potong

Potong is a word in Malay and Indonesian meaning to cut, slice, trim, or sever. As a verb, it functions as the stem of memotong; the bare form potong is used in the imperative (Potong!), and in certain verb constructions or phrases without affixes. The noun potongan refers to a piece or slice, such as potongan kue or potongan daging, and potongan-potongan can denote multiple pieces.

The word appears in a wide range of expressions. Memotong sayur or memotong daging means to cut vegetables or meat; potong rambut refers to a haircut; potongan harga denotes a discount; potongan gaji denotes a salary deduction. Other common phrases include memotong antrean (to cut in line) and memotong jalan (to take a shortcut or cut across).

In terms of etymology, potong is native to Malay and Indonesian and is widely used across Malay-speaking regions, with cognates in related Austronesian languages. Derived forms such as pemotongan denote the act or process of cutting, or reductions in financial contexts.

Overall, potong is a versatile term central to everyday usage in cooking, shopping, and various actions that involve removing, shortening, or separating something.