aku

See also: akū, Aku, Akụ, āku, āķu, and a'kü

Languages (34)

Translingual

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Banjarese • Bolongan • Brooke's Point Palawano • Estonian • Greenlandic • Guaraní • Hadza • Hawaiian • Iban • Indonesian • Japanese • Jarai • Javanese • Kabishiana • Kapampangan • Karo Batak • Latvian • Malay • Maori • Mbyá Guaraní • Mmen • Mori Bawah • Moronene • Musi • Nupe • Old Javanese • Quechua • Sasak • Tagal Murut • Tausug • Ternate • Tokelauan • Totoli

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Page categories

Translingual

Symbol

aku

1. (international standards) ISO 639-3 language code for Akum.

See also

• Wiktionary's coverage of Akum terms

Banjarese

Etymology

From Proto-Malayic *aku, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *aku, from Proto-Austronesian *aku.

Pronoun

aku

1. I, me (first person singular pronoun)
2. (when placed after a noun) my (first person singular possesive pronoun)

References

• Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen; et al. (2023) “*aku”, in the CLDF dataset from The Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (2010–), →DOI

Bolongan

Alternative forms

• daku

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *aku.

Pronoun

aku

1. I (personal pronoun)

Further reading

• Adul, M. Asfandi (1985) “aku”, in Struktur Bahasa Bulungan‎^[2], Jakarta: Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa

Brooke's Point Palawano

Etymology

From Proto-Philippine *ʔakúʔ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *(i-)aku, from Proto-Austronesian *(i-)aku.

Pronoun

aku

1. I (personal pronoun)

Estonian

Etymology

A reduction of akumulaator, ultimately from Latin accumulātor.

Noun

aku (genitive aku, partitive akut)

1. battery, cell, accumulator

Declension

Declension of aku (ÕS type 16/pere, no gradation)
		singular	plural
nominative		aku	akud
accusative	nom.
	gen.	aku
genitive			akude
partitive		akut	akusid
illative		akku akusse	akudesse
inessive		akus	akudes
elative		akust	akudest
allative		akule	akudele
adessive		akul	akudel
ablative		akult	akudelt
translative		akuks	akudeks
terminative		akuni	akudeni
essive		akuna	akudena
abessive		akuta	akudeta
comitative		akuga	akudega

Greenlandic

Etymology

From Proto-Inuit *aku- (“interval, to mix”), from Proto-Eskimo *akuv- (“between, to mix”). Compare akunneq (“interval”) and akulaaq (“crotch”).

Pronunciation

• (Nuuk) IPA^(key): /aku/, [a.kʊ]

Noun

aku (plural akut)

1. ingredient
2. estuary, mouth of a river

Declension

Declension of aku (type illu)

case	singular	plural
absolutive	aku	akut
ergative	akup
allative	akumut	akunut
ablative	akumit	akunit
prolative	akukkut	akutigut
locative	akumi	akuni
instrumental	akumik	akunik
equative	akutut

First-person singular declension of akuga (type illu)

case	singular	plural
absolutive	akuga	akukka
ergative	akuma
allative	akunnut
ablative	akunnit
prolative	akukkut
locative	akunni
instrumental	akunnik
equative	akuttut

Further reading

• DAKA
• aku in Katersat
• aku in Katersat

Guaraní

Adjective

aku

1. hot

Hadza

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʔaku/

Determiner

aku

1. what kind?, which?

Related terms

• akwaza (“who?”)
• akwia (“what?”)

Hawaiian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈa.ku/, [ˈɐ.ku]

Etymology 1

From Proto-Polynesian *qatu (compare with Maori atu, Rarotongan atu, Tongan ʻatu, Samoan atu) from Proto-Oceanic *qatun (compare with Fijian yatu).

Noun

aku

1. bonito, skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis)

Etymology 2

Compare with Maori atu. (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Particle

aku

1. direction away from the speaker, away
2. soon, later, earlier, last (week, year, etc.)

