Malay derivatives: prefixes Flashcards
word
kata
appearance
terbitan
derivatives
kata terbitan
appear (from concealment)/publish
terbit
Noun
Kata nama
Verb
Kata kerja
Adjective
Kata adjektif
word
kata
name
nama
work
kerja
adjective
adjektif
Affixes
imbuhan
suffixes
akhiran
a prefix and suffix
apitan
an affix that goes in the middle of the word - an insert
sisipan
What does all the forms of the noun prefix ‘pe-‘ (pe-,pem-, pen-, peng-,penge-,pel-,per-) do?
Makes subject of sentence the performer of the verb. e.g. run (lari) becomes runner (pelari) and do (buat) becomes doer (pembuat)
Best runner in school
pelari terbaik dalam sekolah
pelari terbaik dalam sekolah
Best runner in school
run
lari
runner
‘pe-‘lari - pelari
best
terbaik
You make the best fried chicken
Awak buat ayam goreng terbaik
Awak buat ayam goreng terbaik
You make the best fried chicken
inside/in
dalam
school
sekolah
have
ada
Do
buat
doer
‘pem-‘buat - pembuat
What does the noun prefix ‘ke-‘ do?
Makes the subject of the sentence what the adjective is assigned to. e.g love (kasih) becomes lover (kekasih) and old (tua) becomes elder/leader (ketua).
love
kasih
lover
‘ke-‘kasih - kekasi
old
tua
elder/leader
‘ke-‘tua - ketua
What does the noun prefix ‘juru-‘ do?
Makes the subject of the sentence identified as having a suitable role for the verb they’re performing. e.g. fly (terbang) becomes pilot (juruterbang) and money (wang) becomes juruwang (cashier).
(Doesn’t apply to all jobs though).
fly
terbang
pilot
juruterbang
money
wang
cashier
juruwang
soldier
askar
driver
pemandu
What does the noun prefix ‘maha-‘ do?
Indicates that a subject is grand or of the highest order. e.g. king (raja) becomes supreme ruler (maharaja) and teacher (guru) becomes grand teacher (mahaguru)
king
raja
supreme ruler
‘maha-‘raja - maharaja
teacher
guru
grand teacher
‘maha-‘guru - mahaguru
What does the noun prefix ‘tata-‘ do?
Refers to the rules or system or way of arranging the noun. e.g. language (bahasa) becomes grammar (tatabahasa) and ethics (etika) becomes code of ethics (tataetika).
language
bahasa
grammar
‘tata-‘bahasa - tatabahasa
ethics
etika
code of ethics
tataetika
You need better grammar
Awak perlukan tatabahasa lebih baik
good
baik
You need the best car
Awak perlukan kereta terbaik
more
lebih
nice
bagus
Awak perlukan tatabahasa lebih baik
you need better grammar
Awak perlukan kereta terbaik
you need the best car
What does the noun prefix ‘pra-‘ do?
Acts like ‘pre-‘ in English. e.g historic to prehistoric and school to preschool.
history
sejarah
prehistory
‘pra-‘sejarah - prasejarah
school
sekolah
preschool
‘pra-‘sekolah - prasekolah
What does the noun prefix ‘sub-‘ do?
Highlights the smaller sections of the noun. Same as English. e.g title (tajuk) becomes subtitle (subtajuk)
So any use of sub in english directly carries over to Malay.
title
tajuk
subtitle
‘sub-‘tajuk - subtajuk
class
kelas
subclass
‘sub-‘kelas - subkelas
What does the noun prefix ‘supra-‘ do?
Shows noun goes beyond its conventional boundaries. Same as English. e.g national (nasional) becomes supranational (supranasional).
So any use of supra in english directly carries over to Malay.
national
nasional
supranational
‘supra-‘nasional - supranasional
What does the noun prefix ‘eka-‘ do?
Shows noun is in a single form. e.g language (bahasa) becomes monolingual (ekabahasa).
language
bahasa
monolingual
ekabahasa
monolingual dictionary
kamus ekabahasa
dictionary
kamus
What does the noun prefix ‘dwi-‘ do?
