Prefix Se-


Prefix Se- occurs with group numbers to form cardinal numbers and in fractions. It also replaces the number "satu" before classifiers.

To form cardinal numbers


supuluh "ten"
sebelas "eleven"
seratus "one hundred"
seribu "one thousand"
sejuta "one million"
semilyar "one billion"


To form fractions


sepertiga "one third"
seperempat "one fourth"
seperlima "one fifth"
sepersepuluh "one tenth"
seperduapuluh "one twentieth"
setengah or separuh "half"


To replace "satu" before classifiers


ekor (tail) seekor kuda "a horse"
helai (piece) sehelai kain batik "a piece of batik cloth"
orang (person) seorang wanita "a woman"
titik (dot, drop) setitik air "a drop of water"
gelas (glass) segelas susu "a glass of milk"
piring (plate) sepiring nasi "a plate of rice"
cangkir (cup) secangkir kopi "a cup of coffee"


EXAMPLES:

Ada sebelas orang mahasiswa di kelas ini, sepuluh di antaranya adalah wanita.
There are eleven students in this class, ten of them are females.

Hanya seperlima dari penduduk desa itu yang tidak buta huruf.
Only one-fifth of the population of that village who are literate.

Untuk membuat kue itu, dibutuhkan tepung sebanyak setengah kilogram.
To make that cake, needed flour a half kilogram.

Tadi pagi saya melihat seorang wanita cantik sedang membeli sehelai kain batik sementara suaminya membeli sepiring pisang goreng dan secangkir kopi.
This morning I saw a beautiful woman who was buying a piece of batik cloth whilst her husband was buying a plate of fried banana and a cup of coffee.

Adapted from:
Indonesian: A Comprehensive Grammar
Sneddon, James Neil, Routledge, London, 1996.

| Back to Prefixs | Back to Tata Bahasa |