Glossary entry

Malay term or phrase:

sesuatu / suatu / satu

English translation:

sesuatu

Added to glossary by A-MMI (X)
Sep 29, 2004 00:21
20 yrs ago
7 viewers *
Malay term

sesuatu / suatu / satu

Malay to English Other Linguistics
Which is is grammatically accurate? In this case, the song is unspecified.
"Untuk memainkan suatu lagu.."
"Untuk memainkan sesuatu lagu..."
"Untuk memainkan satu lagu..."
Proposed translations (English)
3 +1 sesuatu
3 any / a (one) / one [numerical]

Discussion

Non-ProZ.com Sep 29, 2004:
Thank you, I'm aware of that. It's not something I'm translating.
Ramona Ali Sep 29, 2004:
Hi, thanks for the 4 pts. I'd just like to add that I think in this case, you can just drop the 'a', i.e. no need to translate every word every time. "Untuk memainkan lagu..."
Non-ProZ.com Sep 29, 2004:
Thank you yam2u & Ramona.

Proposed translations

+1
1 hr
Selected

sesuatu

'sesuatu' is used as an indefinite article before a noun, without referring to any specific item. To play any song, it doesn't matter.

'suatu' refers to something that is certain, a particular one. When you start a story with 'pada suatu hari', you are referring to a particular and certain day, not just any day.

'satu' is clear, it means one, and not zero or two. To play a song, as in not two or three, but just one song.
Peer comment(s):

agree eldira
22 mins
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you."
55 mins

any / a (one) / one [numerical]

A-MMI,

i think all are grammatically okay, depending on the sense you want, but 'sesuatu' probably gives the best case, i.e "To play any song..".

Something went wrong...
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search