Usage notes

• Mai and aku may change the meaning of the verb:

  aʻo mai (“to learn”) — aʻo aku (“to teach”)

  kūʻai mai (“to buy”) — kūʻai aku (“to sell”)

Synonyms

• akula

Antonyms

• mai, maila

Iban

Etymology

From Proto-Malayic *aku, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *aku, from Proto-Austronesian *aku.

Pronoun

aku

1. I, me (first person singular pronoun)
2. (when placed after a noun) my (first person singular possesive pronoun)

References

• Adelaar, K. A. (1992) Proto-Malayic: The reconstruction of its phonology and parts of its lexicon and morphology‎^[3], Canberra: The Australian National University
• Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen; et al. (2023) “*aku”, in the CLDF dataset from The Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (2010–), →DOI

Indonesian

Alternative forms

• akoe (1901–1947)
• daku (poetic)

Etymology

Inherited from Malay aku, from Proto-Malayic *aku, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *aku, from Proto-Austronesian *aku.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈaku/ [ˈa.ku]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Syllabification: a‧ku

Pronoun

aku

1. (casual or informal) First person singular pronoun: I, me, my

   Pagi ini aku makan ikan.

   This morning I ate fish.

   Dia mengajak aku berjalan-jalan di taman.

   He invited me to take a walk in the park.

   Kucing aku sedang tidur.

   My cat is sleeping.

Synonyms

• gua (informal, Jakarta)
• saya (polite)
• hamba (poetic)

Derived terms

• akuan
• akui
• akukan
• beraku
• beraku-akuan
• keakuan
• mengaku
• pengaku
• pengakuan

See also

• -ku, ku-

Indonesian personal pronouns

		singular	plural
1st person	exclusive	aku, saya1	kami
	inclusive	-	kita
2nd person		kamu, Anda2
		kau4	kalian, Anda sekalian2, kamu sekalian5
3rd person		dia, ia4 beliau3	mereka
reflexive		diri
emphatic		sendiri

¹ Polite.  ² Formal.  ³ Honorific.
⁴ Now mostly dialectal or literary.
⁵ Literary or poetic.

Notes:

• This table only shows some personal pronouns that are commonly used in the standard language.
• The second person pronouns are usually avoided when talking to someone of higher status or older, especially in casual speech.
  
• Not including the clitic pronouns.
  

See Appendix:Indonesian personal pronouns for more information.

Further reading

• “aku” 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.

Japanese

Romanization

aku

1. Rōmaji transcription of あく

Jarai

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *ikuR, from Proto-Austronesian *ikuR.

Noun

aku (classifier ƀĕ)

1. tail

Javanese

Romanization

aku

1. Romanization of ꦲꦏꦸ

Kabishiana

Noun

äḳu

1. water

References

• Merritt Ruhlen, The Origin of Language: Tracing the Evolution of the Mother Tongue (1996, →ISBN

Kapampangan

Alternative forms

• yaku

Etymology

From Proto-Philippine *ʔakúʔ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *aku, from Proto-Austronesian *aku.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈaku/ [ˈäː.xu]
• Hyphenation: a‧ku

Pronoun

áku

1. I (personal pronoun)
2. me (direct object of a verb)
3. me (object of a preposition)
4. me (indirect object of a verb)
5. my (belonging to me)

Karo Batak

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *aku, from Proto-Austronesian *aku.

Pronoun

aku

1. I, me (first person singular pronoun)
2. (when placed after a noun) my (first person singular possesive pronoun)

References

• Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen; et al. (2023) “*aku”, in the CLDF dataset from The Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (2010–), →DOI

Latvian

Noun

aku f

1. inflection of aka:
   1. accusative/instrumental singular
   2. genitive plural

Malay

Alternative forms

• daku

Etymology

From Proto-Malayic *aku, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *aku, from Proto-Austronesian *aku.

First attested in the Telaga Batu inscription, 683 AD, as Old Malay [script needed] (aku).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aku/

• Audio (Malaysia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aku

Pronoun

aku (Jawi spelling اکو)

1. I, me (first person singular pronoun)

   Aku orang itu.

   I am that person.

   Ini aku.

   This is me.

2. (when placed after a noun) my (first person singular possesive pronoun)

   Ini beg aku.

   This is my bag.

