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Halo semuanya. Apa kabar? Ketemu lagi sama saya, Iman Prabawa. This time, I will talk about the meaning of the Indonesian phrase [ke laut]. This phrase is considered a slang term, and as always, in this article, we're gonna watch this phrase spoken in a movie scene.
If you have any questions regarding the Indonesian language, you can ask me directly. You can see how to do that on my About Me page.
If you are a beginner in the Indonesian language, you can learn step by step with My Lesson Here.
So, without further ado, let's dive in!
The Meaning of Ke Laut
This is how you pronounce the phrase [ke laut]. Let's hear it in the video below.
Actually, [ke laut] has many meanings, and the meaning depends on the context. It can have a literal sense. In the literal meaning, [ke laut] means [to the sea].
For example, in this sentence,
Dia kemarin pergi ke laut bersama teman-temannya. (Yesterday, she went to the sea with her friends.)
And this is how you pronounce this sentence.
If used literally, this phrase is not considered a slang term. [Ke laut] in its figurative meaning can have many meanings. Different contexts can have different meanings.
[Ke laut] can mean [very bad, awful]. For example:
A: Eh, lihat deh tulisan tangan gue? Bagus dong? (Hey, look at my hand writings. So, good, isn't it?)B: Ih! Ke laut juga! (What? That's awful, man!)
Below is the audio version of this example.
[Ke laut] can mean [I don't know, and I don't care]. For example:
A: Eh, si Budi ke mana? (Hey, where is Budi?)B: Ke laut. (I don't know, and I don't care.)A: Eh, seriusan gue. Ke mana sih? (Hey, I'm serious. Where is he?)B: Ngga tahu gue. (I don't know.)
Below is the audio version of this example.
[Ke laut] can mean [pretty much worthless] when talking about someone. For example:
A: Eh, menurut loe gimana kalau kita ajak si Adi masuk ke tim kita? (Hey, what do you think if we invite Adi to join our team?)B: Ha? Si Adi mah ke laut kali! (What? He's pretty much worthless.)A: Emangnya kenapa sih si Adi? (What's with Adi anyway?)B: Adi itu kalau kerja ngga pernah on time. Orangnya juga ngga bisa dipegang. Ngga aja deh pokoknya. (He never on time. You can't really count on him. I personally better not invite him to join our team.)
Below is the audio version of this example.
So, to know the meaning, we first need to look at the context.
Examples of Ke Laut In Use
In this section, we will watch examples, mainly from movie scenes where the phrase [ke laut] is spoken, and we will also learn the vocabulary used in the scenes.
The first clip we're about to watch is taken from the famous movie in Indonesia, Milea: Suara Dari Dilan (2020).
Let's watch it below.
Dilan’s friend: Milea ke mana? (Where is Milea?)
Dilan: Ke laut! (I don’t know, and I don’t care!)
Dilan’s friend: Berantem maneh? (Were you two having a fight?)
Dilan: Engga. (Nope.)
In this scene, Dilan gets jealous because his girlfriend goes out with her private teacher. She promised Dilan not to go out with her private teacher, but she went out with her private teacher in reality.
Actually, Milea went out with her private teacher because she couldn't say no to him, not because she felt for her private teacher.
That's why when his friend asked him where Milea was, he answered with this phrase,
Ke laut!
Dilan doesn't want to know where Milea goes out with her private teacher and tries not to care so much about it. That's why he said this phrase.
Vocabulary From the Scene
[Ke mana] = where to.
[Berantem] = having a fight.
[Maneh] = you. Maneh is not an Indonesian language. It is from Sundanese. Sunda is one of the tribes on Java Island.
[Engga] = [no.] You will see many variations in the writing of this word. You may see it written as [ga] or [ngga] or [nggak] or [enggak]. It all means the same.
The second clip is from an FTV called Cinta Kontrakan (2010). Let's watch the clip down below.
The conversation in the scene with English translations is as follows.
Caty’s Mother: Caty. Kamu lagi ngapain di sini? Justin mana? (Caty. What are you doing here? Where is Justin?)
Caty: Ke laut! (To the sea!)
Caty’s Mother: Ke laut? Tenggelam? (To the sea? Was he drowning?)
Caty: Ngga tahu jalan-jalan ke mana. (I don’t know where he is.)
Caty’s Mother: Ada yang nyariin kamu tuh. Laki-laki. (Someone is looking for you. A man.)
Caty: Siapa? (Who?)
Caty’s Mother: Bram.
Caty: Mau ngapain dia ke sini? (What is he doing here?)
In this scene, we can see that Caty's mother does not understand the meaning of [ke laut] in slang terms because [ke laut] in the slang term meaning is usually used by younger generations in Indonesia. Usually, older generations in Indonesia only know the meaning of [ke laut] in its literal meaning.
Caty meant by saying [ke laut] was [I don't know, and I don't care]. In the scene, Caty gets jealous because Justin's ex-girlfriend just met him, and she doesn't want to know where Justin and his ex went.
Her mother only understands [ke laut] in its literal meaning. That's why she asked Caty if Justin drowned because he went to the sea. Then Caty realized that her mother didn't understand the meaning of [ke laut] in its slang term, so she explained again that she didn't know where Justin was.
Vocabulary From the Scene
[Kamu lagi ngapain?] is a phrase you use when you want to know what someone is doing at the moment. For more about this, you can read this article, How to Say What Are You Doing in Indonesian.
[Tenggelam] = drowning.
[Jalan-jalan] = walking around.
[Ada yang nyariin kamu tuh] in formal sentence it would be [Ada yang mencari kamu] = Someone is looking for you.
