menurutnya

According to Them with -nya

Level 4

Menurutnya is a combination of the preposition menurut (according to) and the third-person suffix -nya. It is used to report the opinion or perspective of a person or entity recoverable from the discourse or shared situation.

How It Works

The word menurutnya is essential for maintaining flow in Indonesian discourse. Here is how it works:

  • Morphology: It is formed by the base menurut + the bound suffix -nya. It must always be written as one word.
  • Referent: While usually translated as 'him' or 'her,' it can also refer to non-human entities like a government, a book, or a law. In these cases, it is translated as 'it' or 'them.'
  • Placement: It can appear at the beginning of a sentence to introduce a viewpoint, or at the end as a parenthetical remark.
  • Register: It is standard in all registers but is particularly frequent in formal reports and news articles to attribute information without using direct quotes.

Unlike katanya, which often implies hearsay or a direct report of what was said, menurutnya attributes a view or account to the referent; it does not give direct access to someone's internal reasoning. Katanya can also report a named speaker in formal news, rather than always being informal hearsay.

Recoverable Reference: Naming Siska first makes Menurutnya, kita harus pergi sekarang clear. A written antecedent is not always necessary: shared situational knowledge can identify the referent. Without either discourse or shared context, the source is unclear; this is a reference problem rather than a universal sentence-initial grammar error.

Examples (4)

  1. Budi tidak setuju. Menurutnya, rencana itu terlalu berisiko.

    Budi does not agree. According to him, the plan is too risky.

    Word by Word: Budi not agree. According to-him, plan that too risky.

    Here, 'menurutnya' refers back to Budi, who was mentioned in the first sentence.

  2. Pemerintah sudah mengumumkan aturan baru. Menurutnya, ini demi kebaikan rakyat.

    The government has announced a new regulation. According to it, this is for the good of the people.

    Word by Word: Government already announce regulation new. According to-it, this for sake-of good people.

    In this context, '-nya' refers to the government (a collective entity).

  3. Film itu sangat membosankan, menurutnya.

    That movie was very boring, in his/her opinion.

    Word by Word: Movie that very boring, according-to-him/her.

    The phrase can be placed at the end of the sentence to attribute the preceding statement to someone.

  4. Dia membaca artikel itu, tapi menurutnya isinya tidak akurat.

    He/she read the article, but in his/her view its content is inaccurate.

    Word by Word: He/she read article that, but according-to-him/her its content not accurate.

    This shows 'menurutnya' used within a compound sentence to contrast a person's action with their opinion.

Common Mistakes

  • Writing 'menurutnya' as two separate words.

    Menurut nya, harga itu murah.
    Menurutnya, harga itu murah.

    In Indonesian, the suffix -nya must always be attached to the word it modifies without a space.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

menurutnyaLevel 4According to Them with -nya

Learn This First

The pattern 'menurutnya' is a contraction of the preposition 'menurut' and the third-person clitic '-nya'. To understand it, a learner must first know how to use 'menurut' to cite a source and how '-nya' functions as a pronoun referring to a person or entity mentioned previously.

Words in This Pattern

menurut-nya