Borjuis
/id/Source Language: The language or dialect this term originates from (ID).Definition & Context
NounNoun
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 social class of “upper-middle” or capitalist individuals who own and control the means of production, capital, and economic assets within a capitalist system.
Synonyms & Variants
juragan
A respectful address for a business owner, employer, or a person of high standing in a community, especially in Java.
Kapitalis
Refers to individuals or groups who possess significant capital within the economic system.
kaum berada
A social group possessing significant financial wealth or luxury.
kelas atas
A social stratification placing individuals or groups at the highest position in the hierarchy of wealth and power.
priyayi
In the Javanese context, refers to the aristocratic or bureaucratic elite class with high social status, often possessing wealth and influence.
Kaum Atas
A descriptive term for the group of people with the highest social and economic status.
Orang Berpunya
A softer and more descriptive euphemism used in everyday conversational contexts.
Usage Notes or Etymology
The word borjuis is borrowed from the French bourgeois, literally meaning “town dweller” (from bourg, meaning small town). In Marxist intellectual tradition, the term was popularized by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in Das Kapital and the Communist Manifesto (1848) to denote the capital-owning class in opposition to the proletariat (working class). In Indonesia, the term entered through European intellectual influence and early 20th-century socialist movements, frequently employed in political and economic discourse to critique social class inequality.
Real-world Usage
Kaum borjuis mendominasi ekonomi di era kapitalisme awal dengan menguasai modal.
English Translation
Representative of real-world usage and contextual accuracy.