me- and nge-
In formal Indonesian transitive verbs in active voice take prefix me- where the first sound of the verb base assimilates with the prefix me- to facilitate a smooth transition in pronunciation.
In Colloquial Indonesian there are four possibilities:
- it takes prefix me- as in formal Indonesian(very rare)
- the prefix me- is dropped, leaving only the base with nasal replacement
- the prefix me- transforms into prefix nge-
- no prefix at all
Nasal Replacement
The nasal that assimilates to the first sound of the verb base occurs alone with the base without the prefix me-.
| First Letter | Verb Base | Formal Form | Colloquial |
| k | kumpul | mengumpul | Mereka suka ngumpul tiap hari Minggu. They like to gather every Sunday. |
| t | tulis | menulis | Hobi gue nulis puisi. My hobby is writing poems. |
| s | suruh | menyuruh | Siapa yang nyuruh dia pulang? Who told him to go home? |
| c | cuci | menyuci | Elo mau bantuin gue nyuci mobil? Do you want to help me wash the car? |
| p | pikir | memikir | Kadang gue mikir kenapa dia jahat sama gue. Sometimes I wonder why she is so mean to me. |
The nasal that assimilates to the first sound of the verb base where the first sounds are vowels occurs as Ng-.
| First Letter | Verb Base | Formal Form | Colloquial |
| a | ajar | mengajar | Kakak saya ngajar piano tiap hari. My older sister/brother teaches piano every day. |
| i | intip | mengintip | Jangan suka ngintip kerjaan orang lain. Don’t peep at someone else’s work. |
Prefix Transformation
Prefix nge- occurs before all the initial consonants except p, t, s, c, k and vowels. Sometimes the suffix -in needs to be added(transformation from suffix -i).
| First Letter | Verb Base | Formal Form | Colloquial |
| b | baca | membaca | Dia jago ngebaca karakter gue. He is good in reading my character. |
| d | didik | mendidik | Cara mereka ngedidik anak berbeda. The way they educate the children is different. |
| r | rasa | merasa | Gue nggak ngerasa punya jiwa sosial. I don’t feel I have a social conscience. |
| y | yakin | meyakini | Dia gagal ngeyakinin gue. He fails to convince me. |
| h | harga | menghargai | Dia selalungehargain orang lain. She always appreciates other people. |
There are exceptions for p, t, s, c, k if the verb base are borrowings from foreign language.
| First Letter | Foreign Word | Indonesian | Colloquial | Meaning |
| b t p |
back-up trend pack |
none tren pak |
nge-back-up ngetren ngepak |
to back-up become a trend to pack |
Omitted Prefix
Only transitive verbs can occur with the prefix omitted. Sometimes the suffix -in needs to be added(transformation from suffix -i).
| Transitive Verb | Formal Form | Colloquial | Meaning |
| nyanyi | menyanyi | Hobinya nyanyi di kamar mandi. | Her hobby is singing in the bathroom. |
| tanya | menanyakan | Gue mau tanya elu nih. | I want to ask you this. |
| baca | membaca | Gue baca dulu aturannya. Tolong bacain aturannya. |
Let me read the rules first. Please read the rules. |
| pegang | memegang | Dia nggak bisa pegang janji. | He can’t keep his promise. |
There are a few intransitive verbs which occur without a prefix in formal Indonesian but which can take a nasal in colloquial form without a prefix.
| Intransitive Verb | Formal Form | Colloquial Form |
| tumbuh | Apakah giginya sudah tumbuh semua? | Giginya udah numbuh semua? Have all your teeth come through yet? |
| iri | Dia iri pada kakaknya. | Dia ngiri sama kakaknya. She is jealous at his older brother. |
Reference: Colloquial Jakartan Indonesian by James Neil Sneddon, 2006
