The suffix does not merely decorate a verb: it helps select which participant is structurally affected. In an established alternation, -kan commonly privileges a caused or transferred theme, while -i privileges a recipient, goal, container, or surface. That choice determines the direct object and therefore which participant can become the passive subject.
This is a practical guide, not a complete list of derivatives. The argument guide for -kan versus -i develops the structural diagnostics.
The direct-object test
Start with the participant immediately after the actor-voice verb:
| Frame | Direct object | Other participant |
|---|---|---|
| meN-...-kan | theme, caused entity, or content | often introduced by kepada, ke, untuk, dengan |
| meN-...-i | recipient, goal, location, container, or surface | theme/content follows without a preposition or with dengan |
The required sending contrast shows the alternation:
Nadia mengirimkan surat pemberitahuan kepada Rina pagi tadi.
Nadia sent a notification letter to Rina this morning. (theme surat is the object)
Nadia mengirimi Rina surat pemberitahuan pagi tadi.
Nadia sent Rina a notification letter this morning. (recipient Rina is the object)
The useful frames are therefore mengirimkan surat kepada Rina and mengirimi Rina surat. English can vary word order or use to, but Indonesian chooses a derived verb and object frame.
-kan privileges a theme or creates a cause
In transfer families, -kan places the thing transferred directly after the verb. The recipient is normally introduced with kepada or another appropriate phrase.
Kami menyerahkan kunci cadangan kepada pengelola gedung.
We handed the spare key to the building manager.
Staf membacakan pengumuman itu kepada seluruh peserta.
The staff member read the announcement aloud to all participants.
Tolong sampaikan perubahan jadwal ini kepada tim malam.
Please convey this schedule change to the night team.
With adjective or eventive bases, -kan also commonly introduces a causer: an actor causes another participant to enter a state, move, or perform an action.
Petugas mengosongkan ruangan sebelum pemeriksaan dimulai.
The attendant emptied the room before the inspection began.
Berita itu menenangkan keluarga yang sedang menunggu.
That news reassured the family who were waiting.
Panitia mendatangkan dua penerjemah dari Kupang.
The committee brought in two interpreters from Kupang.
Raka membangunkan adiknya sebelum matahari terbit.
Raka woke his younger sibling before sunrise.
The following object is the participant made empty, calm, present, or awake. Not every -kan verb is transparently predictable, but causation is a powerful family resemblance.
-i privileges a target, recipient, or affected place
In paired transfer verbs, -i puts the recipient directly after the verb.
Perusahaan membekali teknisi baru dengan peralatan keselamatan.
The company equips the new technicians with safety equipment.
Perawat memberi pasien itu obat penurun panas.
The nurse gives that patient fever-reducing medicine.
Sistem mengirimi setiap pelanggan kode verifikasi baru.
The system sends every customer a new verification code.
Other -i verbs select a location, container, surface, or target that is affected by contact, coverage, repeated action, or entry.
Petani menanami lahan belakang dengan jagung.
The farmer plants the back plot with corn.
Para siswa menulisi papan kelas dengan ucapan perpisahan.
The students covered the classroom board with farewell messages.
Petugas mendatangi setiap rumah yang terdampak banjir.
The officers visited every house affected by the flood.
Jangan membebani meja kecil itu dengan terlalu banyak buku.
Do not burden that small table with too many books.
Distributed or repeated contact is common with some -i verbs, but it is not an automatic meaning of every -i derivative. Lexical family still matters.
The masuk family: mover, location, and causer
The masuk family makes participant structure visible:
Para tamu masuk ke aula melalui pintu timur.
The guests went into the hall through the east door.
Para tamu memasuki aula setelah nama mereka dipanggil.
The guests entered the hall after their names were called.
Petugas memasukkan dua kursi tambahan ke aula.
The attendant put two additional chairs into the hall.
Bare masuk ke presents the moving participant as subject and the goal in a prepositional phrase. Memasuki selects the entered place aula as its object. Memasukkan adds a causer, and dua kursi tambahan becomes the caused-moving theme.
These are related but not interchangeable:
Kucing itu masuk ke kotak kosong dengan sendirinya.
The cat went into the empty box by itself.
Mira memasukkan kucing itu ke kotak pengangkut secara perlahan.
Mira gently put the cat into the carrier.
The second clause necessarily adds someone who causes the motion.
The isi family: content versus container
With isi, the frame determines whether content or container is the object.
Sari mengisikan alamat baru ke formulir daring itu.
Sari entered the new address into that online form. (content as object)
Sari mengisi formulir daring itu dengan alamat barunya.
Sari filled in that online form with her new address. (form as object)
Ayah mengisikan air minum ke botol-botol kecil.
Dad poured drinking water into the small bottles. (content as object)
Ayah mengisi botol-botol kecil itu dengan air matang.
Dad filled those small bottles with boiled water. (containers as objects)
In everyday use, bare mengisi is highly productive and may occur without an expressed dengan phrase when the content is obvious.
Silakan isi kolom terakhir dengan nomor darurat.
