Root Word

In daily conversation the use of prefix such as ‘ber’; ‘ke’; ‘pe’; ‘ter’; ‘di’; ‘me’ are mostly cut to avoid the formality. So in a sentence the root verb/word is used instead. But sometimes the root word/verb is slightly change as if the prefix is still used but not pronounced.

Examples

Formal Colloquial Meaning
Saya sudah menelepon dia Saya sudah telepon/nelepon dia I’ve called her
Anak saya suka bermain sepak bola Anak saya suka main sepak bola My son like to play football
Saya perlu membeli buku Saya perlu beli buku I need to buy a book
Besok jangan memakai baju merah Besok jangan pake baju merah Don’t wear read dress tomorrow
Kami tidak menyangka dia begitu Kami nggak sangka dia begitu We did not suspect he is like that
Anak itu tidak sengaja memukul adiknya Anak itu nggak sengaja pukul adiknya That boy didn’t mean to hit his brother



e-Learning

The University of Hawaii at Manoa offers three dedicated distance education e-learning courses for advanced Indonesian under the supervision of Dr. Uli Kozok, coordinator of the Indonesian language program at the University of Hawaii. The three courses offered are available not only to UH students but to anyone anywhere. You can enrol through UH Outreach College.