Usage notes

• Should not be used when speaking to anyone who is elder or of a higher status.

Synonyms

• saya, sahaya (polite)
• beta (by royalties)
• patik (by royal subjects)

Derived terms

• akuan
• mengaku
• mengakui

Descendants

• Indonesian: aku

See also

• -ku, ku-

Malay personal pronouns

		singular	plural
1st person	standard	saya / ساي aku / اکو, ku- / كوـ (informal/towards God) -ku / ـكو (informal possessive) hamba / همبا (dated)	kami / کامي (exclusive) kita orang / كيت اورڠ (informal exclusive) kita / کيت (inclusive)
	royal	beta / بيتا
2nd person	standard	kamu / کامو anda / اندا (formal)
		engkau / اڠکاو, kau- / كاوـ (informal/towards God) awak / اوق (friendly/older towards younger) -mu / ـمو (possessive)	awak semua / اوق سموا kamu semua / كامو سموا kalian / کالين (informal) kau orang / كاو اورڠ (informal)
	royal	tuanku / توانكو
3rd person	standard	dia / دي ia / اي beliau / بلياو (honorific) -nya / ـڽ (possessive)	mereka / مريک dia orang / دي اورڠ (informal)
	royal	baginda / بݢيندا

References

• Adelaar, K. A. (1992) Proto-Malayic: The reconstruction of its phonology and parts of its lexicon and morphology‎^[4], Canberra: The Australian National University
• Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen; et al. (2023) “*aku”, in the CLDF dataset from The Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (2010–), →DOI

Further reading

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

Maori

Etymology

From Proto-Eastern Polynesian *au, from Proto-Nuclear Polynesian *au, from Proto-Polynesian *au, from Proto-Oceanic *au, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *aku, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *aku, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *aku, from Proto-Austronesian *aku.
Cognate with Indonesian aku, Malagasy aho, Tagalog ako.

Pronoun

aku

1. my (when talking of more than one thing)

   Ko aku tīpuna ērā. ― Those are my grandparents.

Usage notes

A possessive determiner which must be followed by a noun, unlike āku and ōku. This is the neutral or informal form and is not governed by the a and o categories. It cannot be stressed, in which case either āku or ōku must be used, depending on the category of the noun.

Declension

Maori possessive pronouns

	singular object			dual/plural object
singular subject	A category	O category	Neutral	A category	O category	Neutral
1st person	tāku	tōku	taku	āku	ōku	aku
2nd person	tāu	tōu	tō	āu	ōu	ō
3rd person	tāna	tōna	tana	āna	ōna	ana
dual subject
1st person, inclusive	tā tāua	tō tāua	-	ā tāua	ō tāua	-
1st person, exclusive	tā māua	tō māua	-	ā māua	ō māua	-
2nd person	tā kōrua	tō kōrua	-	ā kōrua	ō kōrua	-
3rd person	tā rāua	tō rāua	-	ā rāua	ō rāua	-
plural subject
1st person, inclusive	tā tātou	tō tātou	-	ā tātou	ō tātou	-
1st person, exclusive	tā mātou	tō mātou	-	ā mātou	ō mātou	-
2nd person	tā koutou	tō koutou	-	ā koutou	ō koutou	-
3rd person	tā rātou	tō rātou	-	ā rātou	ō rātou	-
A category: alienable possession; possessor has control of the relationship.
O category: inalienable possession; possessor has no control over the relationship.

References

• “aku” in John C. Moorfield, Te Aka: Maori–English, English–Maori Dictionary and Index, 3rd edition, Longman/Pearson Education New Zealand, 2011, →ISBN.

Mbyá Guaraní

Adjective

aku

1. (to be) hot

Conjugation

    Conjugation of aku

singular			plural
1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person inclusive	1st person exclusive	2nd person	3rd person
xee xeraku	ndee nderaku	ha'e haku	nhande nhanderaku	ore oreraku	peẽ penderaku	ha'e haku

Mmen

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [āku᷇]

Noun

aku

1. forest

Further reading

• Lena Björkestedt, A Phonological Sketch of the Mmen Language (2010)

Mori Bawah

Etymology

From Proto-Bungku-Tolaki *ku, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *aku, from Proto-Austronesian *aku.

