-nya
"Indonesian is the cutest language because every word ends with 'nya'."
-nya (/ɲa/) is an enclitic — that is, something functionally similar to a suffix, but can be classified as its own word — in the Indonesian language. It has various functions, such as
substituting second- and third-person pronouns This works for the genitive and accusative forms of pronouns, i.e., you can see it replace his or him, but not he. This -nya can be attached to many types of words, like nouns, verbs, adjectives, and prepositions. You can see this in sentences like: • Bapak punya uang. Uangnya banyak. ('Dad has money. His money's plentiful.') • Halo, namanya siapa? ('Hello, what's your name?') → In Indonesian, who is used when asking for names. • Aku memberikan mobil aku kepadanya. ('I gave my car to them.') • Pasha membelikannya nasi. ('Pasha bought him rice.')
to refer to something that is known or was mentioned prior This one basically functions as a definite or demonstrative article, i.e., the, this, and that. • Lantainya licin. ('The floor's slippery.') • Mobilnya punya Pasya. ('This car's Pasya's.') • Selanjutnya, belok kanan. ('After that, turn right.')
to intensify a quality, like in sentences such as "How pretty…!" and "So huge…!" You'll usually see the -nyas with this usage as their own sentences. • Hebatnya! ('How impressive!') • Ih, kurusnya! ('Jeez, they look so thin!')
to act as a pronoun that represents the maximum of a certain quality Something to note is se- means 'as … as'. For example, selicin es means 'as slippery as ice'. • Saya mohon maaf sebesar-besarnya. ('My greatest apologies.') • Kamu boleh pake kartu kredit saya sebebasnya. ('You can use my credit card however you want.') • Lakukanlah kebaikan sebanyak-banyaknya. ('Do good as much as possible.')
to emphasize a pronoun Compare these two examples: • Ya, elu goblok! ('Well, you're stupid!') • Ya, elunya goblok! ('Well, you're stupid (hence it's your fault)!')
There are probably some other functions of -nya I haven't covered, maybe those specific to a certain dialect or those I just simply overlooked, but anyhow, I think I've covered this cute clitic pretty well! I still haven't figured out how to categorize the -nyas in makanya and memangnya, so if you have any suggestions or thoughts, leave them down in the comments. Hope you enjoyed, and see you next time!
