Learn Indonesian Verb Affixes: 78 Flashcards on meN-, di-, ber-, ter- and Word Families

Indonesian has no verb conjugation for person or number, which sounds easy until you meet the affixes: one root like duduk (sit) spawns menduduki, didudukkan, terduduk, kedudukan and penduduk. The deck Indonesian Verb Affixes & Grammar (code YM7105, 78 cards) is a compact tour of that system, plus negation, tense markers and reduplication.

Inside the deck

Notions covered: the active prefix meN- and its variants (mem-, men-, meny-, meng-, menge-, me-), passive di-, causative per- and memper-, stative ber-, accidental ter-, suffixes -kan and -i, circumfixes (apitan) ber-…-an, meN-…-kan, meN-…-i, ke-…-an, diper-…-kan, nominalizers pe(N)-, -an and pe-…-an, negators tidak, bukan, jangan and belum, the aspect markers sudah and belum, and reduplication (buku-buku, hati-hati, sayur-mayur). Two complete word families, duduk and tinggal, show how affixes change meaning.

A study order that works

Start with cards 25-40, the meN- sound changes. They are the real skill behind every active verb. Turn the 16 examples into one rule card per initial consonant: p→m, t→n, k→ng, s→ny (the root consonant drops), b/f→mem-, d/c/j→men-, g/h/vowel→meng-, and l/r/m/n/w/y→me-. Then test yourself with roots outside the deck.

Then cards 18-24 and 41-46 as two families. Learn each family as a single grid (root × affix) instead of separate cards. The contrast -kan vs. -i becomes obvious: mendudukkan (seat someone) vs. menduduki (sit on, occupy).

Leave negation and reduplication (56-78) for review days: they are quick wins.

Things to fix while you learn

1. Two Malay-flavoured cards. Menghantar (card 35) is standard in Malaysian; everyday Indonesian says mengantar (root antar). Menyurat (card 32) is rare; Indonesians say menyurati (to write to someone) or surat-menyurat (correspondence). Edit the backs unless you are heading to Kuala Lumpur.
2. Merge the duplicates. Penduduk appears twice (cards 24 and 70) and belum twice (59 and 64): keep one of each. Card 48 labels the affix "mempel-…-i"; it is really memper-…-i with the irregular pel- form from ajar, exactly like belajar in card 10, so link those two cards. And kedudukan (card 23) is a noun, "position", not "to be situated".

Already have the basics? Pair this deck with our Indonesian Top 100 Essential Words guide, which drills the four ways to say "no" that cards 56-59 introduce.

Find YM7105 — Indonesian Verb Affixes & Grammar in the library at flip-it.app.