sebesar

Sebesar is a word in Indonesian and Malay formed with the prefix se- attached to the adjective besar, meaning large or big. It is used to express size-related comparison or the degree of size, and it can have several related uses in everyday and formal language.

The primary use of sebesar is to compare sizes or to state that two things are of equal size. In equative constructions, sebesar is followed by a noun phrase that represents the reference size. For example, patung itu sebesar pintu gerbang means “the statue is as large as the gate.” Another common pattern uses seukuran to indicate that one thing is the size of another, as in Kota X seukuran Kota Y, meaning “City X is the size of City Y.” The prefix se- here signals sameness or equality of size.

The prefix can also form an intensifier to express the maximum possible degree of size. The habitual form is sebesar-besarnya, a reduplicated construction that means “as large as possible” or “to the greatest extent.” For instance, kita harus melakukan usaha sebesar-besarnya translates roughly as “we must undertake the effort to the greatest extent possible.”

In addition to sebesar, the related noun form seukuran (the size of) is used to describe quantities or measurements that match another object’s size, as in Meja itu seukuran kursi, “The table is the size of a chair.” These forms illustrate how se- interacts with adjectives and nouns to convey size relations, degree, and comparison in Indonesian and Malay.

See also: se- prefix, besar, ukuran, seukuran, sebegitu-besarnya.