kawan

Kawan is a noun in Malay that means friend or companion. It is native to the Malay-speaking world and is widely used in Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, and among Malay-speaking communities in parts of Indonesia. In Indonesian usage, the term is understood and used, though most speakers prefer teman in many contexts; kawan tends to be informal and colloquial.

The basic plural form is kawan-kawan. The term can refer to a single friend or to a group of friends, depending on context. It is also used as a direct address in casual speech, similar to mate or buddy in English.

Etymology: The word is native to the Malay language family. Its exact historical origins are not definitively documented, but it has long been part of everyday speech in Malay-speaking communities and has cognates across related languages.

Related terms: Other Malay/Indonesian terms for friend include sahabat, teman, and rakan, each with slightly different connotations. Kawan generally signals a casual, informal relationship, while sahabat can imply closer friendship, and teman or rakan vary by region and register.

In culture: Kawan appears in Malay-language literature, songs, and media as a generic term for friend and as a familiar mode of address, reflecting social norms of camaraderie in Malay-speaking communities.