meng-

See also: Appendix:Variations of "meng"

Indonesian

Etymology

Inherited from Malay meng-, from Proto-Malayic *mAN-, from Proto-Malayo-Chamic *maN-, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *maN-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /məŋ/

• Audio:

  (file)

Prefix

mêng

1. Transitive verbal prefix for active subject or agent focus, specifically it indicates that there is an agent doing the action of the transitive verb. Not used when the sentence is direct imperative, or when the clause is defining relative with the patient in the front of the sentence.
   • mengatur (“to arrange; arranges; arranging”)
   • membaca (“to read; reads; reading”)
   • mencabut (“to remove; removes; removing”)
   • menderma (“to donate; donates; donating”)
   • mengelak (“to avoid; avoids; avoiding”)
   • memahami (“to understand; understands; understanding”)
   • memfitnah (“to lie; lies; lying (about someone)”)
   • menggali (“to dig; digs; digging”)
   • menghantar (“to deliver; delivers; delivering”)
   • mengikat (“to tie; ties; tying”)
   • menjolok (“to poke; pokes; poking”)
   • mengira (“to count; counts; counting”)
   • melamar (“to propose; proposes; proposing”)
   • memakan (“to eat; eats; eating”)
   • menyanyi (“to sing; sings; singing”)
   • mengolah (“to edit; edits; editing”)
   • memukul (“to hit; hits; hitting”)
   • merawat (“to treat; treats; treating”)
   • menyapu (“to sweep; sweep; sweeping”)
   • menambah (“to add; adds; adding”)
   • mengurus (“to manage; manages; managing”)
   • mengebom (“to bomb; bombs; bombing”)
2. Intransitive verbal prefix of a nominal root.
   1. to become as the root
      • membatu (“to become a stone”)
   2. to function as the root, or to become similar as the root
      • menyupir (“to become a supir (“driver”), to drive”)
   3. to consume the root
      • merokok (“to consume a cigarette, to smoke”)
   4. to go toward the root
      • melaut (“to go toward sea, to sail”)
   5. to gather the root
   6. to sound as the root
3. Intransitive verbal prefix of a adjectival root.
   1. to become as the root
   2. to give effect as the root

Usage notes

• Along with the prefix peng-, this prefix are affected by initial consonant mutations.
• The standard forms are shown in the list below:
  • me- (IPA^(key): /mə/, before initials of /l/, /m/, /n/, /ɲ/ ⟨ny⟩, /ŋ/ ⟨ng⟩, /r/, /w/ and /j/ ⟨y⟩.)
  • mem- (IPA^(key): /məm/, before initials of /b/, /p/, /v/ or /f/, except initial per-, will remove initial /p/)
  • men- (IPA^(key): /mən/, before initials of /t͡ʃ/ ⟨c⟩, /d/, /d͡ʒ/ ⟨j⟩, /ʃ/ ⟨sy⟩, /t/, and /z/, will remove initial /t/.)
  • meng- (IPA^(key): /məŋ/, before initials of /g/, /h/, /k/ and all vowels /a/, /ə/ ⟨e⟩, /ɛ/ ⟨e⟩ ⟪é⟫, /i/, /o/, /u/, will sometimes remove initial /k/.)
  • menge- (IPA^(key): /məŋə/, before monosyllabic roots.)
  • meny- (IPA^(key): /məɲ/, before initials of /s/, will remove initial /s/.)
  • Such initial consonant losses are known as kaidah KPST "KPST rule", and those beginning in consonant clusters can be optionally undeleted as a form of non-standard spelling (program → memrogram, memprogram; kritik → mengritik, mengkritik, stabil → menytabilkan, menstabilkan). Note that the medial consonant clusters -mr-, -ngr- /ŋr/, -nyt- /ɲt/ is somewhat unusual, but the first forms are usually less common than second ones.
• The colloquial forms are shown, because of Betawi n-, in the list below:
  • n-
  • ng-
  • nge-
• For the word mempunyai, the initial /p/ is not removed because of habit or etymological reasons.
• For the word kaji has two prefixed forms, (regular) mengaji and (irregular) mengkaji, which have different meanings. The former means "to read Quran", while the latter means "to study".

Derived terms

Indonesian terms prefixed with meng-

Further reading

• “meng-” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Malay

Alternative forms

• me-, mem-, men-, meny-, menge-

Etymology

From Proto-Malayic *mAN-, from Proto-Malayo-Chamic *maN-, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *maN-.

