Bahasa Ambon - English Dictionary
Adapted from Bahasa Ambon - English Dictionary - edited by Chaumont B. Devin
For this dictionary, the letter, 'x', is used to symbolize the glottal stop. Bahasa Ambon has no short 'e' or schwa.
Note that the doubled vowel in the ultima of many words contracts to a single vowel when followed by another word.
For example, 'taloor' means 'egg,' whereas 'talor ayang' means 'hen's egg.'
Note: In Bahasa Ambon, the vowels, 'o' and 'u' are often freely interchangeable, but not always, the rules, as far as I know, as yet still undetermined.
Note: In Bahasa Ambon, there appears to be no distinction between the diphthongs, 'ae' and 'ai.'
To convert a word from standard Bahasa to Bahasa Ambon, in general one might employ the following shaky rules:
1. change short 'e' to 'a'. Examples: sendiri -> sandiri, sengaja -> sangaja, tempurung -> tampurung.
2. Redouble the vowels of stressed ultimate syllables. Examples: senang -> sanaang, betul -> batuul, tendang -> tandaang.
3. Drop terminal 'h' and 'k'. Examples: sungguh -> sunggu, pendek -> pende, lebih -> labee.
4. Change some 'ai' to 'e'. Examples: bagaimana -> bagemana, sampai -> sampe.
5. Convert some terminal 'u' to 'o': Example: burung -> burong, tempurung -> tampurong, sumur -> sumor, campur -> campor, sejuk -> sajoo.
6. Change some 'ai' to 'ae'. Examples: baik -> bae, naik -> nae, air -> aer.
7. Change some penultimate short 'e' to 'o'. Examples: tepuk -> topu, penuh -> ponu, sepuh -> sopu.
8. Change some penultimate short 'e' to 'i'. Example: pecah -> pica.
9. Change some penultimate short 'e' to long 'e'. Examples: berak -> bera, bengkok -> bengko.
Esoteric Abbreviations: PAN = Proto Austronesian, the reconstructed parent language of many peoples found in the region between eastern Africa and western South America.
List 30 of 3789 total records               Search by:  Bahasa Ambon:                      Unpatti   

   Bahasa Ambon English
   
   nae    v. 1. climb, ascend, rise. 2. venture out upon the sea. Dong ada nae ka lao. = They are paddling out upon the sea.   
   nae-nae bunga    vi. be as areng sugar at a certain stage of production.   
   nafas    n. breath.   
   naga-naga    n. mast step(?)   
   nagasari    n. A kind of sweetmeat.   
   nai    vi. see nae.   
   najong    n. 1. outrigger spar attaching floats to canoe. 2. a kind of harpoon for spearing sea turtles(?) cf. ladong.   
   nama    n. name.   
   nama faam    n. surname.   
   nama kaciil    n. first name.   
   nama pangeel    n. nickname.   
   namu-namu    n. A kind of sweetmeat.   
   nanako    see nanaku.   
   nanaku    v. 1. make a mental note of, mark mentally. 2. remember, know. Beta su seng nanaku jalang itu lai. = I no longer know the way. 3. calculate, predict. Beta nanaku tiga bulang lae su abis. = I predict it will be used up in three months.   
   nanala    vi. Be trying to someone's patience(?) Ose jang nanala deng beta. cf. cega-cega.   
   naneri    n. boar's tusk.   
   nangka    n. A fruit tree, the jackfruit, Artocarpus heterophyllus or Artocarpus polyphema. cf. campadaa.   
   nangka balanda    n. A fruit tree, the soursop, Annonamuricata.   
   nangka salak    n. A kind of jack fruit.   
   nani    n. 1. A tree (see kayu nani). 2. a kind of bamboo adze used to remove sago pulp from trunk.   
   nani aer    n. see kayu nani aer.   
   napa    v. here is. Napa akang. = Here it is.   
   napas    see nafas.   
   nasi    n. cooked rice.   
   nasi jaha    n. rice cooked with coconut milk in a length of green bamboo lined with banana leaf.   
   nasi kabuli    n. a kind of rice dish.   
   nasi kelapa    n. a coconut rice dish.   
   nasi pulu    n. sticky rice cooked with coconut milk in a length of bamboo.   
   nau-nau    adj. quietly stupid. PAN namaw, sheltered water: deep place in a river; cove.   
   naumang    n. eczema. cf. paukar.   
   
 
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