ialah

Indonesian

Etymology

From ia +‎ -lah.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ialah/
• Hyphenation: ia‧lah
• Rhymes: -lah, -ah

Conjunction

ialah

1. i.e., that is

Particle

ialah

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

   Yang perlu dikerjakan sekarang ialah membawa korban ke rumah sakit.

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

Usage notes

Ialah is a connector word which is often used like the English verb “to be”. It can be used only for third person and before nouns or verbs. Compare this with adalah, which has the same meaning but can be used with first, second and third person.

Further reading

• “ialah” 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 ia +‎ -lah.

Pronunciation

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

Conjunction

ialah (Jawi spelling اياله)

1. (formal) To be.

Particle

ialah (Jawi spelling اياله)

1. (formal, predicate marker) To be.

Usage notes

• As a predicate marker, ialah 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 nouns and verbs in contrast to adalah, which has the same meaning but is prescribed to only be used before prepositions, postpositions and adjectives.

Example:

• Ini buku saya. ― This is my book.
• Ini ialah buku saya. ― This is my book.

• 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

See also

• adalah

Further reading

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