Kaum

Kaum is a term in Malay and Indonesian that denotes a group of people defined by shared ethnicity, culture, or social identity. It is borrowed from the Arabic qawm, meaning "the people" or "nation," and appears in both Islamic and secular usage. In everyday Indonesian and Malay, kaum functions as a broad label for a community, sometimes translated as "ethnic group" or "people." It is used in phrases such as kaum Melayu (the Malay ethnic group) or kaum Cina (the Chinese community).

Usage notes: While kaum can refer to large ethnic or religious communities, it is distinct from terms like etnis or bangsa in formal contexts. In modern Indonesia, government statistics typically use etnis to categorize the population, whereas kaum remains common in everyday speech and media to name groups. In Malaysia and neighboring contexts, the term is widely used in public discourse and policy discussions about ethnic groups, though it can carry social and political connotations.

Critique and nuance: Some linguists and commentators consider kaum to be somewhat antiquated or essentializing when used to classify people by background. In contemporary formal writing, preferring etnis or bangsa is common to reduce stereotyping, while kaum remains a flexible, less technical label in everyday language.

See also: Ethnicity, Etnis, Bangsa, Suku.