bangsa

Balinese

Etymology

Borrowed from Old Javanese waṅśa (“lineage, dynasty, posterity”), from Sanskrit वंश (vaṃśa, “offspring, lineage, collection”). Doublet of ᬯᬗ᭄ᬰ (wangsa).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /baŋ.sə/
• Rhymes: -aŋsə
• Hyphenation: bang‧sa

Noun

bangsa (Balinese script ᬩᬗ᭄ᬲ)

1. nation
2. nobility

Derived terms

• mabangsa

Further reading

• “bangsa”, in Balinese–Indonesian Dictionary [Kamus Bahasa Bali–Indonesia] (in Balinese), Denpasar, Indonesia: The Linguistic Center of Bali Province [Balai Bahasa Provinsi Bali].

Indonesian

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈbaŋsa/ [ˈbaŋ.sa]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aŋsa
• Syllabification: bang‧sa

Etymology 1

Inherited from Malay bangsa, from Classical Malay بڠسا (bangsa), from Old Malay vaṃśa, from Sanskrit वंश (vaṃśá, “offspring, lineage, collection”). Doublet of wangsa. Cognate of Tagalog bansa (“nation”).

Noun

bangsa (plural bangsa-bangsa)

1. a group of people, animals, or plants with shared origin and the same characteristic
   1. (politics) a nation; a people or folk: group or community with often shared ancestral-lines, custom, language, and history; usually formed due to a sense of unity in terms of national, linguistic, or cultural ties, whilst also typically inhabiting a specific region on earth

      bangsa India kuno; bangsa Indonesia; bangsa Mesir ― The ancient Indians; the Indonesian nation; the Egyptian folk

      Bangsa Mongol adalah masyarakat nomad yang banyak mendiami daerah Mongolia ― The Mongols are a nomadic community predominantly residing in the region of Mongolia

   2. (archaic) sex

      Anak itu lahir berkelamin bangsa jantan ― That child was born (as) male

      Synonym: jenis kelamin

   3. (countable, biology, taxonomy) order: a taxonomy unit (taxon) between the family and class, also functioned as the umbrella term for family which cognates to one another (in plants, the family names end with -ales, e.g. Zingiberales)

      Synonym: ordo

   4. (rare) race: a group of sentient beings, particularly people, distinguished by common ancestry, heritage or characteristics

      Synonym: ras

   5. (obsolete) a clan

      Synonyms: klan, marga, wangsa

   6. (obsolete) a dynasty; a house of noble lineage

      Synonyms: wangsa, dinasti

2. (formal, figurative) prestige

   Bahasa menunjukkan bangsa ― Language represents (the prestige of) a nation

Derived terms

• bangsawan
• berbangsa
• berkebangsaan
• kebangsaan (“nationality”)
• membangsa
• membangsakan
• sebangsa (“a type of, a kind of, sort of”)

• bangsa barat
• bangsa berwarna
• bangsa kulit putih
• bangsa murni
• bangsa taneh

Related terms

• wangsa

Etymology 2

Uncertain, perhaps apheretic form of sebangsa.

Preposition

bangsa

1. (colloquial) a type of, kind, sort; like

   Synonyms: seperti, kayak, macam

   Tersedia segala makanan bangsa kue-kue dan minuman ― There is a variety of food (of the cake sort) and drinks available

Adverb

bangsa

1. (colloquial) approximately; about, roughly

   Synonyms: kira-kira, lebih kurang, kurang lebih, sekitar

   Bangsa dua bulan lagi dia akan lulus ― He will graduate in about two months

   • 2012 March 27, Irawati Astuti, “Akhirnyaaa.. Nyi Iteung yang aseli nongol juga”, in Spesialis Angkot [The Share Taxi Specialist]‎^[1] (blog comment), published 30 March 2012, archived from the original on 12 August 2021:

     Duh Chie, coba ya Kakang nanti disuruh homestay di rumah gue lah bangsa 1-2 bulan. Jadi kalo udah gede nanti dia bisa jadi penunjuk jalan emak-bapaknya yang buta arah itu [...]

     Oh Chie, let's have Kakang do a homestay at my house for about 1-2 months. So when he's grown up, he can be a navigator for his easily disoriented parents [...]

   • 2012 August 15, Indonesian Broadcasting Commission, quoting Eko Patrio, “Deskripsi Pelanggaran [Description of Offense]”, in Teguran Tertulis Kedua Program Siaran "Kampung Sahur Bejo" RCTI [Second Statement of Reprimand for the Broadcasted RCTI Program "Kampung Sahur Bejo"]‎^[2], retrieved 29 December 2025:

     "Biar tinggal sisanya tapi mah bangsa tanjakan tiga kali mah kuat.."

     Even if it’s only the rest, but for something like roughly three steep climbs, it’s still strong...

