Sebagian

Sebagian is an Indonesian word that conveys the idea of a portion or a part of something. It can function as a noun, a determiner before a noun, or as a pronoun or adverb in certain constructions. The core meaning is that only a segment of a whole is being referred to, not the entirety.

As a determiner before a noun, sebagiAn indicates a part of a whole. For example, sebagaian penduduk means a portion of the population, and sebagaian besar penduduk means most of the population. It can also specify a smaller portion, such as sebagaian kecil, or be used with dari to mark a subset, as in sebagian dari penduduk.

Sebagian can also act as a standalone noun meaning “a part” or “a portion.” In this usage, sebagiannya means “part of it” or “a part.” For example, saya hanya membaca sebagiannya translates to “I only read part of it.”

In everyday usage, sebagian is often paired with other quantifiers to express degrees of partiality, such as sebagian besar (the majority) or sebagian kecil (a small portion). It is distinct from namun beberapa (several) or hampir semua (almost all); sebagian emphasizes a portion that is neither whole nor universal, while hampir semua or sebagian besar convey broader scope.

Etymologically, sebagiAn derives from the noun bagian (part) with the prefix se-, which in Indonesian grammar yields distributive or partitive meanings. The word is common in formal and informal Indonesian, including journalism, academic writing, and everyday speech.

Notes: Sebagian can be used with dari to indicate a subset, and sebagiannya or sebagian kecil can function as pronouns to refer back to a portion that has already been mentioned.