seberapa

Seberapa is an Indonesian interrogative determiner and adverb formed from the prefix se- attached to berapa, meaning "how much" or "to what extent." The word is used to ask about the degree, intensity, or scope of a quality, action, or situation. It can modify adjectives, adverbs, or nouns, producing phrases such as seberapa besar, seberapa cepat, seberapa lama, seberapa sering, or seberapa banyak.

In practice, seberapa appears in questions and in formal or neutral written and spoken Indonesian. Common constructions include seberapa besar dampaknya? (how big is the impact?), seberapa cepat mobil itu melaju? (how fast is that car going?), seberapa lama kamu akan tinggal di sini? (how long will you stay here?), and seberapa sering Anda mengunjungi dokter? (how often do you visit the doctor?). Seberapa banyak juga used to ask about quantity, as in seberapa banyak uang yang kamu punya? (how much money do you have?).

Seberapa can also function in concessive expressions with pun, to indicate "no matter how" or "to whatever extent." For example, Seberapa pun beratnya tantangan itu, kita harus terus maju. This usage emphasizes degree and uncertainty or resilience, rather than seeking a precise measurement.

Etymologically, se- conveys a sense of entirety or extremity, and berapa provides the basic meaning of quantity. Together, se-berapa forms a versatile tool in Indonesian for querying or stressing the degree of a attribute or action, making it a common element in both everyday and formal language.