Further reading

• “bangsa”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Javanese

Alternative forms

• bângsâ — Surinamese

Etymology

Inherited from Old Javanese baṅśa, waṅśa, from Sanskrit वंश (vaṃśá, “offspring, lineage”), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *wanćás (“ceiling beam”). Doublet of ꦲꦁꦱ (angsa) and ꦮꦁꦱ (wangsa).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɔ.ŋsɔ/
• Rhymes: -ɔ
• Hyphenation: bang‧sa

Noun

bangsa (Javanese script ꦧꦁꦱ)

1. nation
2. nationality
3. class

Descendants

• → Banyumasan: bangsa
• → Osing: bangsa
• → Tengger: bangsa

References

• The Linguistic Center of Yogyakarta (2011), “bangsa”, in Kamus Basa Jawa (Bausastra Jawa) [Javanese Language Dictionary (Javanese Dictionary)] (in Javanese), 2nd edition, Yogyakarta: Kanisius, →ISBN

Malay

Etymology

From Classical Malay بڠسا (bangsa), from Old Malay vaṃśa, from Sanskrit वंश (vaṃśá, “offspring, lineage; bamboo”), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *wanćás (“ceiling beam”). Cognate of Javanese ꦧꦁꦱ (bangsa). Doublet of wangsa.

Pronunciation

• (schwa-variety) IPA^(key): /ˈbaŋsə/ [ˈbaŋ.sə]

  • Audio (Malaysia):

    (file)

  • Rhymes: -sə, -ə
• (Baku) IPA^(key): /ˈbaŋsa/ [ˈbaŋ.sa]

  • Audio (Malaysia):

    (file)

  • Rhymes: -sa, -a
• Hyphenation: bang‧sa

Noun

bangsa (Jawi spelling بڠسا, plural bangsa-bangsa or bangsa²)

1. A nation; a group of society that is huge and has a shared civilization, custom, art, language, history, tradition, and identity, and also inhabits an area with clear borders.

   bangsa Norway ― nation of Norway

   Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu ― United Nations

2. A race:
   1. A large group of people distinguished from others on the basis of common physical characteristics, such as skin colour or hair type.

      Synonym: ras

      bangsa Melayu ― Malay race

   2. (uncommon) A large group of people distinguished from others on the basis of a common heritage; an ethnicity or ethnic group.

      Synonyms: kaum, kelompok etnik, puak, suku, ras

      bangsa Minangkabau ― Minangkabau ethnicity

3. A type or kind.

   Synonyms: macam, jenis

4. A gender or sex.

   Synonyms: jantina, jenis kelamin, seks, gender

5. High status or prestige.

   Sesuatu bahasa kehilangan bangsanya hanya apabila tiada lagi penuturnya.

   A language loses its prestige only when it does not have any speakers anymore.

Affixations

• bangsakan
• bangsawan (“aristocrat”)
• berbangsa
• berkebangsaan
• kebangsaan (“national”)
• sebangsa (“of the same nation”)

Compounds

• antarabangsa
• ilmu bangsa

Descendants

• Indonesian: bangsa
• → Iban: bansa
• → Mansaka: bansa
• → Maranao: bansa
• → Pangutaran Sama: bangsa
• → Tagalog: bansa (learned)
• → Ternate: bangsa

References

• Edi Sedyawati; Ellya Iswati; Kusparyati Boedhijono; Dyah Widjajanti D. (1994), Kosakata Bahasa Sanskerta dalam Bahasa Melayu Masa Kini, Jakarta, Indonesia: Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa. Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan Republik Indonesia, →ISBN, page 21

Further reading

• "bangsa" in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu (PRPM) [Malay Literary Reference Centre (PRPM)] (in Malay), Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017

Pangutaran Sama

Etymology

From Malay bangsa, from Old Malay vaṃśa, from Sanskrit वंश (vaṃśá, “offspring, lineage, collection”), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *wanćás (“ceiling beam”). Cognate of Tagalog bansa.

Noun

bangsa

1. group

Sundanese

Etymology

Inherited from Old Sundanese baṅśa, from Sanskrit वंश (vaṃśá, “offspring, lineage, collection”), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *wanćás (“ceiling beam”).

Noun

bangsa (Sundanese script ᮘᮀᮞ)

1. nation

   ᮘᮞ ᮦᮒᮂ ᮎᮤᮎᮤᮦᮛᮔ᮪ ᮘᮀᮞ ― Basa téh cicirén bangsa. ― Language is the nation identity.

2. kind; type

   ᮠᮚᮙ᮪ ᮒᮦᮂ ᮞᮘᮀᮞ ᮙᮔᮥᮊ᮪ ― Hayam téh sabangsa manuk. ― A chicken is a type of bird.

Ternate

Etymology

From Malay bangsa, from Old Malay vaṃśa, from Sanskrit वंश (vaṃśá, “offspring, lineage, collection”). Cognate of Tagalog bansa.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈbaŋ.sa]
• Rhymes: -aŋsa

Noun

bangsa

1. nation

References

• Rika Hayami-Allen (2001), A descriptive study of the language of Ternate, the northern Moluccas, Indonesia, University of Pittsburgh