sehingga

Result with Sehingga

Level 2

Use sehingga to connect a cause or situation with its consequence. The consequence may be actual, expected or hypothetical depending on context.

How It Works

The conjunction sehingga is essential for building complex sentences in Indonesian. It functions as a subordinating conjunction that introduces a result clause.

1. Result vs. Purpose
A common point of confusion for learners is the difference between result and purpose. Sehingga presents a result or consequence, which can be described as expected or hypothetical rather than already realized. If you want to express a purpose (what you want to happen), you should use agar or supaya.

2. Syntactic Rules
In the standard integrated cause-result model taught here, the sehingga clause follows its cause. Fronting it does not preserve this ordinary construction.

  • ✅ Dia sakit sehingga tidak masuk sekolah. (He is sick, so he didn't go to school.)
  • ❌ Sehingga tidak masuk sekolah, dia sakit. (Incorrect)

3. Register and Style
In formal writing (news, essays, reports), sehingga is the standard choice. In casual conversation, Indonesians often use jadi or sampai to express the same idea.

4. Punctuation
In formal Indonesian grammar (PUEBI), a comma is usually not required before sehingga because the subordinate clause follows the main clause. Other punctuation can mark an inserted phrase or a deliberate discourse boundary; sentence length or breathing alone is not the punctuation rule.

Examples (4)

  1. Hujan turun sangat deras sehingga jalanan banjir.

    It rained very hard, so the streets flooded.

    Word by Word: Rain fall very heavy so-that street flood.

    Here, the flooding is the direct, actual result of the heavy rain.

  2. Dia bekerja terlalu keras sehingga jatuh sakit.

    He worked too hard, with the result that he fell ill.

    Word by Word: He work too hard so-that fall sick.

    Falling ill is the consequence of the action in the first clause.

  3. Penjelasan guru itu sangat jelas sehingga semua murid mengerti.

    The teacher's explanation was so clear that all the students understood.

    Word by Word: Explanation teacher that very clear so-that all student understand.

    The result of the clear explanation is the students' understanding.

  4. Kopi ini sangat panas sehingga saya tidak bisa meminumnya.

    This coffee is so hot that I cannot drink it.

    Word by Word: Coffee this very hot so-that I not can drink-it.

    The heat of the coffee results in the inability to drink it.

Common Mistakes

  • Separating the result clause from its cause in the formal integrated pattern.

    Saya lelah. Sehingga saya tidur.
    Saya lelah sehingga saya tidur.

    In the complete integrated model, join the result clause to its cause with sehingga. To start an independent consequence sentence, Oleh karena itu is a clear model. Sentence-initial sehingga also appears as a discourse continuation, but that is a different usage from this formal complete-sentence pattern.

  • Choosing a consequence reading when the intended message is only a goal.

    Saya belajar sehingga lulus ujian besok.
    Saya belajar supaya lulus ujian besok.

    For the intended goal of passing tomorrow, supaya or agar states that purpose clearly. Sehingga frames a consequence, which can itself be predicted; it does not prove that a result already happened or is certain.

How It Connects

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

sehinggaLevel 2Result with Sehingga

Learn This First

To use 'sehingga' effectively, you need to be able to construct two complete clauses (SVO order) and understand the logical relationship between a cause and its result. Familiarity with other conjunctions like 'karena' (because) and 'jadi' (so) helps in understanding how 'sehingga' (so that/with the result that) fits into complex sentences.

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Words in This Pattern

sehingga