susu
/ˈsusu/
susu is the Indonesian word for milk.
susu is used to refer to the liquid milk. You can use it to specify different types by adding nouns after it: susu sapi for cow's milk, susu kedelai for soy milk, susu bubuk for powdered milk and susu kental manis for sweetened condensed milk.
Meaning: liquid (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
In the term susu bubuk, the word bubuk means powder. In the term susu kental manis, kental means thick and manis means sweet.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The word susu can also function as a verb meaning to express milk from a mammal. To specifically describe the act of breastfeeding or nursing, the verb form menyusui is used, which is derived from susu by adding the prefix me- and the suffix -i.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈsusu/
Did you know?
- The word susu originally meant 'breast' rather than the liquid itself. Over time, the meaning shifted from the body part to the liquid produced by it.
- Because susu is a very basic Proto-Austronesian word, it is a cognate with similar sounding words in many other languages across the Pacific and Southeast Asia.
- While susu can mean the liquid, if you are talking about the human anatomy, many Indonesians prefer the word payudara to avoid the association with the drink.
Examples in context
- Apa kau punya susu?Do you have some milk?This example shows how to use susu to ask if someone has any.Tatoeba #4380634 by Bilmanda, translation #19455 by CK
- Aku mau minum susu.I want to drink milk.This example shows a desire to drink susu.Tatoeba #13706721 by HAGNi, translation #256870 by CK
- Aku suka minum susu.I like to drink milk.This example expresses a liking for drinking susu.Tatoeba #12815933 by HAGNi, translation #2298417 by tozka
- Apakah Anda memiliki susu?Do you have milk?
- Saya ingin membeli susu sapi.I would like to buy cow's milk.
- Ayo minum susu!Let's drink milk!
- Susu lembu ini enak sekali!This cow's milk is delicious!
- 36 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Adi and Maya are in the kitchen in the morning.
- AdiMaya, apakah ada susu di meja?Maya, is there any milk on the table?
- MayaTidak ada, Adi. Kita harus beli susu baru.There isn't any, Adi. We have to buy new milk.
- AdiBaiklah, aku akan pergi ke toko sekarang.Alright, I will go to the store now.
- MayaTerima kasih, Adi. Hati-hati di jalan.Thank you, Adi. Be careful on the road.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “milk” translations and entries susu, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries susu, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