Shows noun is in dual form. e.g language (bahasa) becomes bilingual (dwibahasa)
bilingual
‘dwi-‘bahasa - dwibahasa
What do all the forms of the verb prefix ‘me-‘ (me-,mem-,men-,meng-,menge-,memper-) do?
Puts verb in the continuous form. e.g steal (curi) becomes stealing (mencuri)
steal
curi
stealing
‘men-‘curi - mencuri
dig
gali
digging
‘meng-‘gali - menggali
I’m a fast runner
Saya perlari cepat
fast
cepat
Saya perlari cepat
I’m a fast runner
What do all the forms of the verb prefix ‘be-‘ (be-,ber-,bel-) do?
Puts verb in continuous form like what ‘me-‘ does but there are complex differences which aren’t explained. e.g. work (kerja) becomes working (bekerja)
work
kerja
working
bekerja
walk
jalan
walking
berjalan
I’m working quickly
Saya bekerja cepat
What does the verb prefix ‘ter-‘ do?
Shows subject is in the state of readiness or that verb was done accidentally. e.g shape (bentuk) becomes shaped (terbentuk) and fall (jatuh) becomes accidentally fall (terjatuh).
shape
bentuk
shaped
terbentuk
arrange
susun
arranged
tersusun
trim
memangkas
mold
acuan
molded clay
tanah liat terbentuk
clay
tanah liat
arranged cards
kad tersusun
cards
kad
diamond
berlian
at
di
under
bawah
pressure
tekanan
that is
yang
high
tinggi
fall
jatuh
accidentally fall
‘ter-‘jatuh - terjatuh
drink
minum
accidentally drink
‘ter-‘minum - terminum
That child is crying because they accidentally fell
Kanak-kanak itu menangis kerana dia terjatuh.
Kanak-kanak itu menangis kerana dia terjatuh.
That child is crying because they accidentally fell
crying
menangis
because
kerana
he/she/they
dia
What do the verb prefixes ‘di-‘ and ‘diper-‘ do?
Form a passive verb (where subject receives verb action) in reference to the third person (he,she,it). e.g arrange (susun) becomes arranged (disusun)
wife
isteri
became a wife
diperisteri
The books are neatly arranged on the book rack
buku-buku itu disunsun dengan rapi di atas rak
buku-buku itu disunsun dengan rapi di atas rak
The books are neatly arranged on the book rack
books
buku-buku
book
buku
that
itu
with
dengan
neat
rapi
at
di
on
atas
rack
rak
What do the adjective prefixes ‘ter-‘ and ‘te-‘ do?
Puts adjective in the state of ‘the most’, and also indicated readiness or accidentally. e.g. beautiful (cantik) becomes most beautiful (tercantik).
beautiful
cantik
most beautiful
‘ter-‘cantik - tercantik
tall/high
tinggi
tallest/highest
‘ter-‘tinggi - tertinggi
clear/distinct
serlah
clearest/most distinct
teserlah
The most beautiful maiden in the village
gadis tercantik di kampung itu
gadis tercantik di kampung itu
The most beautiful maiden in the village
maiden
gadis
at
di
village
kampung
nice village
kampung bagus
big
besar
small
kecil
that
itu
What does the adjective prefix ‘se-‘ do?
Makes adjective mean equal to. e.g. thick (tebal) becomes as thick as (setebal)
thick
tebal
as thick as
setebal
as beautiful as
secantik
The maiden is as beautiful as flower
Gadis itu secantik bunga
Gadis itu secantik bunga
The maiden is as beautiful as flower
that is
itu
flower
bunga
This book is as thick as an encyclopedia
Buku ini setebal ensiklopedia
Buku ini setebal ensiklopedia
This book is as thick as an encyclopedia
this
ini/ni
encyclopedia
ensiklopedia
All affixes are used for formal Malay and not colloquial Malay.
Colloquial Malay mostly never uses affixes and they can make it sound awkward.
You would use affixes in formal Malay when writing a letter to the government or a company ect.
