mysteries of meN-

***Mysteries of meN- further explained***

Step One: Think of this as a useful life-lesson in abstract thinking. You intend to bill yourself as a university graduate. You are able to do this.

Step Two: Print off the various Fun Handouts, to have as references:

https://seasite.niu.edu/Indonesian/TataBahasa/prefix/Prefix_me-/default.htm

https://seasite.niu.edu/flin/men-exercise.htm

https://seasite.niu.edu/Indonesian/TataBahasa/prefix/Prefix_me-/menrules.htm

https://seasite.niu.edu/Indonesian/TataBahasa/prefix/Prefix_me-/men_root.htm

Step Three: Ok, here’s the deal. This prefix can take the form mem-, men-, meng-, meny-, or me-, depending on what letter starts the root verb. There is a pattern here, but however you want to remember it, it goes as follows:

for words starting with p drop the p, add mem- pukul => memukul

for words starting with b keep the b, add mem- baca => membaca

for words starting with f keep the f, add mem- fitnah => memfitnah

for words starting with v keep the v, add mem- veto => memveto

for words starting with t drop the t, add men- tonton => menonton

for words starting with d keep the d, add men- dengar => mendengar

for words starting with c keep the c, add men- cari => mencari

for words starting with j keep the j, add men- jual => menjual

for words starting with k drop the k, add meng- kenal => mengenal

for words starting with g keep the g, add meng- ganggu => mengganggu

for words starting with h keep the h, add meng- hafal => menghafal

for words starting with a vowel, keep the vowel, add meng- ambil => mengambil

inap => menginap, etc.

for words starting with s drop the s, add meny- sewa => menyewa

for words starting with r, l, y, or w, keep these letters and add me- lihat => melihat

for words starting with m, n, ng, or ny keep these letters and add me- nyanyi => menyanyikan

Step Four: Now realize that since Indonesian dictionaries list words by their roots, confusion can result. For example, menyelesaikan could, theoretically, come from adding meny- and dropping the s from selesai(kan), or from adding me- to nyelesai(kan). Likewise, memiliki could come from adding me- to milik(i), or from adding mem- and dropping the p from pilik(i). If you didn’t know the root, you would have to look up both possibilities in the dictionary. Furthermore, if you had the word mengobati, it could theoretically come from (1) dropping k and adding meng- to kobat, or (2) from adding meng- to obat, or (3) from adding me- to ngobat.

This would NOT be a problem for something like mengganti or mendapat or membesarkan, because the roots would be ganti, dapat, and besar(kan) – the first letter of the root ISN’T dropped, so you know how the root begins.

In order to deal with the meN- forms where there is more than one possibility, I developed the rules laid out in the meN-’s room handout: https://seasite.niu.edu/Indonesian/TataBahasa/prefix/Prefix_me-/menrules.htm

FIRST: Realize that ny and ng don’t break down into n plus y or n plus g. That’s just the way it is.

SECOND: Look at the word, and see what comes after mem-, men-, meng- or meny-. Is it a consonant? If so, the root starts with that consonant and there are no other possibilities.

THIRD: If it’s a vowel, there are TWO possibilities for mem-, men-, and meny-: The root could start with m, n, or ny, or with the consonant that disappeared: p, t, or s, respectively.
There are THREE possibilities for meng-: the root could start with ng, or with the k that disappeared, or with a vowel – a,e,i,o,u.

FOURTH: In the case of me- followed by r,l,w, or y, the root begins with those letters, no other possibilities.

EXAMPLES:

Adding meN-:

kayakan mengayakan “to make someone rich”

jalankan menjalankan “to make something move”

inap menginap “to stay (temporarily)”

masak memasak “to cook”

pakai memakai “to wear or use”

lihat melihat “to see”

sembuhkan menyembuhkan “to cure”

gunakan menggunakan “to use”

beli membeli “to buy”

turut menurut “according to”

Finding the possible root(s); the correct one is bolded; don’t worry about –kan and –i suffixes.

mengecilkan [meng followed by vowel = root could start with the vowel e, or with ng, or with k] ecil, ngecil, kecil

menghitung [meng followed by consonant h = root could only start with h] hitung

mengikuti [meng followed by vowel = root could start with the vowel i, or with ng, or with k] ikut, ngikut, kikut
memilih [mem followed by vowel = root could start with m or with p] milih, pilih

membaca [mem followed by consonant b = root could only start with b] baca

Print off the following for practice -- cover the right column, then check your work (to practice adding meN-, cover the left column):
For additional practice see this site.

memesan pesan, mesan

mendekati dekat

menyampaikan sampai, nyampai

menyanyikan sanyi, nyanyi

mencuri curi

merugikan rugi

menanam tanam, nanam

memerlukan perlu, merlu

mendorong dorong

merokok rokok

mengganggu ganggu

mengunjungi kunjung, ngunjung, unjung

memiliki pilik, milik

membangunkan bangun

melalui lalu

menasihati nasihat, tasihat

menjual jual