sesaat

Sesaat is a word used in Indonesian (and Malay) to denote a brief period of time, equivalent to “a moment” or “for a moment.” It functions as both an adverbial and a nominal expression in everyday language and in literary or formal writing.

The term is formed from the prefix se- attached to saat, where saat means moment or time. The prefix se- signals a single, whole unit, producing a sense of duration that is short or singular. This etymology is common in Indonesian word formation, where se- modifiers create units such as sekejap (a short while) or sesaat (one moment).

Common constructions include sesaat lagi (in a moment, soon), sesaat ini (at this moment), and sesaat sebelum/ sesaat setelah (a moment before/after). In use, sesaat can modify verbs or entire clauses, as in “Sesaat kemudian dia pergi” or “Sesaat ini kita sedang menunda keputusan.” The nuance is typically temporal and fleeting, rather than late or long.

In contemporary Indonesian, sesaat appears across registers—from spoken language to journalism and literature—l conveying immediacy or brevity. It is closely related to synonyms such as sekejap, sebentar, and seketika, which share the sense of a short, transient period but carry slightly different nuances or formality levels.

See also: saat, sekejap, sebentar, seketika.