Causative Nuances
Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds
Causative suffixes (-kan, -i, and memper-) turn nouns, adjectives, or verbs into actions that 'cause' a change or move an object.
- Use -kan to move an object or cause a state (e.g., 'bersihkan' - make clean).
- Use -i for actions directed at a location or repeated actions (e.g., 'garami' - put salt on).
- Use memper- with adjectives to mean 'to make more' (e.g., 'memperbesar' - make bigger).
Meanings
The causative construction uses suffixes to indicate that the subject causes the object to perform an action or undergo a change in state.
Pure Causative
Causing an object to enter a state or perform an action.
“Dia menjatuhkan gelas itu.”
“Guru mendudukkan siswa di kursi.”
Benefactive
Doing something for someone else's benefit.
“Saya membukakan pintu untuknya.”
“Bisa ambilkan saya minum?”
Locative/Iterative
Directing an action toward a location or repeating it.
“Dia memagari rumahnya.”
“Polisi menembaki pencuri itu.”
Causative Suffix Formation
| Root Type | Root Word | Suffix | Resulting Verb | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adjective | Bersih (Clean) | -kan | Membersihkan | To make clean |
| Adjective | Besar (Big) | memper- | Memperbesar | To make bigger |
| Intransitive Verb | Jatuh (Fall) | -kan | Menjatuhkan | To drop / make fall |
| Intransitive Verb | Duduk (Sit) | -kan | Mendudukkan | To seat someone |
| Noun | Garam (Salt) | -i | Menggarami | To put salt on |
| Noun | Pagar (Fence) | -i | Memagari | To put a fence around |
| Transitive Verb | Beli (Buy) | -kan | Membelikan | To buy for someone |
| Transitive Verb | Tulis (Write) | -kan | Menuliskan | To write for/on behalf of |
Reference Table
| Form | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Affirmative | meN + root + kan/i | Saya membukakan pintu. |
| Negative | tidak + meN + root + kan/i | Saya tidak menjatuhkan gelas. |
| Question | Apakah + subject + verb? | Apakah kamu membelikan kado? |
| Passive | di + root + kan/i | Pintu dibukakan oleh saya. |
| Imperative | root + kan/i | Bersihkan kamarmu! |
| Formal Causative | memper + adjective | Kita harus memperkuat tim. |
| Benefactive | meN + root + kan + recipient + object | Ibu membuatkan saya kue. |
| Locative | meN + root + i + location | Dia meniduri kasur itu. |
Espectro de formalidade
Mohon matikan lampu sebelum keluar. (household/office)
Tolong matikan lampunya. (household/office)
Matiin lampunya dong. (household/office)
Matiin lampu, cuy. (household/office)
The Causative Web
Action for Others (-kan)
- Membukakan Open for someone
- Membelikan Buy for someone
Change of State (-kan)
- Membersihkan Make clean
- Memanaskan Make hot
Location/Target (-i)
- Memasuki Enter into
- Menggarami Salt something
-kan vs -i Movement
Choosing the Right Suffix
Are you doing it for someone?
Is the object moving?
Common Causative Verbs
Household
- • Membersihkan
- • Merapikan
- • Mematikan
Social
- • Mengenalkan
- • Menceritakan
- • Membantu
Professional
- • Menyampaikan
- • Melaporkan
- • Menunjukkan
Examples by Level
Tolong ambilkan buku itu.
Please get that book for me.
Saya masukkan kunci ke tas.
I put the key into the bag.
Bisa bukakan pintu?
Can you open the door?
Ibu matikan lampu.
Mother turned off the light.
Dia membersihkan kamarnya setiap hari.
He cleans his room every day.
Saya membelikan kado untuk teman.
I bought a gift for a friend.
Jangan jatuhkan gelas itu!
Don't drop that glass!
Ayah membacakan cerita untuk adik.
Father read a story to my younger sibling.
Pemerintah akan melebarkan jalan ini.
The government will widen this road.
Dia menidurkan bayinya di kamar.
She put her baby to sleep in the room.
Tolong panaskan makanan ini sebentar.
Please heat up this food for a moment.
Kami harus memperbaiki mobil yang rusak.
We have to fix the broken car.
Perusahaan sedang memperbesar skala produksinya.
The company is enlarging its production scale.
Dia menduduki kursi ketua organisasi itu.
He occupied the chair of the organization's leader.
Kita perlu mendiskusikan masalah ini lebih lanjut.
We need to discuss this matter further.
Polisi menanyai saksi mata selama tiga jam.
The police questioned the eyewitness for three hours.
Penulis itu memaparkan teorinya dengan sangat jelas.
The author explained his theory very clearly.
Dia memperjuangkan hak-hak kaum buruh.
He fought for the rights of the laborers.
Jangan membanding-bandingkan nasib kita dengan orang lain.
Don't keep comparing our fate with others.
Ia memperistri gadis dari desa seberang.
He took a girl from the opposite village as his wife.
Pemerintah mempermaklumkan keadaan darurat nasional.
The government announced a state of national emergency.
Ia mengesampingkan kepentingan pribadi demi negara.
He set aside personal interests for the sake of the country.
Karya ini merepresentasikan kegelisahan zaman.
This work represents the anxiety of the era.
Beliau memperhambakan dirinya pada ilmu pengetahuan.
He enslaved himself (dedicated himself completely) to science.
Easily Confused
Learners often use -kan when the action is directed at a place rather than an object being moved.
Adding -kan to memper- with an adjective is usually redundant.
Thinking that meN- alone is enough to make a verb causative.
Erros comuns
Saya kasih dia buku.
Saya memberikan dia buku.
