Boelan
/id/Source Language: The language or dialect this term originates from (ID).Indonesian•1 meaning found
Noun
A word that functions as the name of a specific object or set of objects, such as living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, or ideas.
A historical orthographic variant of bulan referring to the earth's natural satellite or a calendar unit of thirty days. This form is common in “tempo doeloe” texts to represent the celestial body or a chronological time marker.
bulan
The old spelling (Van Ophuijsen) of the word 'bulan' referring to a calendar unit of time.
rembulan
A poetic or literary form of 'bulan', often used to refer to the moon as a celestial body.
wulan
A loanword from Javanese meaning 'month' or 'moon', often used in Javanese literary or cultural contexts.
The form “boelan” stems from two interrelated sources. Orthographically, “boelan” reflects the Van Ophuijsen/colonial spelling convention that rendered the vowel /u/ with the letters “oe”; consequently, the modern standard word “bulan” often appears as “boelan” in 19th- to mid-20th-century Malay/Indonesian printed materials. Lexically and sociolinguistically, “boelan” also functions as a nonstandard or slang variant of “bulan” in spoken registers; its use conveys a relaxed, regional, or nostalgic tone (for example, to emulate tempoe doeloe speech). This form is frequently encountered in folk song lyrics, everyday conversation, Betawi/Malay dialect reproductions, and texts aiming for an archaic style. The Indonesian orthography reform (1972) replaced “oe” with “u”, so the standard form is now “bulan”; accordingly, “boelan” is classified as a historical and nonstandard variant.
Lama soedah doea boelan, rindoe makin besar. (Lama sudah dua bulan, rindu makin besar.)
Representative of real-world usage and contextual accuracy.
Slang evolves fast. If this word is used differently in your circle, add it here.
Definition: An interrogative phrase in krama inggil Javanese register meaning “how” or “in what manner”, used to politely inquire about the condition, state, or method of something with a high degree of respect.
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