Pronoun

aku

1. I (personal pronoun)
2. me (direct object of a verb)
3. me (object of a preposition)
4. me (indirect object of a verb)
5. my (belonging to me)

Moronene

Alternative forms

• iβaku

Etymology

From Proto-Bungku-Tolaki *aku, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *aku, from Proto-Austronesian *aku.

Pronoun

aku

1. I (personal pronoun)
2. me (direct object of a verb)
3. me (object of a preposition)
4. me (indirect object of a verb)
5. my (belonging to me)

Musi

Alternative forms

• ku

Etymology

From Proto-Malayic *aku, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *aku, from Proto-Austronesian *aku.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aku/

• Audio (Palembang):

  (file)

Pronoun

aku

1. I, me (first person singular pronoun)

   Aku nandang kumanyé kûyûng. (Sekayu) ― I visited my brother's house.

2. (when placed after a noun) my (first person singular possesive pronoun)

   Emé' aku la nyawîske kuî segelo'. (Palembang) ― My mother has prepared a jar of cookies.

References

• Adelaar, K. A. (1992) Proto-Malayic: The reconstruction of its phonology and parts of its lexicon and morphology‎^[5], Canberra: The Australian National University
• Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen; et al. (2023) “*aku”, in the CLDF dataset from The Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (2010–), →DOI

Nupe

Àkú

Etymology

From Hausa aku.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /à.kú/

Noun

àkú (plural àkúzhì)

1. African gray parrot (Psittacus erithacus)

Old Javanese

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *aku, from Proto-Austronesian *aku.

Pronoun

aku

1. I, me (first person singular pronoun)
2. (when placed after a noun) my (first person singular possesive pronoun)

Derived terms

• akon-akon
• aṅaku
• inaku
• inakwakĕn
• iṅakon-akon
• kakwan
• kāku
• maku
• māku
• paṅaku
• umakwakĕn

Descendants

• Javanese: ꦲꦏꦸ (aku)

References

• "aku" in P.J. Zoetmulder with the collaboration of S.O. Robson, Old Javanese-English Dictionary. 's-Gravenhage: M. Nijhoff, 1982.

Quechua

Alternative forms

• haku (Ayacucho) ("flour")
• hak'u (Cuzco-Collao) ("flour")

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Quechuan *aku.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈa.kʊ/

Noun

aku

1. flour, a milled cereal

   Synonyms: hak'u (Cuzco-Collao), haku (Ayacucho)

2. (Cuzco) chewed coca
3. (Collao) resting time after chewing coca

Sasak

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *aku, from Proto-Austronesian *aku.

Pronoun

aku

1. I, me (first person singular pronoun)
2. (when placed after a noun) my (first person singular possesive pronoun)

References

• Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen; et al. (2023) “*aku”, in the CLDF dataset from The Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (2010–), →DOI

Tagal Murut

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *aku, from Proto-Austronesian *aku.

Pronoun

aku

1. I (personal pronoun)

Tausug

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *aku.

Pronunciation

• (Sinūgan Parianun) IPA^(key): /ʔaku/ [ʔɑˈk̠u]
• Rhymes: -u
• Syllabification: a‧ku

Pronoun

aku (Sulat Sūg spelling اَكُ)

1. I

Ternate

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈa.ku]

Verb

aku (Jawi أكو)

1. (auxiliary) to be allowed, may

   aku ua sakali-sakali ana ihoru sosira ― it is absolutely not allowed that they paddle earlier

   una owosa toma hito, mina moaku ua ― he enters the kitchen, she may not

   ngone fosabea ge aku ― we (incl.) may pray for that

Usage notes

As an auxiliary, aku follows the main verb. It may take the subject clitics (o, mo, etc.) only either for emphasis or when aku is used as the sole verb in a sentence.

