Bahwa

Bahwa is a conjunction in Indonesian and Malay that introduces a content clause, equivalent to the English word "that." It marks reported content within a sentence, such as statements, beliefs, claims, or perceptual content. In usage, it helps to distinguish what is being asserted from the speaker’s immediate stance.

Grammatically, bahwa functions as a subordinate conjunction linking the main clause to a dependent clause. It commonly follows verbs and expressions of saying, thinking, believing, or noting, as in "Saya mengatakan bahwa dia akan datang" or "Mereka percaya bahwa keadaan akan membaik." The clause introduced by bahwa cannot stand alone and relies on the main clause for complete meaning.

Formality and style: that is frequent in formal writing, media reports, official statements, and academic prose. In everyday speech, Indonesian speakers may omit it and use a direct clause, depending on context and clarity; omitting that can alter nuance but often remains understood.

Variants: A more formal or archaic form is bahwasanya, found in some texts. In Malay, a related form is bahawa. The word is not inflected for tense, aspect, number, or person.

Examples: "Presiden menyatakan bahwa keadaan ekonomi membaik." "Saya tahu bahwa dia akan datang." These illustrate how bahwa introduces the content of assertion or belief within a larger sentence.

Origin and usage notes: Bahwa is a native Indonesian conjunction derived from Malay usage and is widely used across formal and written Indonesian to connect statements with their reported content. It plays a key role in sentence structuring for expressing reported information.