padaku

Padaku is a locative/dative phrase in Indonesian that expresses the speaker’s personal viewpoint. It is formed from pada, a preposition meaning to or toward, and the first-person possessive suffix -ku, yielding a sense roughly equivalent to "to me" or "as for me." In usage, padaku introduces a speaker-centered perspective, often at the start of a clause: "Padaku, itu tidak adil." It can also appear within a sentence to mark the speaker as the reference point.

Etymology: The construction combines pada with -ku, creating a pronoun phrase that designates the speaker’s stance rather than a concrete recipient. The form is part of a family of Indonesian locative pronouns that includes padamu and padanya, corresponding to you and him/her in reference or stance.

Usage and nuance: Padaku tends to carry a slightly more formal or literary tone than more common equivalents like bagiku or menurutku. It is found in written Indonesian, formal speech, and some spoken contexts, especially when the speaker wants to foreground their personal position.

Variants: Beyond padaku, similar forms exist with other pronouns, such as padamu (to you) and padanya (to him/her). These share the same syntactic role as markers of reference or stance.

See also: bagiku; menurutku; padamu; padanya.