Tolong buka pintu saya.
Tolong bukakan saya pintu.
Dia jatuh gelas.
Dia menjatuhkan gelas.
Saya masuk air.
Saya memasukkan air.
Saya bersih kamar.
Saya membersihkan kamar.
Dia beli saya kopi.
Dia membelikan saya kopi.
Jangan mati lampu.
Jangan matikan lampu.
memperbesarkan
memperbesar
Saya memasukkan kamar.
Saya memasuki kamar.
Dia mengajari saya.
Dia mengajarkan saya.
Ia mendudukkan kursi itu.
Ia menduduki kursi itu.
Pemerintah memenangkan rakyat.
Pemerintah memenangkan pemilu.
Sentence Patterns
Tolong ___kan saya ___.
Dia sedang ___kan ___ agar lebih ___.
Kita perlu memper___ ___ ini.
Pemerintah harus memper___kan ___ demi ___.
Real World Usage
Bantuin gue dong!
Saya ingin menunjukkan kemampuan saya.
Tolong tambahkan sambalnya.
Jangan lupa bagikan video ini!
Silakan tunjukkan paspor Anda.
Penelitian ini membuktikan bahwa...
The Favor Rule
Avoid Double Causatives
The 'Moving' Test
Slang Swap
Smart Tips
Always use the -kan suffix. It's the 'politeness' marker for actions done for others.
Ask: Is the object moving? If yes, use -kan. If the object is the destination, use -i.
Drop the -kan. It's cleaner and more grammatically correct.
Look for a location or a target right after the verb. That's where the action is landing.
Pronúncia
Suffix -kan
The 'k' in -kan is usually clearly enunciated, unlike the glottal stop at the end of some words.
Suffix -i
The -i suffix creates a smooth transition from the last vowel of the root.
Imperative Causative
BersihKAN! ↘
A sharp drop in pitch on the suffix indicates a command.
Memorize It
Mnemonic
KAN = Kause (Cause) or Kind (doing for someone). I = Inside or In-place.
Visual Association
Imagine a hand pushing a box into a room for '-kan' (moving/causative). Imagine a hand painting a stationary wall for '-i' (locative/target).
Rhyme
If the object moves, -kan is the groove. If the object stays, -i is the way.
Story
A chef is in a kitchen. He 'memasukkan' (puts in) salt into the soup (-kan moves the salt). Then he 'menggarami' (salts) the steak (-i targets the steak). Finally, he 'memasakkan' (cooks for) his wife (-kan for benefit).
Word Web
Desafio
Look around your room. Find 3 things you can change the state of (e.g., a light to turn off, a table to clean) and say the Indonesian causative verb for each.
Notas culturais
Using the benefactive -kan (doing things for others) is culturally significant as it emphasizes helpfulness and social harmony.
In casual Jakarta speech, the suffix '-kan' is almost always replaced by '-in'.
High-level Indonesian uses 'memper-' extensively to sound more sophisticated and precise.
The suffixes -kan and -i are derived from Proto-Austronesian applicative markers.
Conversation Starters
Bisa tolong ambilkan saya minum?
Apa yang biasanya kamu lakukan untuk membersihkan rumah?
Bagaimana cara kita memperbaiki sistem pendidikan kita?
Ceritakan saat kamu harus memperjuangkan sesuatu.
Journal Prompts
Test Yourself
Ibu me-masak-___ nasi untuk ayah.
Kita harus memper___ jalan ini.
Find and fix the mistake:
Saya memasukkan kamar tidur.
Tolong / ambil / saya / buku / itu
Match each item on the left with its pair on the right:
Mobil itu sedang ___.
Polisi menanyai___ saksi itu.
Jangan lupa ___ postingan ini.
Score: /8
Exercicios praticos
8 exercisesIbu me-masak-___ nasi untuk ayah.
Kita harus memper___ jalan ini.
Find and fix the mistake:
Saya memasukkan kamar tidur.
Tolong / ambil / saya / buku / itu
1. Menidurkan, 2. Meniduri
Mobil itu sedang ___.
Polisi menanyai___ saksi itu.
Jangan lupa ___ postingan ini.
Score: /8
Perguntas frequentes (8)
Generally, `-kan` means you are moving an object or causing a change, while `-i` means the object is the location or target of the action.
Most verbs can take `-kan` to become causative or benefactive, but some have specific meanings that you just have to memorize.
In formal Indonesian, yes. You should use `memperbesar`. However, you might hear it in very casual speech.
Use `memper-` with adjectives to mean 'make more' (e.g., `memperkecil`). Use `-kan` to mean 'make [adjective]' (e.g., `mengecilkan`).
Yes, the nasalization rules for `meN-` still apply based on the first letter of the root word.
`Membuka` means 'to open'. `Membukakan` means 'to open for someone else'.
Yes, in informal Jakarta dialect (Betawi-influenced), `-in` replaces both `-kan` and `-i`.
You can use `menaruh` or `meletakkan`. `Meletakkan` uses the `-kan` suffix on the root `letak` (location).
In Other Languages
Hacer + infinitive
Indonesian is synthetic (suffix), Spanish is analytic (auxiliary verb).
Faire + infinitive
Indonesian suffixes can be applied to almost any root.
Lassen / -en suffixes
Indonesian's system is more regular and predictable.
Causative form (~saseru)
Japanese causative often implies a social hierarchy/permission.
Form II and Form IV verbs
Arabic uses templatic morphology; Indonesian uses concatenative (adding to the end) morphology.
使 (shǐ) / 让 (ràng)
Indonesian uses word-internal changes; Chinese uses word order and specific verbs.
