Baso Minangkabau
Minangkabau
Austronesian (Malayo-Polynesian, Malayic)
Minangkabau (baso Minangkabau) is the language of the matrilineal Minangkabau people of West Sumatra, Indonesia, with ~5.5M speakers. Closely related to Malay/Indonesian, it preserves more vowel distinctions than standard Malay and has its own oral literary tradition (kaba) of long sung narrative poems. The Minangkabau are renowned for adat matriarchaat, the world's largest matrilineal society, and rantau (tradition of male migration). Historically also written in Jawi (Arabic-derived script) for Islamic religious literature.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Minangkabau
Water
aia
/aia/
Fire
api
/api/
Sun
matoari
/matoaɾi/
Moon
bulan
/bulan/
Mother
amak
/amaʔ/
Father
abak
/abaʔ/
Eat
makan
/makan/
Drink
minum
/minum/
Love
cinto
/tʃinto/
Heart
ati
/ati/
Tree
kayu
/kaju/
House
rumah
/ɾumah/
Dog
anjiang
/aɲdʒiaŋ/
Cat
kuciang
/kutʃiaŋ/
Hand
tangan
/taŋan/
Eye
mato
/mato/
Hello
salam
/salam/
Thank you
tarimo kasiah
/taɾimo kasiah/
One
ciek
/tʃieʔ/
Good
rancak
/ɾantʃaʔ/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Austronesian (Malayo-Polynesian, Malayic) languages
| Meaning | Minangkabau | Musi | Malay | Indonesian | Banjar | Old Malay | Patani Malay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | aia /aia/ | ayek /ajek/ | air /ˈa.ir/ | air /ˈa.ir/ | banyu /baɲu/ | ayar /ajar/ | ayé /ajeʔ/ |
| Fire | api /api/ | api /api/ | api /api/ | api /api/ | api /api/ | api /api/ | api /api/ |
| Sun | matoari /matoaɾi/ | matahari /matahari/ | matahari /matahari/ | matahari /matahari/ | matahari /matahari/ | matari /matari/ | matari /mataʁe/ |
| Moon | bulan /bulan/ | bulan /bulan/ | bulan /bulan/ | bulan /bulan/ | bulan /bulan/ | bulan /bulan/ | bulé /buleʔ/ |
| Mother | amak /amaʔ/ | mak /mak/ | ibu /ibu/ | ibu /ibu/ | uma /uma/ | ibu /ibu/ | emak /əmaʔ/ |
| Father | abak /abaʔ/ | bapak /bapak/ | ayah /ajah/ | ayah /ajah/ | abah /abah/ | bapa /bapa/ | aboh /aboh/ |
| Eat | makan /makan/ | makan /makan/ | makan /makan/ | makan /makan/ | makan /makan/ | makan /makan/ | makae /makajɛ/ |
| Drink | minum /minum/ | minum /minum/ | minum /minum/ | minum /minum/ | nginum /ŋinum/ | minum /minum/ | minon /minon/ |
| Love | cinto /tʃinto/ | sayang /sajaŋ/ | cinta /tʃinta/ | cinta /tʃinta/ | sayang /sajaŋ/ | sayang /sajaŋ/ | cinto /tʃinto/ |
| Heart | ati /ati/ | hati /hati/ | hati /hati/ | hati /hati/ | ati /ati/ | hati /hati/ | ati /ati/ |
| Tree | kayu /kaju/ | kayu /kaju/ | pokok /pokoʔ/ | pohon /pohon/ | batang /bataŋ/ | kayu /kaju/ | pokok /pokoʔ/ |
| House | rumah /ɾumah/ | rumah /rumah/ | rumah /rumah/ | rumah /rumah/ | rumah /rumah/ | rumah /rumah/ | rumoh /rumoh/ |
| Dog | anjiang /aɲdʒiaŋ/ | anjing /andʒiŋ/ | anjing /andʒiŋ/ | anjing /andʒiŋ/ | anjing /andʒiŋ/ | anjing /andʒiŋ/ | anjeng /andʒeŋ/ |
| Cat | kuciang /kutʃiaŋ/ | kucing /kutʃiŋ/ | kucing /kutʃiŋ/ | kucing /kutʃiŋ/ | pusa /pusa/ | kucing /kutʃiŋ/ | kuche /kutʃeʔ/ |
| Hand | tangan /taŋan/ | tangan /taŋan/ | tangan /taŋan/ | tangan /taŋan/ | tangan /taŋan/ | tangan /taŋan/ | tagae /taŋajɛ/ |
| Eye | mato /mato/ | mato /mato/ | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ | mato /mato/ |
| Hello | salam /salam/ | halo /halo/ | hai /hai/ | halo /ˈhalo/ | salam /salam/ | — /—/ | nyaman ka /ɲaman ka/ |
| Thank you | tarimo kasiah /taɾimo kasiah/ | terimo kasih /terimo kasih/ | terima kasih /tərima kasih/ | terima kasih /tərima kasih/ | tarima kasih /tarima kasih/ | — /—/ | terimo kasih /tərimo kaseh/ |
| One | ciek /tʃieʔ/ | siko /siko/ | satu /satu/ | satu /satu/ | asa /asa/ | sa /sa/ | satu /satu/ |
| Good | rancak /ɾantʃaʔ/ | bagus /baɡus/ | baik /baiʔ/ | baik /baiʔ/ | bagus /baɡus/ | baik /baik/ | baghuh /baɣuh/ |
Part of LangMap — a linguistic visualization project. This is a static, crawlable summary; the interactive maps offer pronunciation audio, filters, and a globe view.