Verbal reduplication

Level 2

Verbal reduplication shifts the focus from the action itself to the nature of the activity, often making it sound more casual, repetitive, or aimless.

How It Works

Verbal reduplication is a productive way to add nuance to Indonesian verbs. The meaning changes based on the context and the specific verb used:

1. Leisurely or Casual Manner
This implies the action is done for pleasure or to pass the time.
Example: makan (to eat) vs. makan-makan (to have a feast/eat socially).

2. Repetitive or Iterative Action
It can show that an action is performed multiple times or continuously.
Example: memukul (to hit) vs. memukul-mukul (to keep hitting).

3. Attenuated or Aimless Action
It suggests the action is done without a serious goal, like 'browsing' or 'glancing.'
Example: melihat (to see) vs. melihat-lihat (to look around/browse).

4. Reciprocal Action and Categorical Activities

  • Base + meN- + Base: Indicates reciprocal action functioning as a verb (e.g., pukul-memukul 'hitting each other') or 'all things related to' an activity, which often functions as a noun phrase (e.g., urusan masak-memasak 'matters of cooking').
  • ber-...-an: The base is reduplicated between the prefix and suffix to show mutual action (e.g., bersalam-salaman).

5. Multiple Actors or Random Action
Using the ber-...-an circumfix with a reduplicated base can describe multiple participants acting at the same time or moving about; the base supplies the kind of action.
Example: berlari-larian (many people running around).

6. Rhythmic Change
The base is repeated with a vowel change to show varied or repeated movement (e.g., bolak-balik 'to go back and forth').

7. Negative Expectation
With tidak or belum, a reduplicated verb can stress that an expected action still has not happened, as in Sudah dua hari dia tidak muncul-muncul ('It has been two days and he still has not shown up').

Morphological Rules:

  • Root verbs: For verbs without affixes, the whole base is repeated (e.g., duduk-duduk).
  • Prefixes (ber-, meN-, di-): For standard reduplication, the prefix stays on the first part only. For meN-, in this ordinary pattern the nasal carries over to the second part when the initial consonant (K, P, T, S) was replaced (e.g., menunggu-nunggu from tunggu, but membaca-baca from baca). For vowel-initial bases in this pattern, the repeated base has no added nasal (e.g., mengambil-ambil). Note that with dropped meN- in conversation, the prefix is often omitted entirely and the nasal sound frequently carries over to both parts (e.g., ngambil-ngambil instead of mengambil-ambil).
  • Suffixes (-kan, -i): Suffixes are typically attached only to the second part of the reduplicated verb (e.g., melempar-lemparkan, memukul-mukuli).

Established Forms and Meaning: TBBI also lists mengecek-ngecek and mengetes-ngetes for the short-base pattern; do not extend the rules for mengambil-ambil to every menge- verb. For a plain daily count use Saya makan tiga kali sehari. Makan-makan tiga kali sehari could instead describe three social eating occasions, so it is not inherently malformed.

Examples (6)

  1. Kami hanya duduk-duduk di pinggir pantai.

    We were just sitting around on the edge of the beach.

    Word by Word: We only sit-sit at edge beach.

    Reduplicating 'duduk' (to sit) implies sitting leisurely without a specific purpose.

  2. Sore-sore begini enak berjalan-jalan di taman.

    In the late afternoon like this, it's nice to take a stroll in the park.

    Word by Word: Afternoon-afternoon like-this nice walk-walk at park.

    The verb 'berjalan' (to walk) becomes 'berjalan-jalan' to mean strolling or walking for pleasure.

  3. Dia sedang melihat-lihat baju di toko itu.

    She is browsing clothes in that shop.

    Word by Word: She [progressive] see-see clothes at shop that.

    Using 'melihat-lihat' instead of 'melihat' indicates she is browsing or window shopping rather than looking at something specific.

  4. Kedua petinju itu pukul-memukul di atas ring.

    The two boxers were hitting each other in the ring.

    Word by Word: Both boxer that hit-hit at top ring.

    The base-prefix-base pattern (pukul-memukul) indicates a reciprocal action where both parties hit each other, making the word 'saling' unnecessary.

  5. Mereka bersalam-salaman setelah shalat.

    They shook hands with each other after the prayer.

    Word by Word: They [ber]-shake-shake-[an] after prayer.

    The ber-...-an pattern indicates a mutual or reciprocal action between multiple people.

  6. Anak-anak itu berlari-larian di halaman sekolah.

    The children were running around in the schoolyard.

    Word by Word: Child-child that [ber]-run-run-[an] at yard school.

    Berlari-larian describes the children running around. TBBI groups this pattern with simultaneous activity; random direction is a possible contextual picture, not an obligatory meaning of the circumfix.

Common Mistakes

  • Repeating the prefix on both parts of a 'ber-' verb.

    Saya suka berjalan-berjalan.
    Saya suka berjalan-jalan.

    The established strolling form is berjalan-jalan, with ber- on the first part. Learn the reduplication pattern of this word; not every repetition in discourse is the same morphological construction.

How It Connects

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

Verbal reduplicationLevel 2

Learn This First

To understand verbal reduplication, you need to be familiar with how Indonesian verbs are formed using prefixes like ber-, as these prefixes often remain on the first part of the reduplicated word. It is also helpful to understand the general concept of reduplication in Indonesian, which is first introduced through nouns, and to remember that Indonesian verbs do not use tense inflections.