bunga api

Indonesian

Etymology

Compound of bunga (“flower”) +‎ api (“fire”), probably from

• calque from Chinese 火花 (huǒhuā, “spark”, literally “fire + flower”) or
• calque from Japanese 火花(ひばな) (hibana, “spark”, literally “fire + flower”).

Noun

bunga api

1. spark

   Synonyms: kilatan api, lelatu, percik api

Usage notes

The word is part of false friends between Standard Malay and Indonesian due to shared etymology. The Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore usage can be seen in Malay bunga api.

Related terms

• kembang api

Further reading

• “bunga api”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Malay

Pronunciation

• (schwa-variety) IPA^(key): [bu.ŋə ʔa.pi]
• (/a/-variety) IPA^(key): [bu.ŋa ʔa.pi]

Etymology 1

Compound of bunga (“flower”) +‎ api (“fire”).

There are two theories as to where this term originated:

• Calque from Chinese 火花 (huǒhuā, “spark”, literally “fire + flower”), or calque from Japanese 火花(ひばな) (hibana, “spark”, literally “fire + flower”).
• Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *buŋa ni hapuy. Compare Tetum ahi funan (“spark”).

Noun

bunga api (Jawi spelling بوڠا اڤي, plural bunga-bunga api)

1. A spark.

Etymology 2

Compound of bunga (“flower”) +‎ api (“fire”), literally “fire flower”.

There are two theories as to where this term originated:

• Calque from Chinese 花火 (“fireworks”, literally “flower fire”), or calque from Japanese 花火(はなび) (hanabi, “fireworks”, literally “flower fire”).
• Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *buŋa ni hapuy. Compare Tetum ahi funan (“spark”).

Noun

bunga api (Jawi spelling بوڠا اڤي, plural bunga-bunga api)

1. A firework.

   Synonym: kembang api (rare)

Usage notes

The word is part of false friends between Standard Malay and Indonesian due to shared etymology. The Indonesian usage can be seen in Indonesian bunga api.

Further reading

• "bunga api" in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu (PRPM) [Malay Literary Reference Centre (PRPM)] (in Malay), Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017
  (also see "bunga api" at PRPM first version)