Norak Meaning In Bahasa Indonesia

Halo semuanya, apa kabar? This time, I'm gonna talk about the meaning of [norak] in Bahasa Indonesia. I found this word being spoken in an Indonesian movie, Lamaran, so I will explain the meaning of this word, and then we're going to see the scene from that movie.

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So, let's jump right in.

Norak In Bahasa Indonesia

This is a colloquial word that you will hear a lot in daily conversation, but rarely you're gonna hear it in written Indonesian.

The word [norak] is usually said when you see or hear something tacky, dorky, unusual in the sense of very weird, and not funny.

But let's also see the explanation of [norak] from Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia down below.

I will translate these 2 meanings into English. The first meaning of norak is,

Feel surprised or amazed when seeing something.

The second meaning of norak based on this dictionary is,

Very excessive, not in a harmony (for outfits and the likes), unusual or odd behavior on the part of an individual.

We need to see the context first when we interpret this word's meaning in a sentence.

Example Sentences Using Norak

Now, I will give 3 example sentences using the word [norak].

The first example sentence is.

Kelakuan kamu itu norak sekali! Bikin malu keluarga aja!

The English translation for this sentence is as follows.

Your manner is so tacky! You are a shame to this family!

The second example sentence is.

Baju loe norak banget deh!

The English translation for this sentence is as follows.

Your outfit is a big no-no!

The third example sentence is.

Jangan ajak dia ya? Kelakuannya itu lho, suka mendadak norak aja gitu!

The English translation for this sentence is as follows.

Just don't let him join us, okay? Sometimes he just went dorky all of a sudden!

Next, let's hear how to pronounce the word [norak].

How to Pronounce Norak

Here is how you pronounce [norak] in bahasa Indonesia.


Next, let's watch the scene from movies where this word is spoken.

Examples of Norak In Use

The first scene is taken from a movie called Lamaran (2015). Let's watch the clip down below.

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The conversation in that scene with English translation is as follows.

Tiar's Mother: Tiar. Buka Tiar. Eh, bagus! (Tiar. Open Tiar. Wow, nice outfit!) 

Tiar: Apanya yang bagus? Tidak ada apa, baju yang lebih norak dari ini? Mak, ini kita mau ke mana, sih? Kita kan cuma pesta. (What? This is nice? Isn't there any outfit more dork than this one? Where are we going, mom? It's just a party, right?) 

Tiar's Mother: Cuma pesta? Tiar. Ini tandanya kamu ngga pernah datang ke acara keluarga. Mana ada yang namanya "cuma pesta"!! Ayo. (Just a party? Tiar. It means that you never attend any family gathering. There is no "just a party" in the family gathering. Come on.) 

Tiar: Mirip cabe Medan aku. (I feel like I'm a Medan's Chili pepper.)

So, as you can see, Tiar hates her outfit. She thinks the outfit that her mom chose is very dorky.

Vocabulary From the Scene

[Buka] = open.

[Bagus] = nice, good.

[Apanya yang bagus?] <--- In this context, this question is to deny the fact that the outfit is good. But, this question can also be used to ask what is good about something specific that is talked about.

[Pesta] = party.

[Cabe] is the colloquial form of [cabai] = pepper.

The second scene is taken from a movie called Susi Susanti (2019). Let's watch the scene below.

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The conversation from the scene with English translations is as follows.

Susi's Father: Lunas! Aku bangga! (It's paid off! I'm so proud of you!)

Susi: Halo Bangga. Keknya kita belum pernah kenalan ya? (Hello Bangga. I guess we’ve never met before, have we?)

Susi's Father: Ah, kamu! Norak banget bercandanya sih? (Oh my God! That’s such a dad joke!)

In this scene, Susi's father says [Aku bangga], which actually means [I'm so proud of you]. But, [Aku bangga] can also be used when you introduce yourself to someone, for example, [Aku Iman (I'm Iman)]. That's why Susi then tried to make a joke out of it, and she used [bangga] as the name of a person. She treated the sentence [aku bangga] as [I'm Bangga] and not as [I'm so proud of you]. 

[Norak] here refers to Susi's joke that is not funny.

Vocabulary From the Scene

[Lunas] = paid off. 

[Bangga] = proud.

[Keknya] is the colloquial form of [kayanya] or [kayaknya] = seems like.

[Kenalan] here is from the word [berkenalan], but in this sentence, Susi dropped [ber] and just said [kenalan] instead of [berkenalan]. If I change this sentence [keknya kita belum pernah kenalan ya?] into a formal sentence, it will become [sepertinya kita belum pernah berkenalan ya?]. [Berkenalan] means to get to know each other. [Sepertinya kita belum pernah berkenalan ya], if translated literally, the translation would be [it seems like we have never gotten to know each other, eh?]

[Ah, kamu!], if translated literally, the translation would be [Oh, you!]. [Ah, kamu!] is used in reaction to someone, which is just an expression of emotions. Susi's father said this phrase when he heard Susi's dad joke.

     Read also: Ada Deh In the Indonesian Language

I guess this is a wrap. If you have any questions regarding this topic, just leave your questions in the comment section, and I will gladly answer them. Thank you very much, and I'll talk to you soon. Bye now.