Pronunciation

• (with ⟨l⟩, ⟨m⟩, ⟨n⟩, ⟨ng⟩, ⟨ny⟩, ⟨r⟩, ⟨w⟩, and ⟨y⟩-initial stems)
  • IPA^(key): /mə-/
  • Written as ⟨me-⟩ with initial consonant

    ‎meng- + ‎lawan (“to fight”) → ‎melawan

• (with ⟨p⟩-initial stems)
  • IPA^(key): /məm-/
  • Written as ⟨mem-⟩ without initial consonant except in non-native or unnativized words

    ‎meng- + ‎pakai (“to wear”) → ‎memakai

    ‎meng- + ‎proses (“to process”) → ‎memproses

• (with ⟨b⟩ and ⟨f⟩-initial stems)
  • IPA^(key): /məm-/
  • Written as ⟨mem-⟩ with initial consonant

    ‎meng- + ‎buat (“to do; to make”) → ‎membuat

• (with ⟨t⟩-initial stems)
  • IPA^(key): /mən-/
  • Written as ⟨men-⟩ without initial consonant except in unnativized words

    ‎meng- + ‎telan (“to swallow”) → ‎menelan

    ‎meng- + ‎tafsir (“to interpret”) → ‎mentafsir

• (with ⟨d⟩ and ⟨z⟩-initial stems)
  • IPA^(key): /mən-/
  • Written as ⟨men-⟩ with initial consonant

    ‎meng- + ‎dapat (“to get”) → ‎mendapat

• (with ⟨k⟩ and vowel-initial stems)
  • IPA^(key): /məŋ-/
  • Written as ⟨meng-⟩ without initial consonant except in non-native or non-nativized words

    ‎meng- + ‎korek (“to dig”) → ‎mengorek

    ‎meng- + ‎kritik (“to critique”) → ‎mengkritik

• (with ⟨g⟩, ⟨kh⟩, ⟨gh⟩, and ⟨h⟩-initial stems)
  • IPA^(key): /məŋ-/
  • Written as ⟨meng-⟩ with initial consonant

    ‎meng- + ‎gambarkan (“to imagine”) → ‎menggambarkan

• (with ⟨s⟩-initial stems)
  • IPA^(key): /məɲ-/
    • In native or nativized words
    • Written as ⟨meny-⟩ without initial consonant

      ‎meng- + ‎sambut (“to celebrate”) → ‎menyambut

  • IPA^(key): /mən-/
    • In non-native or unnativized words
    • Written as ⟨men-⟩ with initial consonant
    • ‎meng- + ‎stabilkan (“to stabilize”) → ‎menstabilkan
• (with ⟨c⟩ and ⟨j⟩-initial stems)
  • IPA^(key): /məɲ-/
  • Written as ⟨men-⟩ with initial consonant

    ‎meng- + ‎cari (“to search for”) → ‎mencari

• (with monosyllabic stems)
  • IPA^(key): /məŋə-/
  • Written as ⟨menge-⟩ with initial consonant

    ‎meng- + ‎cat (“to paint”) → ‎mengecat

Prefix

meng- (Jawi spelling مڠ-)

1. Agent focus or active voice marker of a verb.
   1. Gives a meaning of doing an action.
      1. Doing something.

         ‎meng- + ‎karang (“composition”) → ‎mengarang (“to compose”)

      2. Letting out a voice.

         ‎meng- + ‎aum (“roar”) → ‎mengaum (“to roar”)

      3. Throwing away, searching for, or collecting something.

         ‎meng- + ‎rumput (“grass”) → ‎merumput (“to cut grass”)

      4. Approaching a target.

         ‎meng- + ‎tepi (“side”) → ‎menepi (“to go to the side”)

      5. Acting like or to be akin to something.

         ‎meng- + ‎bukit (“hill”) → ‎membukit (“to appear like a hill”)

   2. Gives a meaning of stating a condition.
      1. Living as something.

         ‎meng- + ‎bujang (“single”) → ‎membujang (“to be single”)

      2. Becoming something.

         ‎meng- + ‎putih (“white”) → ‎memutih (“to whiten, to become white”)

Usage notes

• In everyday spoken Malay, this prefix is usually not used with transitive verbs.

Derived terms

Malay terms prefixed with meng-

See also

• meng- -i (active causitive or locative)
• meng- -kan (active causitive or benefactive)
• di- (passive)