Kapan

Kapan is a question word used in Indonesian and Malay to ask about time, equivalent to the English word "when." It is employed in direct questions such as "Kapan kamu pergi?" and "Kapan dia tiba?" In embedded or indirect questions, kapan appears inside a subordinate clause: "Saya tidak tahu kapan dia akan datang" or "Dia bertanya kapan acara itu mulai." In Indonesian, verbs do not change form for tense; the time reference is supplied by context or by accompanying time words like besok (tomorrow), kemarin (yesterday), or nanti (later).

Formality and variants: In Malay, a more formal or literary equivalent is bilakah, used in newspapers, formal speech, or traditional writing. In everyday Indonesian, kapan is standard and widely used across registers. The choice between kapan and bilakah can reflect regional preference or formality level.

Grammatical notes: Kapan generally appears at the beginning of a direct question clause. In embedded questions, it sits within the subordinate clause and follows the normal sentence order of the surrounding language. It often co-occurs with other time expressions to specify a time frame, such as "kapan kita akan berangkat" or "saya tidak tahu kapan dia datang."

See also: Indonesian language, Malay language, Interrogative words.