Wikibooks

Indonesian/Conjugation

< Indonesian

Pembentukan Kata (Word Forming)

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In Indonesian, you can form a new word from an existing word. For example, in English, you form the word organize from the word organ. Further, you can add -ization suffix on it and thus organization. This example pretty much illustrates how Indonesian words are formed. Certainly, this formation is not necessarily the same and it's far richer than that. You'll learn shortly why.

The word formation is very attached to Indonesian / Malay culture. Some of the formations may not make sense to the westerners. However, with some stretch of imagination, you should be able to cope with it. Many Asian language speakers, on the other hand, will find it very intuitive and much more structured than, say, Chinese.

Using these formations, you just need to memorize one type of word (either the noun form, the verb form, or the adjective form). You can then nounize the verb or verbize the noun or form other interesting words.

In a sense, the word formation is the irregular side of Indonesian since you must know which word works with which affixes. This can be confusing for beginners. However, even if you use the incorrect affixes, as long as it doesn't lead to preexisting meaning, sympathetic speakers would understand.

Susunan Aktif / Pasif (Active / Passive Formation)

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Imbuhan Sederhana Lain (Other Simple Affixes)

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Imbuhan komposit (Composite Affixes)

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Imbuhan kompleks (Complex Affixes)

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Imbuhan spesifik (Specific Affixes)

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I call these very specific affixes because, unlike the previous ones, they can only be used in very few words.

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