# Indonesian/prefix me

pukuA form of Indonesian Conjugation

## Awalan me- (Prefix me-)

Prefix me- is used to form active verbs. You may combine any nouns, any adjective, numbers, and even verbs themselves to form another verb.
Prefixing any words with me- would require a minor spelling change (inflection) in order to facilitate a smooth transition in pronunciation. The inflection is based solely on the first letter of the original word. This is an example of consonant mutation. See the table below.
| First letter | Inflection | Example |
| vowels, g, h | me- → meng- | uji → menguji (= to test), garuk → menggaruk (= to scratch), hitung → menghitung (= to count) |
| b, f, v | me- → mem- | beri → memberi (= to give), fitnah → memfitnah (= to falsely accuse) |
| c, d, j | me- → men- | cari → mencari (= to search), dapat → mendapat (= to obtain), jangkau → menjangkau (= to reach) |
| k | me- → meng-, drops the k | kandung → mengandung (= to contain or to be pregnant [if applied to a person]) |
| p | me- → mem-, drops the p | pukul → memukul (= to hit) |
| s | me- → meny-, drops the s | satu → menyatu (= to become one / to unite) |
| t | me- → men-, drops the t | tulis → menulis (= to write) |
Note:
* Since original Indonesian words have no q, x, and z, the inflection is adapted from the existing ones. The q and x words would follow g rules, z words would follow j words.
* Other initial letters (l, m, n, r, w, and y) don't have spelling changes.
* If the word is monosyllabic (only has one syllable), regardless of the first letter of the word, the me- always turns into menge-, then add the word. For example:
* cat (= paint) → mengecat (= to paint),
* bor (= boring tool / drill) → mengebor (= to make a hole with drill).

## Me- + Kata Kerja (Me- + Verb)

Verbs can be combined with me- prefix. The meaning is exactly the same as the infinitive. The semantics may be different depending on the type of verbs. To refresh our mind -- there are two kinds of verbs in Indonesian:
* Transitive verbs (verbs that can have objects)
* Intransitive verbs (verbs that cannot have objects, [almost] equivalent to reflexive verbs)

### Me- + Kata Kerja Transitif (Me- + Transitive Verbs)

Transitive verbs can not be used in a sentence in their infinitive forms, except for a few words (e.g. makan (= to eat), minum (= to drink)). So, in order to use it, you must conjugate it with me- or some other prefixes.
Example:
* Aku memakan roti (= I eat [a slice of] bread)
* Dia menulis buku (= He/she writes [a] book(s))

### Me- + Kata Kerja Intransitif (Me- + Intransitive Verbs)

Unlike transitive verbs, only a few of intransitive verbs can be conjugated with me-. Example:
* Dia menangis (= He/she cries)
Most intransitive verbs must be used in their infinitive forms (e.g. tidur (= to sleep)) or use other affixes.
Note that, the sense of transitivity is not the same with other languages like Spanish. Here the word tari (= to dance) is considered intransitive.
* Wati menari (= Wati dances)

## Me- + Kata Benda (Me- + Noun)

When me- prefix is combined with a noun, the new word could mean one of the following:
* To put the noun on some other noun cat (= paint) → mengecat (= to paint) e.g. Bapak mengecat tembok (= Father paint the wall).
* To indicate that the subject turns into the noun (most of the times, figuratively)
** batu (= stone) → membatu (= to turn to stone) e.g. Dia membatu (= He/she turns to stone [figuratively, to indicate that he/she doesn't move for hours])
** kuping (= ear) → menguping (= to turn to ear [i.e. to eavesdrop])
* To produce the noun sambal (= chili) → menyambal (= to make chili) Comment: Indonesian rarely use this notion, but Malay do. Indonesian people usually prefer the phrase "membuat sambal" instead.
* To do work with the noun bajak (= plow) → membajak (= to plow) Note: Membajak can also mean to hijack.
Note: The trickiest part of me- is when it is being combined with noun. Not all nouns can be combined with me- and the meaning is highly dependent on the culture.

## Me- + Kata Sifat (Me- + Adjective)

When combined with adjective, the me- prefix indicates the subject changes more into or to turn to the indicated adjective. For example:
* Besar (= big) → membesar (= to become bigger)
* Kecil (= small) → mengecil (= to become smaller)
* Panas (= hot) → memanas (= to become hotter)
* Panjang (= long) → memanjang (= to become longer)
* Putih (= white) → memutih (= to turn white)
* Kuning (= yellow) → menguning (= to turn yellow)
Note: Adjective that describes emotions cannot be combined with me-.

## Me- + Kata Bilangan (Me- + Numbers)

The only numbers that can be conjugated with me- are satu (= one) and dua (= two).
* Satu → menyatu (= to unite)
* Dua → mendua (= to split into two) Perhatiannya mendua (= His attention is split into two [i.e. not focused]) Hatinya mendua (= His heart is split into two [i.e. not loyal])

## Me- + Kata Tempat (Me- + Places)

When combined with places, me- would indicate that the subject is going to the said place.
* Udara (= air) → mengudara (= to go to the air [for radio/tv program or airplane])
* Laut (= sea) → melaut (= to go to the sea [for ships/sailors])
* Darat (= ground/land) → mendarat (= to land [for ships/airplane])
* Seberang (= across) → menyeberang (= to cross [the street, sea, river])

## Me- + Kata Seru (Me- + Expletive)

Note that the expletives doesn't mean swear words here, but rather the words that mimic sounds. For example: "Moo", "Baa", "Quack", etc.
When expletives are combined with me-, it indicates that the subject produces the indicated sound.
* Aum (= tiger roar) → mengaum (= to roar like tigers)
* Lenguh (= moo) → melenguh (= to moo like cows)
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