Indonesian tersebut follows a noun and retrieves a referent already introduced: keputusan tersebut “the/that decision previously mentioned.” It is especially common in news reports, regulations, contracts, administrative correspondence, and academic exposition (formal). In ordinary conversation, speakers usually prefer itu, -nya, repetition, or omission.
The key distinction is not simply that tersebut is a longer synonym of itu. It packages prior mention together with institutional tone. A writer uses it to keep a reference chain explicit and impersonal: an application is introduced, then permohonan tersebut retrieves it; a regulation is named, then peraturan tersebut carries the text forward. This page focuses on that anaphoric system while leaving classifier selection, noun derivation, and full relative-clause analysis to dedicated pages.
The basic postnominal pattern
Place tersebut after the noun phrase it anchors:
noun + tersebut
Panitia menerima tiga proposal. Proposal tersebut akan dinilai minggu depan.
The committee received three proposals. Those proposals will be evaluated next week. (formal)
Pemohon harus melampirkan surat keterangan. Surat tersebut wajib ditandatangani oleh pejabat berwenang.
The applicant must attach a certificate. The document must be signed by an authorized official. (formal)
Peneliti mengumpulkan data dari lima sekolah. Data tersebut kemudian dianalisis secara statistik.
The researchers collected data from five schools. The data were then analyzed statistically. (academic)
Like ini and itu, tersebut comes after the noun. It has no singular-plural agreement: dokumen tersebut can mean “that document” or “those documents,” while dokumen-dokumen tersebut makes plurality explicit.
Reference chains in news writing
News prose often introduces a development with an indefinite or descriptive noun phrase, then uses noun + tersebut in later sentences.
Pemerintah daerah mengumumkan keputusan baru tentang jam operasional pasar.
The regional government announced a new decision about market operating hours.
Keputusan tersebut mulai berlaku pada hari Senin.
The decision takes effect on Monday. (formal)
The second sentence's keputusan tersebut does not point to a physically distant decision. It tells readers to retrieve the official decision just introduced. English news writing often chooses “the decision” or “that decision”; Indonesian tersebut makes the backward link overt and maintains an institutional voice.
Polisi menemukan sebuah kendaraan di dekat lokasi kejadian. Kendaraan tersebut sedang diperiksa oleh tim forensik.
Police found a vehicle near the scene. The vehicle is being examined by the forensic team. (journalistic/formal)
Menteri mengajukan rancangan kebijakan baru. Rancangan tersebut masih menunggu persetujuan presiden.
The minister proposed a new policy draft. The draft is still awaiting the president's approval. (journalistic/formal)
Journalists also alternate tersebut with a name, a more informative description, or zero reference to avoid monotonous repetition. Formal precision does not require adding tersebut after every noun.
Legal and administrative reference
Legal and administrative documents use tersebut to preserve stable links across dense passages (formal). Common combinations include pihak tersebut “the aforementioned party,” dokumen tersebut, pasal tersebut, permohonan tersebut, and ketentuan tersebut.
Pihak tersebut wajib menyerahkan dokumen asli paling lambat tiga puluh hari setelah pemberitahuan diterima.
The aforementioned party must submit the original document no later than thirty days after receiving notification. (formal)
Jika syarat tersebut tidak dipenuhi, permohonan akan ditolak.
If that requirement is not met, the application will be rejected. (formal/administrative)
Ketentuan tersebut berlaku bagi seluruh pegawai tetap.
That provision applies to all permanent employees. (formal)
This explicitness helps readers track institutional entities whose consequences matter. It can also sound deliberately detached: pihak tersebut treats a participant as a role in a document, not as an intimate person in conversation.
Expressions such as tersebut di atas “mentioned above” and tersebut di bawah “mentioned below” occur in administrative writing (formal). They are written as separate words. Modern clear writing may prefer a precise section number when “above” or “below” could become unclear after editing.
Why tersebut is not ordinary pointing
Unlike itu, tersebut does not normally accompany a gesture toward a newly noticed object. Its reference is textual or discourse-old.
Lihat burung itu di atas pagar!
Look at that bird on the fence!