[Nyariin] is the conversational way of saying [mencari] = to look for (something or someone).
[Tuh] is informal for [itu] = that. But in this [ada yang nyariin kamu tuh], it doesn't have any meaning. It is just to emphasize. It is like giving an exclamation mark to the sentence, [Ada yang mencari kamu!].
[Ngapain] is the conversational way of saying [melakukan apa], and it is used when you want to know what someone is doing. [Mau ngapain dia ke sini?] <-- If I change this into a formal sentence, it would become [Mau melakukan apa dia ke sini?].
The third clip is from Calon Bini, Episode 89 (2011). Let's watch the scene below.
Jamal: Eh, La! Lu udah mo lahiran, belum? Bayi lu udah mo brojol, belum? Yok, kita ke rumah sakit? Yok? (Hey, La! Are you going to give childbirth now? You're going to deliver the baby, now?)
Nurlela: Belom, bang! Udah lima kali bolak-balik ke mari. Belom! (Nope, not yet! You've been here five times. Not yet!)
Rojak (Nurlela’s Father): Heh, Mal Mal Mal Mal Mal! Loe ngapain loe? Main datang ke mari? Ha? (Hey, Mal! What are you doing here?)
Jamal: Anu, beh. Aye mau nganterin Nurlele ke rumah sakit. Takut-takutnya kalo bayinya mabedulut di mari. (I want to take Nurlela to the hospital. I'm afraid that the baby is going to come out here.)
Rojak: Ah elah! Udah udah udah udah deh! Elo! Lakinya bukan, kenapa loe jadi ribet sih? Udeh loe pikirin diri loe sendiri aje! Ya La, ya? Ya? (Oh my God! Come on! You're not even her husband. Why did you even care? You better take care of yourself. Am I right, La?)
Nurlela: Iye, bang. (Yeah.)
Akbar: Lo kalo mo numpang makan di mari. Kaga pape. Ya, beh? Ya jis, ye? Ya, Nur? (If you just want to take a bite in here. It's okay with me. Right, sir? Right, jis? Right, Nur?)
Rojak: Ngga pape. (Yeah, it's okay.)
Akbar: Tapi kalo nyariin si Nur, lo ke laut aje! (But if you're here looking for Nurlela, just get the hell outta here!)
Jamal: Oh, begono ye? (Owh, okay.)
Akbar: Iye. (Yeah.)
Jamal: Aye boleh makan? (So, is it okay for me to eat here?)
Akbar: Boleh. (Yeah, it's okay.)
Rojak: Makan sana, makan! (Yeah, you can eat here.)
Akbar and Nurlela are a married couple, and Jamal is the person who has liked Nurlela since she was still single and not yet married. In this scene, the phrase [lo ke laut aje!] means [just get the hell out of here]. Let's learn the vocabulary used in this scene.
Vocabulary From the Scene
[Abis 9 bulan] = after 9 months.
[Abis] is a common reduction for [habis]. It means empty, after, or that's why.
[Bulan] = month, moon.
[Lu] = [elo] = [loe] = [lo] is informal for [Anda] = you. [Loe] and [gue] are usually used in Jakarta. For more about this, you can read my article, Loe Meaning In Indonesian.
[Udah] is short for [sudah] = already. In daily conversation, dropping letters like in this example is common.
[Udeh] = [udah]. Betawi people tend to change the letter [a] into [e], like in this example.
[Mo] is informal for [mau] = want.
[Lahiran] = giving birth.
[Belum] = [belom] = yet to be.
[Bolak-balik] = back and forth.
[Ke mari] = [ke sini] = come to here.
[Loe ngapain loe?] is a phrase used by someone when they want to know what somebody is doing at that place at the moment or asking the intention of someone to be in that place.
[Anu] is a filler word. It doesn't have any meaning.
[Aye] = [saya] = I. For more about this, you can read this article, Aye In the Indonesian Language.
[Nganterin] is the colloquial way of saying [mengantarkan] = to take someone to some place, to deliver,
[Takut-takutnya] = I'm afraid.
[Rumah sakit] = hospital.
[Mabedulut] = [brojol].
[Brojol], in this context, means that the baby will come out or Nurlela will give birth. [Brojol], in literal meaning, means to come out from something.
[Bayi] = baby.
[Di mari] = di sini = here, in here, over here.
[Ah elah!] = oh my God, oh come on.
[Lakinya] = her husband, someone's lover.
[Yok] = [yuk] is used when you invite someone to join you.
[Ribet] = complicated. [Loe kenapa jadi ribet sih?] <--- This phrase is spoken when you ask why someone is doing something they should not be thinking about.
[Kaga pape] = [ngga papa] = it's okay.
[Numpang makan] is when you go to your neighbor's or your friend's house and intend to eat there because maybe at the moment you don't have money to buy food or you like your friend's cooking. That's why you want to eat there. This is a cultural thing that is common in Indonesia.
[Kalo] is informal for [kalau] = if.
[Ngga pape] = [kaga pape] = [ngga papa] = it's okay.
[Nyariin] is the colloquial way of saying [mencari] = to look for something or someone.
[Oh, begono ye?] = [Oh, begitu ya?] = Is that so? Oh, okay, oh, I see.
[Iye] = [iya] = yes.
Read also: Deg-degan Meaning In the Indonesian Language
So, that's all for now. If I find another scene where this phrase [ke laut] is spoken, Insha Allah, I will update this article again. If you have any questions, just leave them in the comment section below, and I'll happily answer them. Bye now.
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