Songket Terminology Glossary: Key Words Every Buyer Should Know

Shopping for songket means running into a fair amount of Malay-language terminology, often used without translation even in English-language listings. This glossary collects the essential terms in one place, cross-linked to fuller explanations where we’ve covered a topic in more depth.

Fabric and Format Terms

Songket — a handwoven or machine-woven fabric decorated with supplementary gold or silver metallic thread. See what is songket?

Tenun — the Malay word for “woven.” Used to specify that a songket piece is genuinely woven, not printed. See songket vs tenun

Kain Pasang — a matched fabric set cut and coordinated specifically to become a particular garment, such as baju kurung or baju kebaya, rather than an undefined length of cloth.

Songket Tenun Penuh — “full-weave songket,” where the metallic pattern covers the entire fabric surface rather than just the borders. See types of songket

Weave and Pattern Terms

Sungkit — the root word believed to give songket its name, meaning “to hook” or “to pick up,” describing the weaving action of lifting warp threads to insert metallic weft.

Kepala — the end panel of a songket cloth, typically a distinct, more elaborate decorative section separate from the main field. See songket patterns

Bertabur — “scattered,” describing a pattern layout where motifs are spaced out across an otherwise plain background rather than densely packed.

Motif Names

Bunga Tabur — “scattered flower,” one of the most common songket motifs, associated with elegance and abundance.

Pucuk Rebung — “bamboo shoot,” a triangular motif associated with growth and resilience, widely used across the Malay world.

Bintang Beralih — “shifting star,” a geometric motif associated with guidance and hope.

See our full songket motifs guide for more detail on each of these and additional patterns.

Material Terms

Benang Emas / Benang Perak — gold thread / silver thread, the two most common metallic thread colours used in songket weaving. See gold vs silver thread songket

Supplementary Weft — the technical weaving term for the extra metallic thread inserted alongside the base weave to create songket’s raised motifs, as distinct from the structural weft that holds the base fabric together.

Regional and Production Terms

Handmade / Tenun Tangan — songket woven by hand on a traditional loom, generally the more time-intensive and expensive production method. See is songket handmade or machine-made?

Machine-Made — songket woven using mechanical or computerized looms, producing genuinely woven fabric at greater speed and lower cost than hand weaving.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are these terms used consistently across Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei? Largely yes, since they share a common Malay-language root, though some regional variation in spelling or specific usage exists — see our comparisons of regional Malaysian styles, Indonesia vs Malaysia, and Brunei.

Do I need to know all these terms to buy songket confidently? No — but knowing even a handful (kain pasang, tenun penuh, bunga tabur) will make product listings and conversations with sellers significantly easier to follow.

Bookmark this glossary as a quick reference — songket’s vocabulary is one of the fastest ways to go from a casual browser to a genuinely informed buyer.