possible, for reasons of space, to go into much detail, for example with the names of plants; for the Latin names, the reader should consult E S.A. de Clerq's Nieuw Planthundig Woordenboek voor Nederlandsch Indie (New Botanical Dictionary for the Netherlands Indies) of 1909. For fields such as animals, including insects, no source was available to us, while John MacKinnon's Field Guide to the Birds of Java and Bali (1988) was useless, as it gives the Latin, English and Indonesian names for the birds, but not the Javanese and Balinese—surely the most relevant ones for the people concerned!
5. Arrangement
Homonyms are indicated with roman numerals: e.g. I, II, III.
Items are listed under their base-word, not their derived forms. Javanese has an interesting morphology, whereby a range of derived forms can exist based on one base-word. It is useful to be able to compare these under one heading.
This means that in such cases the user has to be able to "deconstruct" a derived form, in order to find it. This applies mainly to the verbal system, but also to a lesser extent to some nouns and adjectives. The commonest difficulty occurs with nasalised forms, and sometimes it has not been possible to decide which form is the real base-word; in such instances a cross-reference will assist.
It will not be necessary to give a full account of Javanese grammar here, as students of Javanese will already be familiar with it. The following descriptions can be used for reference in conjunction with the dictionary:
Horne, E.C.: Javanese-English Dictionary. 1974, pp. xix-xxvii.
Robson, Stuart: Javanese Grammar for Students. Monash Papers on Southeast Asia No. 26, 1992.
Sudaryanto (ed.): Tata Bahasa Baku Bahasa jawa. Duta Wacana U.P. 1991.
Suharno, Ignatius: A Descriptive Study of Javanese. Pacific Linguistics Series D No. 45. 1982.
Below are some notes which will help to clarify the arrangement of forms, and the meanings associated with them.
Verbs
Some verbs have a simple form, but many feature nasalisation, i.e. a nasal sound in initial position, often in combination with a suffix. The rules for formation are:
| Initial letter | Form of nasal | Example |
| any vowel | ng- | aku - ngaku |
| p | replaced by m | pinggir - minggir |
| b | m- prefixed | bali - mbalèni |
| t | replaced by n- | tengen - nengen |
| d | n- prefixed | dangu - ndangu |
| th | replaced by n- | thuthuk - nuthuk |
| dh | n- prefixed | dhalang - ndhalang |
| c | replaced by ny- | cantrik - nyantrik |
| j | n- prefixed | jaluk - njaluk |
| k | replaced by ng- | kiwa - ngiwa |
| g | ng- prefixed | gawa - nggawa |
| r | ng- prefixed | ragad - ngragadi |
| l | ng- prefixed | lair - nglairaké |
| s | replaced by ny- or n- | silih - nyilih |
| w | replaced by m- | weruh - meruhi |
| n | no change | nastiti - nastitèkaké |
| m | no change | masalah - masalahaké |
| ng | no change | ngéné - ngénèkaké |
Notes:
1. In the case of initial vowels and n-, m- and ng-, there will be ambiguity regarding the possible base-word, so the user may have to look in two places in order to find the correct form.
2. There are some irregularities in the application of these rules, for example with monosyllabic base-words, which often are extended with an initial e-.
3. There are a number of words beginning with nga- or nge- for which a base-word beginning with a-, ka- or ke- is not clearly indicated, especially with intransitive verbs (that is, verbs without a corresponding passive form, in which the base-word can be seen). In such cases it is best to look under ng-, where a cross-reference (if necessary) will be found. In a few instances, the base-word itself begins with an initial ng-.
Function:
1. A nasalised form may be either intransitive or transitive. If the latter, then it is always active. Passive forms are never nasalised, but have their own forms which are predictable and therefore not listed. Example:
active njupuk to take (takes, took, etc.)
passive dijupuk taken; tak jupuk taken by me; kok jupuk taken by you.
2. In combination with suffixes, the nasalised form is again active, but with a range of possible extra meanings.
Suffix -i
If this form exists, its specific meaning is not completely predictable and is therefore defined. Many have a locative meaning, some are causative, and all but a small group are transitive. For rules of formation, refer to a grammar.
Suffix -ake (Krama -aken)
Where this form exists, the specific meaning is not completely predictable, and is therefore defined. Some are causative, occasionally benefactive, and all but a small group are transitive. For rules of formation, refer to a grammar.
The passive forms of these verbs are predictable. Similarly the imperatives, irrealis and propositives, which are therefore not listed.
Two special verbal categories
These forms serve to modify a verb in a particular way, in order to provide another element of meaning.
pating:
A word listed in combination with pating conveys the meaning of a state or action characterised by "plurality" (otherwise marked with pl), suggesting that a number of actors are present or that the action is carried out in a dispersed way (all over the place, everywhere).
mak: The mark repr indicates that the word listed is preceded by mak in order to suggest that the sound, action or feeling occurs in a sudden or unexpected way. These expressions contain
