Pakunjaran
Definition & Context
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.
An official place of detention used to confine individuals who have been convicted or suspected of criminal offenses, restricting their freedom of movement by the state for a defined period according to legal judgment. This term is a Javanese vocabulary form referring to the concept of a “prison” within the criminal justice system.
Synonyms & Variants
bui
Used in casual conversation and urban slang, more informal in register than `pakunjaran`.
hotel prodeo
A figurative expression referring to prison, often used in journalistic contexts or informal conversation to cynically describe prison.
lapas
Abbreviation for Correctional Institution, the official term for a detention facility focused on inmate rehabilitation.
penjara
The most common standard Indonesian equivalent used nationally.
lembaga pemasyarakatan
The formal and legal form used in official government documents and legislation.
rumah tahanan
Refers specifically to pre-trial detention, distinct from a prison designated for convicted individuals.
sel
Refers to the individual room unit within a prison, not the institution as a whole, making its scope narrower than `pakunjaran`.
Usage Notes or Etymology
The word pakunjaran derives from the Javanese root kunjara, which directly refers to the concept of a “prison” or place of detention. The circumfix pa-...-an is a productive morphological pattern in Javanese used to form locative nouns, making pakunjaran literally mean the place where one is confined or detained. The root kunjara is believed to be borrowed from Sanskrit kunjara, originally meaning “elephant” or “enclosure for large animals”, which then underwent a semantic shift in Javanese tradition to denote a place of human detention. The term appears in both ngoko registers and in classical Javanese literary and customary law contexts.
Real-world Usage
Kowe ojo nganti masuk pakunjaran gara-gara perkara sepele. (Kamu jangan sampai masuk penjara hanya karena perkara sepele.)
English Translation
Representative of real-world usage and contextual accuracy.
More Examples
Bapake si Tono saiki lagi neng pakunjaran, mulo anake urip rekoso. (Bapaknya si Tono sekarang sedang di penjara, makanya anaknya hidup susah.)
Tono's dad is currently in prison, that's why his kid is having a rough life.
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