Conjugation

Conjugation of aku

		singular	plural
			inclusive	exclusive
1st person		toaku	foaku	miaku
2nd person		noaku	niaku
3rd person	masculine	oaku	iaku yoaku (archaic)
	feminine	moaku
	neuter	iaku

References

• Frederik Sigismund Alexander de Clercq (1890) Bijdragen tot de kennis der Residentie Ternate, E.J. Brill
• Rika Hayami-Allen (2001) A descriptive study of the language of Ternate, the northern Moluccas, Indonesia, University of Pittsburgh

Tokelauan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈa.ku]
• Hyphenation: a‧ku

Etymology 1

From Proto-Polynesian *qa-ku. Cognates include Maori āku.

Pronoun

a aku

1. (alienable) mine

See also

Tokelauan possessive pronouns

Inalienable (O-type)
	singular	dual		plural
		long	short
1st person (exclusive)	o oku, o kita1	o māua	o mā	o mātou
1st person (inclusive)	―	o tāua	o tā	o tātou
2nd person	o ōu, o koe	o koulua		o koutou
3rd person	o ona	o lāua	o lā	o lātou
Alienable (A-type)
	singular	dual		plural
		long	short
1st person (exclusive)	a aku, a kita1	a māua	a mā	a mātou
1st person (inclusive)	―	a tāua	a tā	a tātou
2nd person	a āu, a koe	a koulua		a koutou
3rd person	a ana	a lāua	a lā	a lātou

¹⁾ Sympathetic
*) Only the singular pronouns differ from the personal pronouns

Determiner

aku

1. (alienable) my

See also

Tokelauan possessive determiners

Definite inalienable (O-type)
		singular reference				plural reference
		sg	du		pl	sg	du		pl
			long	short			long	short
1st person	excl.	toku, tota1	to māua	to mā	to mātou	oku, ota1	o māua	o mā	o mātou
	incl.	―	to tāua	to tā	to tātou	―	o tāua	o tā	o tātou
2nd person		tō	toulua		toutou	ō	oulua		outou
3rd person		tona	to lāua	to lā	to lātou	ona	o lāua	o lā	o lātou
Definite alienable (A-type)
		singular reference				plural reference
		sg	du		pl	sg	du		pl
			long	short			long	short
1st person	excl.	taku, tata1	ta māua	ta mā	ta mātou	aku, ata1	a māua	a mā	a mātou
	incl.	―	ta tāua	ta tā	ta tātou	―	a tāua	a tā	a tātou
2nd person		tau	taulua		tautou	au	aulua		autou
3rd person		tana	ta lāua	ta lā	ta lātou	ana	a lāua	a lā	a lātou
Indefinite inalienable (O-type)
		singular reference				plural reference
		sg	du		pl	sg	du		pl
			long	short			long	short
1st person	excl.	hoku, hota1	ho māua	ho mā	ho mātou	ni oku, ni ota1	ni o māua	ni o mā	ni o mātou
	incl.	―	ho tāua	ho tā	ho tātou	―	ni o tāua	ni o tā	ni o tātou
2nd person		hō	houlua		houtou	ni ō	ni oulua		ni outou
3rd person		hona	ho lāua	ho lā	ho lātou	ni ona	ni o lāua	ni o lā	ni o lātou
Indefinite alienable (A-type)
		singular reference				plural reference
		sg	du		pl	sg	du		pl
			long	short			long	short
1st person	excl.	haku, hata1	ha māua	ha mā	ha mātou	ni aku, ni ata1	ni a māua	ni a mā	ni a mātou
	incl.	―	ha tāua	ha tā	ha tātou	―	ni a tāua	ni a tā	ni a tātou
2nd person		hau	haulua		hautou	ni au	ni aulua		ni autou
3rd person		hana	ha lāua	ha lā	ha lātou	ni ana	ni a lāua	ni a lā	ni a lātou

¹⁾ Sympathetic

Etymology 2

From Proto-Polynesian *haku. Cognates include Hawaiian aʻu and Samoan a'u.

Noun

aku

1. needlefish of the genus Strongylura

References

• R. Simona, editor (1986), Tokelau Dictionary‎^[6], Auckland: Office of Tokelau Affairs, page 10

Totoli

Alternative forms

• yaku

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *(i-)aku, from Proto-Austronesian *(i-)aku.

Pronoun

aku

1. I (first person singular pronoun)