In a spontaneous exclamation, burung tersebut would impose a report-like tone and suggest that the bird had already been formally introduced. Physical distance alone therefore does not motivate tersebut.
Dalam laporan ditemukan dua kesalahan pencatatan. Kesalahan tersebut telah diperbaiki.
Two recording errors were found in the report. Those errors have been corrected. (formal)
Here prior mention is exactly what licenses the form.
Rewriting tersebut with itu in conversation
Compare a report-like version and an everyday retelling:
Keputusan tersebut menuai protes dari para pedagang.
The decision drew protests from traders. (formal)
Keputusan itu bikin banyak pedagang protes.
That decision made many traders protest. (informal)
The change is larger than one word. The conversational version uses itu and casual bikin; the formal version uses tersebut and menuai protes. If the rest of a conversation is relaxed, inserting tersebut alone can sound as though the speaker has begun reading from an official notice.
Saya sudah baca pesannya. Pesan itu dikirim tadi malam.
I've read the message. That message was sent last night. (neutral conversation)
Sistem mencatat pesan masuk. Pesan tersebut disimpan selama tiga puluh hari.
The system records incoming messages. The message is stored for thirty days. (formal documentation)
Other conversational alternatives
Everyday Indonesian has several lighter ways to maintain reference:
| Strategy | Example | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| itu | orang itu | ordinary identifiable reference |
| -nya | harganya | anchors a salient entity compactly |
| tadi | orang tadi | identifies by a recent encounter |
| omission | Sudah saya kirim. | drops a fully recoverable object |
The itu page explains ordinary shared reference. These alternatives are not less precise by definition; conversational context can make a referent completely clear without the institutional signal of tersebut.
Avoid bureaucratic overloading
Formal writers sometimes attach tersebut repeatedly to several nouns in one paragraph. The result may be accurate but hard to read.
Perusahaan menerima permohonan tersebut dan memeriksa dokumen pendukungnya sebelum mengirimkan jawaban.
The company receives the application and checks its supporting documents before sending a response. (formal)
The clitic -nya in pendukungnya keeps the link clear without repeating dokumen pendukung tersebut. Strong formal prose balances traceable reference with readable rhythm.
Orthography
Write free tersebut separately from its noun: keputusan tersebut, not keputusantersebut. Keep it lowercase unless it begins a sentence. Personal names retain their capitals; ordinary common nouns do not gain capitals merely because the document is official. EYD V prescribes Sang Pencipta with capitals in the religious epithet. Standard Indonesian uses no mandatory accent marks.
Common Mistakes
1. Using tersebut in casual ordering
❌ Saya mau kopi tersebut, ya.
Inappropriately bureaucratic for an ordinary spoken café order.
✅ Saya mau kopi itu, ya.
I'd like that coffee, please. (neutral conversation)
2. Putting tersebut before the noun
❌ Tersebut keputusan mulai berlaku besok.
Incorrect order — tersebut follows the noun it retrieves.
✅ Keputusan tersebut mulai berlaku besok.
The decision takes effect tomorrow. (formal)
3. Using tersebut without an established referent
❌ Tersebut akan diperiksa oleh petugas.
Incomplete reference — no noun or prior referent identifies what will be examined.
✅ Dokumen yang baru diterima itu akan diperiksa oleh petugas.
The document just received will be examined by an officer.
4. Joining the free determiner to its noun
❌ Permohonantersebut belum lengkap.
Incorrect spelling — tersebut is a separate word.
✅ Permohonan tersebut belum lengkap.
The application is incomplete. (formal)
5. Capitalizing tersebut inside an official sentence
❌ Direksi telah menyetujui Kebijakan Tersebut.
Incorrect capitalization — official tone does not capitalize ordinary common nouns.
✅ Direksi telah menyetujui kebijakan tersebut.
The board of directors has approved the policy. (formal)
Key Takeaways
- Put tersebut after a noun whose referent has already been introduced.
- News, legal, administrative, and academic prose use it to maintain formal reference chains.
- The form adds institutional tone; it is not simply a physical-distance marker.
- Everyday conversation usually prefers itu, -nya, repetition, or omission.
- Write tersebut separately and lowercase in ordinary phrase-internal use.
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