Indonesian Language System
The Indonesian language has a rather easy way of forming words. There are base words (kata dasar) that can be used with prefixes (awalan) and suffixes (akhiran). To gain vocabulary, one only has to memorize the base word and the possible extended meanings may be apparent. Here are the simplified, general definitions:
Prefixes:
- ber– have…, uses…, make… Example: angin wind, berangin have wind circulating
- di– passive verb form (replaces me*) Example: melepas remove, dilepas has been removed
- dwi– double, two (rarely used) Example: dwibahasa bilingual
- ke– abstract form, used with –an (could mean anything, one has to know the individual meaning).
Example: tinggi high / ketinggian height, semut ant / kesemutan go to sleep of a limb
Also used for ordinal numbers: kelima fifth, keenam sixth - me*- verb form, makes base word into a verb Example: tali rope, menali tie wih rope (t is dropped, see below for rules)
- pe*- the person or thing that does the base word. Often used with –an.
Example: takut be afraid, penakut coward - per– noun form. Often used with –an.
Example: rusuh restless, disturbed perusuhan riot, disturbance - se– 1. one, 2. the same as… Example: (1) sebulan one month, (2) semuka having the same appearance
- ter– 1. the most, 2. accidentally happened
Example: (1) tertinngi the highest, (2) tejatuh fall suddenly, (1) tertinggal left behind
Suffixes:
- –an noun form
Example: pikir think, pikiran thought - –i indicates direction, application, movement toward…
Example: naik climb, menaiki climb onto something - –in same as –kan (Jakarta slang)
- –kan make, cause to happen (often used with me*)
Example: lari run, melarikan cause something to run - –pun also, even, ever it might be
Example: bagaimana how, bagaimanapun however - pronouns:
- –ku mine (first person possessive) (informal)
- –mu, -kau your (second person possessive) (informal)
- –nya his, hers, its (third person possessive)
Suffixes and prefixes can be used in combinations, too. Example: memperbaiki repair
Me* and pe* may have additional letters following depending on the first letter of the base word. Both have the same rules:
| a meng | g meng | m me | t men (t is removed) |
| b mem | h meng | n me | u meng |
| c me | i meng | o meng | v me |
| d men | j men | p mem (p is removed) | w me |
| e meng | k meng (k is removed) | r me | z men |
| f mem (f is removed) | l me | s meny (s is removed) |
The first letter of some foreign-sounding base word is often not removed for clarity. Example: protes / memprotes.
Some examples follow. You may see that the above definitions are not exact, but an indication of how the prefixes and suffixes affect the word.
| base word baik | base word kuasa | base word lepas |
| baik good sebaiknya preferable sebaik as good as berbaik be on good terms with berbaik-baik make peace membaik improve membaiki improve something, repair membaikkan improve something, treat well memperbaiki correct, repair terbaik best terbaiki repairable kebaikan goodness baikan improvement pembaikan construction perbaikan upgrading | kuasa power, might berkuasa hold the power menguasai dominate menguasakan authorize terkuasai controllable terkuasakan can be delegated kekuasaan authority, control penguasa one in authority penguasaan mastery | lepas free, liberated berlepas be unencumbered melepas remove melepasi discharge melepaskan let something go terlepas released terlepaskan can be let loose kelepasan freedom lepasan ex-, former… pelepas one who releases pelepasan a dismissal perlepasan a release |
Reference for word definitions: An Indonesian-English dictionary / by John M. Echols and Hassan Shadily