ialah

Indonesian

Etymology

Inherited from Malay ialah, by surface analysis, ia +‎ lah.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /iˈalah/ [iˈa.lah]
• Rhymes: -alah
• Syllabification: i‧a‧lah

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.

Coodrinate terms

• adalah
• merupakan

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 [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), 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

• (schwa-variety) IPA^(key): /jəˈlah/ [jəˈlah]
• (/a/-variety, Literary Standard) IPA^(key): /ˈjalah/ [ˈja.lah]
• Rhymes: -lah, -ah
• Hyphenation: i‧a‧lah

Particle

ialah (Jawi spelling اياله)

1. (formal, copula) To be.

   Coordinate terms: adalah, merupakan

Usage notes

• As a copula, 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 noun phrases in contrast to adalah, which has the same meaning but is prescribed to only be used before preposition and adjective phrases.

Example where the predicate, buku (book) is a noun phrase:

• Ini buku. ― This is a book.
• Ini ialah buku. ― This is a book.

Contrast that with this sentence where the predicate, besar (big) is an adjective phrase:

• Ini besar. ― This is big.
• Ini adalah besar. ― This is big.

• Despite the DBP's prescriptions, it is still very common for speakers to use adalah before noun phrases in unofficial settings, as in the quotation below where adalah appears in front of bapa kita semua (everyone's father), a noun phrase:
  • 2016, Faizal Tahir, “Adam”, in 25 Rasul:

    Adam adalah bapa kita semua

    Adam is everyone's father

Descendants

• > Indonesian: ialah (inherited)

Further reading

• "ialah" in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu (PRPM) [Malay Literary Reference Centre (PRPM)] (in Malay), Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017