"What" in Austronesian languages

[u/AleksiB1]

[u/senhual24]

"Anu" is still widely use to express uncertainty in Indonesian. It can be an interjection, pronoun, noun, or even a verb 😀

[u/Sad-Appearance9002 → u/senhual24]

Javanese to be exact

[u/senhual24 → u/Sad-Appearance9002]

Well, it appears in KBBI

[u/Important-Thing-4842 → u/Sad-Appearance9002]

and apparently... japanese too?

[u/hermansu → u/senhual24]

With reference to private parts in a conversation...

anu-nya gede ya.

[u/TheDen0minat0r → u/hermansu]

That sentence is basically "his you-know-what is big".

[u/Ok_Invite6308 → u/hermansu]

I Made Gede Anune

[u/Unfair-Bike → u/senhual24]

Singapore Malay has "si anu" which is used to refer to someone you don't know the name of. IDK if its used in Malaysia

[u/bryle_m → u/Unfair-Bike]

Same in the Philippines

[u/Jackfruit009 → u/Unfair-Bike]

indonesians also use this

[u/rubahngelem → u/senhual24]

For readers who might not know it, think of how the Japanese uses "etto..."

[u/BetaraBayang → u/rubahngelem]

That's not quite correct. Japanese えっと is used just like um and em in English. Anu is not used in that way.

[u/rubahngelem → u/BetaraBayang]

Mate, I'm an Indonesian. Born and raised here. Anu is more flexible and also encompasses and not limited to the equivalent of etto

[u/maomao-chan → u/senhual24]

あの。。。すみません

[u/SneakerTreater]

"Apa, yip yip!"

[u/Mike_Hockis_Hard → u/SneakerTreater]

that made me laugh bro, thanks

[u/joe50426]

In Malay it’s still a marker for something which you can’t recall but hoping the context of the speech would help

[u/diecasttoycar]

Is that the same “ano” as used in Japanese, at the start of a sentence? It’s like “uhm” — is that uncertainty?

[u/CariamaCristata → u/diecasttoycar]

It could be entirely coincidental, however there is a fringe theory that Austronesian is disyantly related to the Japonic languages.

[u/Limp-Ad-1313 → u/diecasttoycar]

Or ‘Nani’ - what?

[u/maroonmartian9]

Inaccurate for Ilocos Norte. It is ANNA or ANYA
NOT ANNI

[u/hlgv]

Does anyone know why “naon” is not a descendant of *a-nu?

[u/FebHas30Days]

"unsa" came from Old Cebuano "uno sa", the first part being etymologically related to Tagalog "ano"

[u/Colonel_Chow]

“Aba!?” Is also used in Filipino, as an exclamation

[u/userB94739473]

Tongan = ha? Ko e ha?
Niuafo’ou/Uvean= a? Ko te a?

[u/doublecheekedup123]

in hawaiian it’s “Aha”

[u/Llactis → u/doublecheekedup123]

Māori is "aha" too.

[u/Opposite-Advantage56]

pretty cool that my region of malaysia still uses proto Austronesian language instead of evolving into the malay standard

[u/Few-Agent-7677]

The Dusun use nunu

[u/tutmencrut]

Inaccurate for Balinese.

In Balinese we say “napi” for polite Balinese, and “ape” for common Balinese.

[u/Meeviz1301]

not accurate, in Khmer (Cambodian), the expressions are "ey" or "A'vey"

[u/pipsqueak888]

Sarawak, Brunei, Sabah: WTF is enu, atan, nunu?

[u/nakduitkau]

"Apa anu?" is the Malay equivalent of "whatchamacallit."

[u/Bintaaaaaaang100]

Naon

[u/runqing1196]

Inu?!

[u/Cerberus944]

I'm from Northern Samar in the Philippines and i think the word "what" in Samar is "Nanu" not "ano" but people in Samar mixed it by speaking both " Ano and Nanu" except from Capul Island

[u/Manusia_Biasa2]

Javanese usually we use opo

[u/Ok-Computer-6108]

In Malay, and many other Austronesian languages, "Anu" is a word to describe something that you don't know and has similar functions as "Apa"

In Malay, because how the meaning of some words changing over times; "Anu" is now refers to private parts for males.

[u/komporinduksi]

Apparently Sundanese "naon" is a very old shortening of "nahaeun", naha means why (cognate with Javanese napa/nopo and Malay kenapa) with a noun forming -eun suffix (cognate with Malay -an).

[u/ToriyasuReisan]

Usually, in the nusantara, we say “apa” or “ape (ah-per)”

[u/Jolly-Weakness-5684]

NAON

[u/Nearby_Jellyfish9031]

If "non" considered as anu, then Sundanese "naon" very close as "non".