optional connector word which is often used like the English verb “to be”.
• In their Tatabahasa Dewan, the DBP prescribe that it can be used only before prepositions, postpositions and adjectives in contrast to ialah, which has the same meaning but is prescribed to only be used before nouns and verbs.

Example:

• Ini benar ― This is true.
• Ini adalah benar ― This is true.

• Despite the DBP's prescriptions, it is still very common for speakers to use adalah before nouns and verbs, as below:
  • 2016, Faizal Tahir (lyrics and music), “Adam”, in 25 Rasul:

    Adam adalah bapa kita semua

    Adam is everyone's father

Related terms

• ialah