Melayu + Indonesia Family Relationship Tool
Malay and Indonesian family relationship tool — build a path from "saya" and get the right term, with the Malaysian Pak Long / Mak Long position system and Indonesian Javanese, Sundanese, Sumatran and Tionghoa tradition layers. Runs in your browser.
Melayu + Indonesia Family Relationship Tool
How to Use the Melayu + Indonesia Family Relationship Tool
Pick the language
Malaysia gives Malay words as Kamus Dewan Perdana defines them; Indonesia gives Indonesian words as KBBI defines them. In Indonesia mode you can also show the regional words KBBI labels Javanese, Sundanese, Minangkabau, Batak or Chinese-Indonesian.
Build the path
Starting from "saya" (me), add up to five steps: father, mother, older or younger brother or sister, son, daughter, husband, wife. Your wife's older brother is "wife → older brother".
Read the word and its source
Each word is shown with the dictionary entry it comes from, linked. When neither dictionary has a single word for the relative, the tool says so and gives a plain descriptive phrase, marked as one.
Add the birth order
For an aunt, uncle or sibling in Malay, say how many siblings are in that family and where this one falls. The tool then lists the titles Kamus Dewan Perdana allows for that position.
Two Dictionaries, One Shared Family Vocabulary
Malay and Indonesian share most of their family words: nenek, cucu, cicit, menantu, besan and biras mean the same thing in both national dictionaries. A few do not. Malaysia's Kamus Dewan Perdana defines kakak as an older sister; Indonesia's KBBI defines it as saudara tua, an older sibling, and defines abang as a male kakak. That is why an Indonesian can call an older brother kakak and a Malaysian says abang. KBBI's bibi is a parent's younger sister, while the first sense Kamus Dewan Perdana shows for bibi is a way of addressing a married woman. This tool keeps the two apart: pick a language and every word comes from that country's dictionary, with the entry linked.
Malay names aunts, uncles and siblings by birth order
Kamus Dewan Perdana defines a set of family titles by position among the siblings: Long is the eldest, Ngah the second, Alang the third, Uda the third or fourth, Andak the fourth or fifth, Teh the fourth or sixth, Anjang the sixth or seventh, Itam the seventh or eighth, Cik the second-youngest or youngest and Su the youngest. Each comes with a condition — Ngah only when there are more than two children, Alang only when there are more than three — and the definitions overlap, so the fourth child of five may be called Uda, Andak, Teh or Cik. Teh is not "the middle one": among families of three, five, seven and nine children it is the middle child only in the family of seven. An uncle who is older than your father can never be the youngest, so the tool never offers him Pak Su; one who is younger is never offered Pak Long.
Pak Long is the eldest uncle, or the husband of the eldest aunt: the title names a place in the birth order, not a side of the family.
The dictionary defines these titles for the siblings of either parent, and its bapa saudara is a brother "of your mother or father", so Malay draws no line between the two sides. The order is not the same everywhere. KBBI records andak as "the sixth child" in Riau usage, where Kamus Dewan Perdana has the fourth or fifth, and KBBI's Minangkabau uda is an older brother rather than a birth position. Treat the titles as one dictionary's definitions and ask the family which they use. Mak cik is also how any middle-aged woman is addressed; Pak Cik, in the sense Kamus Dewan Perdana shows, is the title for the second-youngest or youngest uncle.
In-laws are not blood relatives
Your wife's older brother is not your abang. Kamus Dewan Perdana defines ipar as a sibling of your husband or wife, kakak ipar as your spouse's older sister, adik ipar as your spouse's younger brother or sister and abang ipar as the man your older sister married; KBBI's ipar also covers a sibling's husband or wife. Biras joins two people married to two siblings, besan is your child's parent-in-law and menantu your child's spouse. For your spouse's parents Kamus Dewan Perdana's headword is mentua and KBBI's is mertua; KBBI marks mentua as non-standard.
