Apostrophes, Italics, and Foreign Expressions | Indonesian Grammar

The Indonesian apostrophe has a narrow job: in certain contexts it marks omitted letters or omitted digits in a year. It never forms a possessive. Italics do a different set of jobs, chiefly marking titles of complete works, deliberate metalinguistic emphasis, and words or expressions that remain foreign or regional within an Indonesian text.

This page treats those conventions in contemporary Standard Indonesian and leaves pronunciation, derivational meaning, and stylistic revision beyond orthography to dedicated pages. EYD V ordinary spelling uses the Latin alphabet without mandatory accents. Do not add é or another accent to a foreign expression unless that mark is part of the expression’s own spelling.

The apostrophe marks omitted material

EYD V permits the apostrophe (tanda apostrof) to show that part of a word or part of a year has been omitted in a particular context. Word omissions are especially associated with song lyrics, stylized dialogue, and other informal, literary, or deliberately nonstandard writing.

Dia 'kan kusurati besok.

I'll write to him or her tomorrow. (nonstandard/literary; 'kan represents akan)

Malam 'lah tiba, tetapi mereka belum pulang.

Night has arrived, but they have not come home. (literary/nonstandard; 'lah represents telah)

Namamu s'lalu kuingat.

I always remember your name. (literary, especially lyric-like; s'lalu represents selalu)

In neutral contemporary prose, write the complete words akan, telah, and selalu. The apostrophe does not transform these shortened forms into formal spellings; it merely makes the omission visible. This is an honestly limited convention, not a productive contraction system comparable to English I'm, don't, and we've.

Saya akan menghubunginya setelah rapat.

I will contact him or her after the meeting. (neutral standard prose)

Mereka telah menerima hasilnya.

They have received the result. (formal/neutral standard prose)

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Use a full word in neutral prose. An apostrophe is justified only when the omission itself is part of the chosen voice, rhythm, or compact date notation.

Omitted digits in a year

An apostrophe can replace omitted leading digits in a year when the context makes the century clear. For example, '21 can stand for 2021. The mark goes before the remaining digits because material has been removed from that position.

Acara itu berlangsung pada 5-2-'21.

The event took place on 5 February 2021. (abbreviated date; '21 represents 2021)

Pameran itu menampilkan arsip Reformasi '98.

The exhibition features archives from the 1998 Reform movement. (contextual abbreviated year)

This abbreviation depends on shared context. In a formal record, contract, dataset, or historical discussion spanning several centuries, write the year in full. '21 is not inherently “2021”; only the context supplies the omitted century. English uses a similar apostrophe, but English writers often add an apostrophe to decade plurals. Indonesian does not need an English-style 1990's: write tahun 1990-an, with the standard -an construction.

Penelitian itu dilakukan pada tahun 1990-an.

The research was conducted in the 1990s. (formal/academic)

No possessive apostrophe

Indonesian possession is expressed by noun-phrase order or by an attached pronominal form, not by punctuation. The owner follows the possessed noun: buku Rina “Rina’s book,” rumah guru itu “that teacher’s house.” The forms -ku, -mu, and -nya attach directly.

Buku Rina tertinggal di meja saya.

Rina's book was left on my desk.

Kami menunggu di rumah guru itu.

We waited at that teacher's house.

Tasmu ada di kursi belakang.

Your bag is on the back seat.

This is the page’s most important English contrast. There is no Indonesian equivalent of the English possessive apostrophe, and an owner’s name receives no special ending. Adding 's does not clarify an Indonesian noun phrase; it inserts English morphology into it.

Italics for specified work titles and media

In printed or digital text, EYD V assigns italics to the title of a book, film, song album, television program, podcast, or play, as well as the name of a mass-media publication cited in the writing. Capitalization inside the title follows the separate title rules.

Saya membaca novel Laskar Pelangi selama perjalanan.

I read the novel Laskar Pelangi during the journey. The complete book title is italicized in formatted prose.

In a formatted Indonesian sentence, it appears as: Saya membaca novel Laskar Pelangi selama perjalanan. The generic word novel stays in roman type; the work title is italic.

Film Habibie dan Ainun diangkat dari kisah nyata.

The film Habibie dan Ainun was based on a true story. The film title is italicized in formatted prose.

Formatted: Film Habibie dan Ainun diangkat dari kisah nyata. The conjunction dan inside the title remains lowercase because it is a function word that does not open the title.

Wawancara itu dimuat di Tempo minggu lalu.

The interview appeared in Tempo last week. The mass-media name is italicized in formatted prose.

Formatted: Wawancara itu dimuat di Tempo minggu lalu. A foreign personal name, institution, organization, or brand name is not italicized merely because it is foreign. Italics classify a title or a linguistic expression; they do not mean “not Indonesian.”