Please fill in the last field with an emergency number.
Do not insist on an -i spelling here: the relevant derived verb is mengisi, based on isi, not a mechanically visible mengisii.
Passives reveal the selected object
The direct object of the actor-voice clause becomes the subject of a corresponding di- passive. This is one of the clearest tests for the suffix contrast.
Surat penjelasan itu dikirimkan kepada Rina oleh bagian hukum.
That explanatory letter was sent to Rina by the legal department.
Maya dikirimi surat pemberitahuan oleh sekretariat.
Maya was sent a notification letter by the secretariat.
Dua komputer baru dimasukkan ke ruang pelatihan.
Two new computers were put into the training room.
Ruang pelatihan itu dimasuki peserta secara bergiliran.
The training room was entered by participants in turn.
Data pelanggan diisikan ke kolom yang salah.
The customer data were entered into the wrong field.
Kolom yang salah itu diisi dengan data pelanggan.
The wrong field was filled with customer data.
The passive is not a separate suffix decision. It preserves the argument frame already chosen by -kan, -i, or the lexical verb.
Lexical constraints: there is no universal swap
Some roots have a productive contrast; others have only one common derivative, overlapping forms, or meanings that have become lexicalized. You cannot choose a suffix from its sound.
Ibu memberi saya resep sup ayamnya.
Mom gave me her chicken soup recipe.
Ibu memberikan resep itu kepada saya sebelum pulang.
Mom gave that recipe to me before going home.
Standard Indonesian has memberi and memberikan, not a freely invented memberii. Likewise, menyakiti means “hurt,” while a hypothetical suffix swap does not automatically produce a predictable alternative.
Komentar itu menyakiti perasaan banyak orang.
That comment hurt many people's feelings.
Bare mengirim and mengirimkan also overlap in many contexts. When a lexicalized verb is conventional, learn its normal object frame rather than forcing a theoretical contrast.
Saya sudah mengirim berkasnya lewat surel.
I have already sent the file by email.
Common Mistakes
1. Choosing from English prepositions
❌ Karena bahasa Inggris memakai “to Rina”, “mengirimi surat kepada Rina” pasti benar.
Incorrect—the -i frame selects Rina directly as recipient object.
✅ Bagian layanan mengirimi Rina surat konfirmasi hari ini.
The service department sends Rina a confirmation letter today.
2. Giving -kan the recipient object
❌ Nadia mengirimkan Rina surat pemberitahuan.
Incorrect for the Standard Indonesian alternation—mengirimkan selects the letter as object.
✅ Nadia mengirimkan surat pemberitahuan kepada Rina.
Nadia sends a notification letter to Rina.
3. Confusing entering with causing entry
❌ Para penonton memasukkan gedung setelah gerbang dibuka.
Incorrect—the spectators enter themselves; they do not cause the building to enter.
✅ Para penonton memasuki gedung setelah gerbang dibuka.
The spectators entered the building after the gate was opened.
4. Promoting the wrong passive participant
❌ Rina dikirimkan surat penjelasan oleh kantor pusat.
Wrong for a recipient-centered passive—Rina is selected by the -i frame.
✅ Rina dikirimi surat penjelasan oleh kantor pusat.
Rina was sent an explanatory letter by headquarters.
5. Inventing a derivative from suffix sound
❌ Perawat memberii pasien obat karena pasien adalah penerima.
Incorrect spelling and formation—standard memberi already selects the recipient object.
✅ Perawat memberi pasien obat sesuai resep dokter.
The nurse gives the patient medicine according to the doctor's prescription.
Key Takeaways
- -kan commonly privileges a transferred or caused theme; -i commonly privileges a recipient or affected target.
- The suffix choice selects the direct object; the corresponding passive confirms that selection.
- Memasukkan causes a theme to enter, while memasuki selects the entered location.
- In the isi family, distinguish content as object from container as object.
- Use the semantic principle only with established derivatives; lexical constraints outrank mechanical analogy.
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Start learning Indonesian →Related Topics
- -kan versus -i: Overview and FormationB2 — Recognize how -kan and -i select different affected participants in transfer, caused-motion, container, and surface-oriented lexical families.
- -kan versus -i: Subjects, Objects, and Argument OrderB2 — Track theme, recipient, moving object, and affected container across actor voice, passive, pronoun-agent object voice, pronouns, and omission.
- -kan versus -i: Choosing This ConstructionB2 — Choose between theme-oriented -kan and target-oriented -i, then select voice according to topicality, definiteness, animacy, and genre.
- -kan Valency Patterns: Overview and FormationA2 — Recognize how -kan builds causative, benefactive, caused-motion, and resultative stems across Indonesian voice constructions.
- -i Applicative Patterns: Overview and FormationB2 — Recognize how -i stems select locations, goals, recipients, containers, and repeatedly affected targets as direct objects.
- Guessing -kan and -i from EnglishB1 — Repair -kan and -i errors by selecting Indonesian participants and direct objects instead of copying English prepositions.