Cousins and the regional words
Kamus Dewan Perdana counts cousins as sepupu (the child of an uncle or aunt), dua pupu (two people whose parents are first cousins) and tiga pupu (two people whose great-grandparents were siblings). KBBI stops at sepupu and misan: it has no dua pupu, and its Javanese sense of misan is a second cousin. Neither dictionary records a word for a cousin "once removed", so the tool does not make one up. In Indonesia mode, the regional setting shows only words KBBI labels for that tradition or defines for it — Javanese pakde, paklik, bude and bulik, Sundanese akang and teteh, Minangkabau mamak (a mother's brother) and uni, Batak tulang (a mother's brother) and inang, and Chinese-Indonesian engkong, koko and cici. Words KBBI does not record are left out. Everything runs in your browser; nothing about your family is sent anywhere.
Sources
- Kamus Dewan Perdana (Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2020), the Malay dictionary DBP now serves at kamus.dbp.gov.my. Its compilers used Kamus Dewan, Fourth Edition, as their main source. Its search cannot be deep-linked, so the tool names each headword.
- KBBI VI Daring, the Indonesian dictionary of the Badan Pengembangan dan Pembinaan Bahasa. Each Indonesian word links to its entry, with KBBI's usage labels (Jw, Sd, Mk, Bt, Cn, Ri, cak).
- Both dictionaries were read on 2 October 2026 through their public pages. Some Kamus Dewan Perdana senses sit behind a login; where a word rests on a sense we could not see, the tool says so.
Where Malaysia's and Indonesia's dictionaries part ways on family words
Kamus Dewan Perdana's kakak is an older sister; KBBI's is any older sibling, and its abang is a male kakak.
KBBI's bibi is a parent's younger sister. A parent's older sibling is addressed uak.
The first sense Kamus Dewan Perdana shows for bibi is a way to address a married woman.
Teh is the 4th or 6th child in Kamus Dewan Perdana, not the middle one.
The 4th of five children may be Uda, Andak, Teh or Cik: the dictionary's definitions overlap.
KBBI's Riau andak is the sixth child; Kamus Dewan Perdana's is the 4th or 5th.
Second and third cousins are dua pupu and tiga pupu in Malay. KBBI has no dua pupu.
Neither dictionary records a word for a cousin "once removed".
Parents-in-law: Kamus Dewan Perdana says mentua, KBBI says mertua.
KBBI's biras joins two people married to two siblings.
Frequently Asked Questions
- They name an uncle by his place among his siblings. In Kamus Dewan Perdana, Long is the eldest, Ngah the second when there are more than two, Teh the fourth or sixth and Su the youngest; Alang, Uda, Andak, Anjang, Itam and Cik fill other positions, and some overlap. Aunts take the same titles with Mak. An uncle older than your parent cannot be Pak Su, and a younger one cannot be Pak Long. Families and regions differ, so ask which title your family uses.
- Not in the main words. Kamus Dewan Perdana defines bapa saudara as a brother of your mother or father, and its birth-order titles for the siblings of either parent. One exception the dictionary records is mamak kecil, your mother's younger brother. In Indonesian, KBBI's Minangkabau mamak and Batak tulang are both a mother's brother.
- Because KBBI defines kakak as saudara tua, an older sibling, and defines abang as a male kakak. Kamus Dewan Perdana defines kakak as an older sister, so in Malaysia an older brother is abang.
- In KBBI, bibi is a younger sister of your father or mother; for an older one KBBI gives the form of address uak, and tante in everyday speech. The first sense Kamus Dewan Perdana shows for bibi is a way of addressing a married woman. Its later senses sit behind a login, so we cannot say Malay never uses it for an aunt; the tool shows emak saudara for Malaysia.
- In Malay, dua pupu and tiga pupu (Kamus Dewan Perdana). KBBI has no dua pupu; its cousin words are sepupu and misan, and in its Javanese sense misan is a second cousin. Neither dictionary has a word for a cousin once or twice removed, so the tool gives a descriptive phrase for those.
- Ipar is a sibling of your husband or wife, and in KBBI also the husband or wife of your sibling. Biras joins two people married to two siblings — you and your wife's sister's husband, for instance. Besan is the parent of your child's spouse, and menantu is your child's spouse. Your spouse's parents are mentua in Kamus Dewan Perdana and mertua in KBBI.
