lantaran

Cause with Lantaran

Level 6

Lantaran is a causal conjunction used to link a reason to an effect. It is more formal and literary than kerana and can sometimes carry a tone of blame or specific emphasis.

How It Works

1. Grammatical Function
Lantaran is a versatile word that functions as a synonym for kerana or sebab. It can be used in three main ways:

  • As a Preposition: Followed directly by a noun or noun phrase.
    Example: Lantaran kemiskinan... (Because of poverty...)
  • As a Conjunction: Followed by a full clause.
    Example: Lantaran dia sakit... (Because he was sick...)
  • As a Noun: In formal or literary contexts, it can mean 'the cause' or 'the reason'.
    Example: Mencari lantaran masalah itu. (Searching for the cause of that problem.)

2. Nuance and Tone
While grammatically equivalent to kerana, lantaran is often chosen in formal writing or literature to draw specific focus to the reason provided. It is slightly more elevated than the everyday sebab and can sometimes carry a nuance similar to 'due to' or 'on account of'.

3. Discourse Marker: Lantaran itu
When used at the start of a sentence as Lantaran itu, it functions as a transition word meaning 'Therefore' or 'Consequently'. It connects the result in the current sentence to the cause mentioned in the previous one, similar to oleh sebab itu.

Examples (4)

  1. Lantaran kecantikannya yang luar biasa, dia sering menjadi perhatian ramai.

    Owing to her extraordinary beauty, she is often the center of attention.

    Word by Word: Because-of beauty-her that extraordinary, she often become attention many.

    Here, 'lantaran' is used as a preposition followed by a noun phrase to show a positive/neutral cause in a formal tone.

  2. Projek itu terbengkalai lantaran kekurangan dana.

    The project was abandoned because of a lack of funds.

    Word by Word: Project that abandoned because-of lack funds.

    In this example, 'lantaran' highlights a specific negative factor that caused the project to fail.

  3. Dia tidak pernah berputus asa. Lantaran itu, dia akhirnya berjaya.

    He never gave up. Consequently, he finally succeeded.

    Word by Word: He not ever give-up hope. Because-of that, he finally succeed.

    'Lantaran itu' acts as a sentence starter to show the result of the previous statement.

  4. Lantaran dia tidak hadir, mesyuarat itu terpaksa ditangguhkan.

    Because he was not present, the meeting had to be postponed.

    Word by Word: Because he not present, meeting that forced be-postponed.

    Here, 'lantaran' functions as a conjunction followed by a full clause (dia tidak hadir).

Common Mistakes

  • Using 'lantaran' in casual daily conversation in Malaysia.

    Saya lambat lantaran jalan jem.
    Saya lambat sebab jalan jem.

    In Malaysian Malay, 'lantaran' sounds overly formal or dramatic for everyday topics like traffic. Use 'sebab' or 'kerana' instead.

  • Confusing 'lantaran' with 'gara-gara' in purely positive contexts.

    Gara-gara usahanya, dia menang.
    Lantaran usahanya, dia menang.

    'Gara-gara' is almost exclusively for negative blame. 'Lantaran' is better suited for formal/literary descriptions of cause, even if the result is positive.

How It Connects

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

lantaranLevel 6Cause with Lantaran

Learn This First

To understand 'lantaran', you should already be familiar with the basic way to express 'because' using 'kerana'. Since 'lantaran' can function as both a conjunction (because) and a preposition (because of/owing to), a solid grasp of basic sentence structure and how reason is expressed in Malay is necessary.