Vocabulary and Word Formation

🟢 Lite — Quick Review (1h–1d)

Quick review of Indonesian word formation (derivation and inflection) for UTBK.

Affixes in Bahasa Indonesia:

Indonesian uses affixes extensively to form new words from root words:

Affix	Type	Example	Meaning
me-	prefix	melihat (to see)	active verb
di-	prefix	dilihat (is seen)	passive verb
ber-	prefix	bermain (to play)	having/doing
ter-	prefix	tertutup (closed)	accidental/passive
-kan	suffix	belikan (buy for)	directional
-i	suffix	rombak (renovate) vs rombak-i (renovate repeatedly)	locative
me-…-kan	circumfix	memurnikan (to purify)	causative
me-…-i	circumfix	menghargai (to respect)	associative
pe-	prefix	pekerja (worker)	agent noun
-an	suffix	makanan (food)	result/object

⚡ Exam tip: On UTBK, watch for “derservation” (wrong) vs “derservasi” (also wrong). The correct word is “reservasi” (reservation). This tests whether you know which roots accept which affixes.

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🟡 Standard — Regular Study (2d–2mo)

Deep understanding of Indonesian morphological patterns and vocabulary strategies.

Reduplication:

Indonesian reduplication (pengulangan) serves multiple functions:

1. Pluralization: buku-buku (books), anak-anak (children)
2. Variety: merah-merah (reddish), lama-lama (gradually)
3. Intensity: besar-besar (very big), lama-lama (after a long time)
4. Distributive: satu-satu (one by one), hari-hari (daily)

Important: partial reduplication exists too — warna-warni (various colors) from warna + -warni.

Word Classes and Transitions:

Indonesian words frequently change class based on affixation:

• Kata kerja (Verb): makan (eat) → memakan (to eat something), termakan (unintentionally eaten)
• Kata benda (Noun): guru (teacher) → berguru (to study with), menggurui (to act as teacher toward)
• Kata sifat (Adjective): indah (beautiful) → keindahan (beauty), mengindahkan (to make beautiful, to heed)

Commonly Confused Words:

1. menerima vs memperoleh — menerima means to receive (from someone); memperoleh means to obtain (through effort)
2. membantu vs menolong — membantu means to assist; menolong means to rescue/help in emergencies
3. menunjukkan vs memperhatikan — menunjukkan means to point out/show; memperhatikan means to pay attention to
4. masuk vs terjun — masuk means to enter; terjun means to plunge into (figuratively: enter a field/activity)

Loan Words:

Indonesian absorbs from Sanskrit, Arabic, Dutch, English, Chinese:

Origin	Example	Field
Sanskrit	wilayah, fungsi, masyarakat	Administration
Arabic	maaf, halal, waktu	Religion/Culture
Dutch	marka, rand, apartemen	Infrastructure
English	komputer, data, server	Technology
Chinese	mie, bakso, ciong	Food

⚡ Exam tip: UTBK often tests whether you understand the difference between similar-meaning words in context. “Menghargai” (to respect/appreciate) vs “menilai” (to assess/evaluate) — know which collocates with which objects.

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🔴 Extended — Deep Study (3mo+)

Mastery of complex vocabulary, idiom recognition, and precise usage.

Idiom and Figurative Language:

Indonesian idioms (ungkapan) are common in UTBK passages:

• Air susu dibalas air tuba — repay kindness with cruelty (literally: milk replaced with poison)
• Bagai air di daun talas — something that doesn’t stick/will not last (on lotus leaf)
• Daging satu tulang — close as family/flesh of the same bone
• Hidup segan mati tak mau — trapped in an impossible situation (reluctant to live but unwilling to die)
• Jari-jari tangan tak sama panjang — not everything is equal (fingers unequal in length)

Polarity and Intensifiers:

Degree of meaning in Indonesian adjectives:

• sangat besar (very big)
• terlalu besar (too big, excessive)
• agak besar (somewhat big)
• cukup besar (big enough)
• kurang besar (less big, below adequate)

Negation patterns:

• belum (not yet) — temporal negation
• tidak (not) — standard negation
• bukan (is not) — identity negation (used for non-verbs)
• tak (not, informal) — variation of tidak

Common Errors to Avoid:

1. Salah imbuhan: Using wrong affix with a root

   • Wrong: menginap (should use menetap or menginap is correct but sometimes confused)
   • Correct: mempertimbangkan (not mempertimbangkan — both exist but nuanced)

2. Double meaning words:

   • “bisa” = can (ability) OR poison (snake venom)
   • “kamar” = room OR poison (in some contexts) Context determines meaning.

3. Passive verb forms:

   • “diterima” = is received / is accepted (accepted is more common in context)
   • “diundang” = is invited (from undang, not ganggu)

Sentence Completeness (Kalimat Rumpang):

For “fill in the blank” questions, identify the sentence structure:

• Subject + Predicate → needs object or complement
• sudah + verb → completed action
• masih + verb → ongoing action
• akan + verb → future action
• telah + verb → past completed

⚡ Exam tip: UTBK vocabulary questions often test collocation (word pairings). “Membuat keputusan” (make a decision) is correct — “melakukan keputusan” is wrong. Learn common verb-noun pairs: membuat (make), mengambil (take), mengambil keputusan (make a decision), memberikan (give), menyampaikan (convey/deliver).

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