- Only words KBBI labels for that tradition or defines for it: Javanese (Jw) pakde, paklik, bude, bulik, eyang and mbah; Sundanese (Sd) akang, aa and teteh; Minangkabau (Mk) mamak, uda and uni; Batak (Bt) tulang, inang and mamak (mother); and Chinese-Indonesian koko, cici and engkong. Where KBBI has no regional word for a relative, the tool says so and shows the Standard Indonesian word.
- Because neither dictionary has one — a grandparent's brother, a cousin's child, your wife's brother's son. The tool then gives a plain phrase built from words that do exist, such as "anak lelaki kepada ipar", and marks it as a description rather than a dictionary entry. A path that loops back, like "father → son", can mean you or your brother, so the tool asks you to name the sibling directly.
- No. Every lookup runs in your browser on a small built-in engine; nothing about your family is uploaded to a server or any third party. The dictionary links open the dictionaries' own sites only when you click them.
- Completely free, with no account, sign-up, or usage limit. It runs entirely in your browser and collects no data. Use it as much as you like.
Method & sources
What this tool implements
- Every word the page prints comes from one of two national dictionaries and links its entry: Malay from Kamus Dewan Perdana (Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2020), Indonesian from KBBI VI Daring. A relative neither dictionary has a single word for is said to have none, and a plain descriptive phrase is offered instead, marked as one.
- A path is reduced before it is named — a sibling's father is your father, a husband's wife is you — and loops with no single answer ("father → son" is you or your brother) are refused rather than answered "self". Husband and wife steps are never dropped: a spouse's sibling and a sibling's spouse are ipar, a child's spouse menantu, a spouse's parent mentua (KDP) or mertua (KBBI), the spouses of two siblings biras and a child's parent-in-law besan.
- Birth-order titles follow Kamus Dewan Perdana's own definitions, conditions included: Long the eldest, Ngah the 2nd of more than two, Alang the 3rd of more than three, Uda the 3rd or 4th, Andak the 4th or 5th, Teh the 4th or 6th, Anjang the 6th or 7th, Itam the 7th or 8th before the Cik, Cik the second-youngest or youngest and Su the youngest. They overlap, so the 4th of five may be Uda, Andak, Teh or Cik, and a relative older than the parent is never offered the youngest's title. The order is presented as KDP's, not the only one: KBBI records andak as the sixth child in Riau usage.
- Cousins are sepupu, dua pupu and tiga pupu in Malay (Kamus Dewan Perdana). KBBI has sepupu and misan and no dua pupu. Neither dictionary records a word for a cousin "removed", so none is printed.
- Indonesia mode prints only Indonesian words. Its regional setting shows only words KBBI labels Javanese (Jw), Sundanese (Sd), Minangkabau (Mk), Batak (Bt) or Chinese (Cn), or defines for that community, and says so when there is none.
- Where a Kamus Dewan Perdana sense sits behind its login wall, the page says which sense it could not see rather than assuming one.
Sources
- Kamus Dewan Perdana (Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2020), public search at https://kamus.dbp.gov.my/ — kakak, abang, adik, ipar, kakak ipar, adik ipar, abang ipar, biras, ipar besan, besan, menantu, mentua, bapa saudara, emak saudara, saudara pupu, dua pupu, tiga pupu, moyang, buyut, cicit, piut and the birth-order titles long, ngah, alang, uda, andak, teh, anjang, itam, cik and busu (read 2 October 2026)
- Kamus Dewan Perdana, Pengenalan and Sejarah pages, https://kamus.dbp.gov.my/ — published 2020, more than 120,000 entries and sub-entries, compiled with Kamus Dewan Edisi Keempat as its main source
- KBBI VI Daring (Badan Pengembangan dan Pembinaan Bahasa), https://kbbi.kemendikdasmen.go.id/ — kakak, abang, bibi, uak, paman, om, tante, ipar, biras, besan, menantu, mertua, sepupu, misan, keponakan, kemenakan, moyang, buyut, cicit, piut and the labelled regional entries pakde, paklik, bude, bulik, eyang, mbah, akang, teteh, mamak, uda, uni, tulang, inang, engkong, koko, cici and andak (read 2 October 2026, version 6.1.0.0-20260421183255)
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