baru

Baru is a term used in Indonesian and Malay that means "new." It serves as a basic adjective and appears in everyday speech and in compound phrases.

In Indonesian and Malay grammar, baru denotes recency and is used to describe recently created or acquired objects. It is commonly paired with nouns to express "new goods" or "new arrivals" (for example, barang baru or mobil baru).

Baru is also a toponym in Indonesia. The name is used for villages, districts, and other geographic subdivisions, reflecting the term's generic meaning and its historical appeal in place naming. As a common element in Indonesian toponymy, it appears in multiple locations across different provinces.

The word has cognates in related Malayic languages, sharing the same basic meaning of "new." Outside of Indonesia and Malaysia, baru generally appears mainly as a lexical item rather than a widely used personal name or international term. Usage and interpretation can vary by language and region.