Teteh Meaning In Indonesian

Halo semuanya, ketemu lagi sama saya, Iman Prabawa. In this article, I want to talk to you about the meaning of the word [teteh] in Indonesian. As always, we will watch scenes from movies where this word is spoken to better understand this.

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Without further ado, let's get started!

Meaning of Teteh In Indonesian

[Teteh] actually comes from the Sundanese language. The Sundanese language is the native language of the people in West Java. Still, sometimes you will hear this word spoken in Indonesian movies, especially if the film has a background in the West Java region or if there are characters from West Java in that movie.

[Teteh] is an honorific title used to address your older sisters. But not only to address your older sisters, if you are in the West Java region, you can use [teteh] to address women on the street that look the same age as you, just to be polite.

Don't be confused with [tete] because omitting the word [h] will have a different meaning. [Tete] means boobs. So, make sure you pronounce the letter [h] in the word [teteh], so people won't get confused and look at you with a weird look on their faces.

How to Pronounce Teteh

This is how you pronounce [teteh] in Indonesian.

Make sure you pronounce the letter [h] when pronouncing the word [teteh].

Examples of Teteh In Use

The first scene we are about to watch is from Keluarga Cemara, Season 1, Episode 1 (2022). Let's watch the clip below.

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Below is the conversation from the scene above with English translations.

Abah: Kamu ada yang beda yah hari ini. Apa yah? (You look different today. I wonder what it is?)

Ara: Teteh itu lagi belajar dandan, bah. Mau ketemu sam.. (She's learning to do her makeup. She wants to meet..)

Euis: Ara! (Ara!)

Emak: Ara, godain teteh terus. (Ara, stop teasing your sister.)

In this scene, Ara addresses her older sister Euis with the word [teteh], and their mother also calls Euis with [teteh]. It's common in Indonesia when parents address the oldest daughter with that honorific title in the West Java region. 

Vocabulary From the Scene

[Kamu] = you.

[Ada yang beda] in literal translations would translate to there is something different. When you notice something different or unusual from your friends or from something that you often see, you can say this phrase.

[Yah] in [apa yah?] is the same as [ya]. People in West Java usually add the letter [h] to it when speaking it. [Yah] in this context doesn't have any meaning; it's just emphasizing the word [apa] while he wonders what is something different from Euis.

[Belajar] = learn, study.

[Dandan] = grooming.

[Bah] is short for [abah]. [Abah] means daddy.

[Emak] = mommy.

[Mau ketemu sam.. ] <--- This is an unfinished sentence. If I finish this sentence, I can say something like this, "Mau ketemu sama seseorang." In this sentence, there is no subject because it is clear what the subject is, and it is common in conversational Indonesian to omit the subject when it is clear. The subject is [teteh]. So, if I add the subject, the full sentence would be, "Teteh mau ketemu sama seseorang." [Seseorang] = someone.

[Godain] is the conversational way of saying [menggodai] = teasing (someone). [Ara, godain teteh terus] <--- If I change this into a more formal sentence, it would become [Ara, menggodai teteh selalu.]

     Read also: Mba Meaning In Indonesian

This wraps up today's article. If I find another scene from a movie, Insha Allah, I will update this article again. Thank you for reading my article, and I'll see you soon. Bye now.