Panduan Lengkap - The Tutoring Hall Prefix-3.pdfTerbang Fly Terus Go on/continue Teriak Shout Terorisme Terrorism Other words may have “ter–” origins, but have digressed in meaning

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Panduan Lengkap Untuk Awalan Ter- A complete guide to the Indonesian prefix ter-, including as a superlative, and stative, accidental and abilitative verbs.


Indonesian Prefix Ter– Ter – words will almost always have several “relatives” in me-, ber-, me-I, me-kan and ber-an forms.

In most cases any suffixes will be dropped in the ter– form of the word. This information sheet will start with the easier ter– forms, and move through to the more difficult varieties!

Semoga Sukses!

1. FALSE TER– FORMS

Some Indonesian words start with “ter” however, these are not “ter–” forms. Examples include:

Indonesian English Indonesian English

Terjemah Translate Terima Acceptance:

taking/receiving

Terbang Fly Terus Go on/continue

Teriak Shout Terorisme Terrorism

Other words may have “ter–” origins, but have digressed in meaning over time, and thus cannot be easily categorised. Examples include:

Indonesian English Indonesian English Terlalu Too Terhadap Towards

Termasuk Including Terutama Especially

2. TER– ADJECTIVES

This is the easy one! Add the prefix ter- to an adjective, and you get a word that in English would most likely end in “-est.” The technical term for this is superlative, but you most probably don’t need to know that. Here are some examples:

Indonesian English Indonesian English Terbaik Best Terindah The most beautiful

Tertinggi Tallest Terjauh Furthest

Tercepat Fastest Terkaya Richest

Terbiru Bluest Terpintar Smartest

Terpanjang Longest Tergemuk Fattest

Terbodoh Dumbest Tergelap Darkest

Terdekat Closest Tercanggih The most sophisticated


3. TER– STATIVE VERBS

This is where it starts to get complicated. When we look at the prefixes me–, di– or ber–, we are

looking at “action verbs.” That is to say the verb is indicating either an action being completed

(active) or an action that has been completed (passive.) Eg, menonton – watching, dilihat – seen,

berlari – run. Ter– verbs are different though. They indicate the state rather than the action. The

agent (the do-er) is not as important with stative ter– verbs, instead the focus is on the state of the

verb. Generally, these are an alternative to di– verbs (that is, they are used in passive construction.)

Confusing I know! Here’s some examples:

Di- Form Meaning Ter- Form Meaning

Dibuka Opened (by someone) Terbuka In a state of being open

Ditutup Closed (by someone) Tertutup In a state of being closed

Dibatasi Restricted (by someone) Terbatas In the state of being restricted

Ditulis Written (by someone) Tertulis In the state of being written (eg, in

English)

Dibuat Made (by someone) Terbuat Made (of something)

Diletakkan Placed (by someone) Terletak In the state of being located

Note that any suffixes (eg the –i in dibatasi, the –kan from diletakkan) are dropped in the ter- form.


4. TER- VERBS INDICATING “ACCIDENTAL” ACTION

Alrighty, now it starts to get really complicated! The term “accidental” is used to cover a whole

range of verbs indicating an action that was either an accident, or outside of the control of the

agent. Accidental ter– verbs are also passive. They can however be both transitive, and

intransitive. That is, they can either have objects, or can be verbs in themselves. Here are some

examples!

Word Meaning Sentence

Tertidur Accidently fall asleep Saya tertidur dalam kerata api (intransitive, no object)

Terjatuh Accidently fall Saya terjatuh di padang sawah (intransitive, no object)

Terminum Accidently drink Kopi Ibu terminum oleh teman saya (transitive, object)

Termakan Accidently eat Biskuit Bruce termakan oleh saya (transistive, object)

Terbakar Accidently burn Sebatang rokok yang turun terbakar hutan (transitive, object)

Terhapus Accidently delete/wipe out File komputer terhapus (transitive, object)

Terpaksa Forced (beyond agent’s

control) Pemerintah terpaksa untuk mengurangi

harga bensin (intransitive, no object)

Terbuang Accidently throw away Buku saya terbuang oleh Ibu (transitive, object)


5. TER– VERBS INDICATING ABILITY

This is the finally type of ter– verb, and is less common than the other forms. Generally, this ter- is

used in a negative fashion, with “tidak” or “belum” added to indicate inability, rather than ability.

The use of the prefix ter– replaces “bisa” or “boleh” or “dapat” in the more common “di-”

construction. Although (as stated at the very start) the ter– form usually sees suffixes dropped; for

abilitative verbs; they are usually kept. All abilitative verbs are transitive, that is, they have objects.

These words are often best translated as “something-able” and can function similar to English

adjectives, however they (usually) remain verbs. Here are some examples:


Terbeli Can be afforded (affordable) Rumah di South Yarra tidak terbeli oleh saya

Terpecahkan Can be solved (solveable) Masalah pemanasan global, belum terpecahkan.

Terdengar Can be heard (hearable) Pidato teman saya terdengar dari luar ruang.

Terselesaikan Can be finished (finishable) Akhirnya proyek terselesaikan.

Terhindarkan Can be avoided (avoidable) Kalau kamu ingin ke Narre Warren, stasiun Hallam tidak terhindarkan.

Terbaca Can be read (legible) Tulisan tangan guru saya tidak terbaca.

Terbarukan Can be made new (renewable)

Pemerintah harus mendorong penggunaan energi terbarukan

Terpahami Can be understood (understandable)

Kekompleksan hubungan Australia dan Indonesian tidak terpahami untuk banyak

orang.

Terlupakan Can be forgotten (unforgettable)

Hari ini tidak terlupakan!


6. WHICH ONE!?

Some ter– verbs can mean different things in different contexts. This is where it gets most

complicated. Here is perhaps the most common example:


Apakah kopor itu terbawa oleh kamu sendiri?

Can that suitcase be carried by you alone?

Abilitative

Maaf, Kopormu terbawa oleh saya Sorry, your suitcase was taken by me. Accidental

Ter– is probably most complicated prefix in the Indonesian language, but a strong grasp will help both to

improve your Bahasa AND to help you stand out from the crowd in your SAC’s/Exams.

Documents

Panduan Lengkap - The Tutoring Hall Prefix-3.pdfTerbang Fly Terus Go on/continue Teriak Shout Terorisme Terrorism Other words may have “ter–” origins, but have digressed in meaning