Other title categories assigned double quotation marks by EYD V include poems, songs, articles, manuscripts, book chapters, speeches or sermons, and themes or subthemes. Thus a book title is italic but an article title inside a sentence takes double quotation marks. See the detailed quotation punctuation patterns.

Artikel “Bahasa di Ruang Publik” dimuat dalam majalah itu.

The article ‘Language in Public Space’ appeared in that magazine. An article title takes quotation marks, not italics.

Italics for words discussed as words

Italics can single out a letter, a word part, a word, or a phrase being discussed rather than simply used. This metalinguistic convention is especially useful in academic writing.

Huruf terakhir pada kata abad adalah d.

The final letter in the word abad is d. In formatted linguistic prose, d is italicized.

Imbuhan ber- pada kata bersepeda menyatakan kegiatan.

The prefix ber- in bersepeda expresses an activity. In formatted analysis, ber- and bersepeda are italicized.

Formatted: Imbuhan ber- pada kata bersepeda menyatakan kegiatan. The hyphen in ber- identifies a prefix boundary; it is not ornamental and must be preserved inside italics.

Italics may also emphasize a particular word, but this is a limited tool. In formal prose, restructure an ambiguous sentence or use a precise modifier instead of italicizing several lines for emotional force. Boldface has its own editorial functions and is not a free substitute for EYD V italics.

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Italics answer a classification question: Is this the title of a complete work, a form being discussed, or an expression still functioning as foreign/regional material? If none applies, emphasis alone needs a strong reason.

Foreign and regional expressions

Italicize a foreign-language or regional-language word or expression that has not been absorbed into Indonesian in the surrounding text. Preserve the source expression’s spelling, including any accent or special character it inherently has.

Tim penilai menggunakan proses double-blind peer review.

The assessment team uses a double-blind peer-review process. In formal Indonesian prose, the unassimilated English expression is italicized.

Istilah raison d'être sulit diterjemahkan hanya dengan satu kata.

The term raison d'être is difficult to translate with just one word. The French expression is italicized and retains its original accents.

Here is a short academic paragraph with the required formatting:

Penelitian ini menggunakan metode double-blind peer review. Setiap naskah dinilai oleh dua penelaah, sedangkan identitas penulis dan penelaah dirahasiakan. Prosedur tersebut dirancang untuk mengurangi potensi bias dalam penilaian.

The first sentence italicizes the still-English technical expression. The established Indonesian words metode, naskah, identitas, prosedur, and bias remain roman. Once a loan has been absorbed into standard Indonesian, foreign origin alone is no reason to italicize it.

Kami mengirim data itu melalui internet.

We sent the data via the internet. Data and internet are established Indonesian loans and remain in roman type.

Analis itu memeriksa risiko proyek.

The analyst examined the project's risk. Analis and risiko use established Indonesian spellings and are not italicized.

There is no universal visual test that reveals the exact moment a loan becomes established. Consult a current authoritative dictionary when editing consequential text. That lexical status must sometimes be checked; italics cannot be decided from how “foreign-looking” a word feels.

Common Mistakes

❌ Ini adalah mobil Rina's.

Incorrect — Indonesian has no possessive apostrophe or possessive -s.

✅ Ini mobil Rina.

This is Rina's car.

❌ Bukunya terbit pada tahun 1990's.

Incorrect — an English-style apostrophe does not form an Indonesian decade expression.

✅ Bukunya terbit pada tahun 1990-an.

The book was published in the 1990s.

❌ Penulis itu mencetak kata internet dengan huruf miring.

Incorrect typographic choice — internet is an established Indonesian loan and stays in roman type.

✅ Penulis itu mencetak kata internet dengan huruf biasa.

The writer prints the word internet in roman type.

❌ Penulis itu membiarkan ungkapan peer review dengan huruf biasa.

Incorrect typographic choice — the unassimilated English expression should be italicized in formal Indonesian prose.

✅ Penulis itu mencetak ungkapan peer review dengan huruf miring.

The writer prints the expression peer review in italics.

❌ Pertemuan itu berlangsung pada 5-2-21.

Incorrect for an intentionally omitted century — without the apostrophe, 21 does not visibly mark omitted digits.

✅ Pertemuan itu berlangsung pada 5-2-'21.

The meeting took place on 5 February 2021; the apostrophe marks the omitted 20.

Key Takeaways

Apostrophes can mark omitted letters or leading year digits, most commonly in nonstandard language or compact contextual dates.
Apostrophes never mark possession; use buku Rina, rumah guru, bukuku, and similar Indonesian structures.
Italicize titles of complete works and cited media names; use quotation marks for shorter internal works such as articles and songs.
Italicize forms discussed as forms and unassimilated foreign or regional expressions, but not established Indonesian loans.
Ordinary Indonesian has no mandatory accent marks; preserve a diacritic only when it genuinely belongs to a quoted foreign form.

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