Types of Word Meanings in Indonesian Language, with Examples for Better Understanding

Kapanlagi.com - Since long ago, words have been a part of language that often becomes a medium for someone to express ideas. Through words, someone often expresses their feelings. Therefore, in the words we use everyday, there are certain meanings depending on the intended context and purpose of their use.

When learning a foreign language, we will need a dictionary to understand the meaning of a word. However, without realizing it, sometimes we also need a dictionary or more knowledge to understand a meaning in Indonesian words or sentences. This is because the meaning of words in Indonesian is not limited to what is written in the Indonesian Dictionary.

In daily use, one word can have several meanings, depending on the context. To understand the types of meanings in words in Indonesian, let's take a look at the following summary compiled by Kapanlagi.com from various sources.

1. Meaning of Words Lexically

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The term lexical word actually comes from the lexicon which means dictionary. Therefore, lexical meaning is the meaning or definition of the word as written in the dictionary.

For example, the word "doa" has the lexical meaning of prayer (hope, request, praise) to God, because it is explained so in the Indonesian Dictionary (KBBI).

2. Grammatical Meaning

The second meaning of words in Indonesian is grammatical meaning. The term grammatical meaning refers to the meaning of words that arise due to grammatical processes, such as affixation.

For example, the affixation process with the prefix "ber-" on the word 'kerudung', changes the meaning of the word to 'berkerudung'. The prefix "ber-" in that word has changed the meaning of the word kerudung, which originally meant head covering, to mean "wearing a kerudung".

In addition to affixation, grammatical meaning can also be influenced by other grammatical processes such as composition, reduplication, and composition or sentence formation processes.

3. Referential Meaning

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As we know, the word reference refers to something that serves as a reference. Therefore, the meaning of referential word means the meaning of a word that indicates the reference or point of reference of a word in reality.

For example, direct sentences:

- "Earlier I met Rifa," said Budi to Joni.

In that sentence, the word "I" refers to Budi.

Compare it with the following direct sentence:

- "I really want to meet and chat with Budi," said Joni.

In that sentence, the word "I" refers to Joni.

4. Non-referential Meaning

In contrast to referential meaning, non-referential word means a word that does not have a reference or point of reference in real conditions. Usually, these words can be articles, particles, and conjunctions. Examples of words with non-referential meaning are 'and', 'or', 'as well as', 'because', 'therefore', 'if', 'so', and so on. 

5. Connotative Meaning

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Connotative meaning may already be familiar because it is often discussed in Indonesian language lessons. Yes, connotative meaning is the meaning of a word that is figurative or not the actual meaning. This meaning is commonly used to indicate taste values, social attitudes, or specific views. Therefore, words with connotative meanings are often found in sentences in literary works.

For example:

- The candidates are competing for the people's votes to win the election.

In this sentence, the phrase "people's votes" is a word with a connotative meaning. Therefore, the word cannot be interpreted as the sound that can be found in everyday life.

6. Denotative Meaning

In contrast to connotative meaning, denotative meaning is the actual meaning of a word, not figurative. Denotative meaning is relatively not much different from the lexical meaning of a word. Therefore, words with denotative meanings are commonly found in scientific writing.

For example:

- Andi did not pass the choir selection because he has a high-pitched voice.

In this sentence, the word "voice" refers to the sound that can actually be heard or produced by Andi on a daily basis. This is clarified by the adjective, which is high-pitched.

7. Contextual Meaning

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The contextual meaning of a word refers to the meaning of a word that arises based on its usage in a phrase or sentence. For example, the word "kepala" in the phrase "kepala desa" (village head). The meaning of the word "kepala" in that phrase will be different from the lexical meaning of the word "kepala". It is also different from the meaning of the word "kepala" in other phrases such as "kepala kereta" (train head), "kepala besar" (big head), and so on.

8. Emotive Meaning

Furthermore, there is also what is called the emotive meaning of a word. Generally, emotive meaning refers to the meaning within a word or phrase that is related to feelings. This means that the interpretation of the word depends on the emotions or feelings experienced by someone when pronouncing or writing the word.

Emotive meaning is commonly found in adjectives that represent emotions, such as happy, sad, difficult, and so on. It can also be conveyed through verbs that can also depict someone's emotions, such as crying, laughing, regretting, and so on.

Those are some of the types of word meanings in the Indonesian language. Hopefully, this is useful and can broaden your knowledge.

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