Cause and Consequence in Discourse | Indonesian Grammar

Causal discourse has two different kinds of arrow. One connects events in the world: heavy rain causes flooding. The other connects propositions in an argument: incomplete evidence supports the conclusion that a claim is not yet proven. Indonesian marks these relations with overlapping but nonidentical resources: karena introduces a cause, jadi gives a conversational result or conclusion, akibatnya foregrounds an actual consequence, oleh karena itu introduces a formal inference or response, and maka presents a logical consequence.

This page organizes chains across speech and writing. Individual clause syntax is covered in Cause, Reason, and Result Chains.

Cause, effect, and inference

Marker	What it contributes	Typical register
karena	introduces the causal source	neutral
jadi	conversational result, decision, or inference	informal-neutral
akibatnya	salient actual consequence, often adverse	neutral-formal
oleh karena itu	reasoned conclusion, policy response, or recommendation	formal
maka	logical consequence inside a structured argument	formal/rhetorical

Jalan desa tergenang karena sungai meluap semalam.

The village road flooded because the river overflowed last night. (real-world cause)

Sungai meluap semalam. Akibatnya, jalan desa tidak dapat dilalui pagi ini.

The river overflowed last night. As a result, the village road cannot be used this morning. (actual consequence)

Jalan desa tidak dapat dilalui. Oleh karena itu, rapat warga dipindahkan ke balai dusun sebelah.

The village road is impassable. Therefore, the residents' meeting has been moved to the neighboring hamlet hall. (practical conclusion)

The meeting move is not a physical effect in the same sense as flooding. It is a decision drawn from the situation. That distinction is the backbone of coherent causal writing.

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Ask whether the second unit happened because of the first or whether a thinker concluded/decided it from the first. Use consequence markers for the former and inferential markers for the latter.

karena points to the source

Karena introduces the reason or event that explains another situation (neutral). It remains within a sentence-level causal relation even when the reason comes first.

Karena generator cadangan gagal menyala, seluruh gedung kehilangan listrik.

Because the backup generator failed to start, the whole building lost power.

Kami membatalkan piknik karena prakiraan cuaca menunjukkan hujan lebat.

We canceled the picnic because the forecast predicted heavy rain.

Karena dua saksi memberikan keterangan berbeda, penyelidikan belum dapat ditutup.

Because two witnesses gave different accounts, the investigation cannot yet be closed.

The first example describes physical/technical causation. The other two include human decisions. Karena still identifies the grounds for those decisions; it does not itself say whether the link is automatic or deliberative.

jadi: conversational consequence or next conclusion

Discourse jadi often begins a new turn or clause and means roughly “so” (informal-neutral). It can report a result, draw an inference, or move from explanation to a plan.

Bus terakhir sudah berangkat, jadi kita pesan taksi saja.

The last bus has left, so let's just order a taxi. (conversation)

Aku lupa membawa kartu akses, jadi tadi harus menunggu satpam.

I forgot my access card, so I had to wait for the security guard. (conversation)

Jadi, kamu memilih tetap bekerja dari rumah?

So, you've chosen to keep working from home? (conversational inference/check)

Hujannya belum reda. Jadi, pertandingan tetap ditunda, ya?

The rain hasn't stopped. So the match is still postponed, right? (conversational conclusion)

This is discourse jadi, not lexical jadi “become.” In formal essays, repeating jadi at every argumentative step makes the prose sound spoken. Replace it according to the exact relation rather than mechanically with one formal word.

akibatnya: an actual consequence made salient

Akibatnya is akibat “consequence” plus attached -nya. It typically begins a new sentence or independent discourse unit and foregrounds what actually followed (neutral-formal). The consequence is often negative, though negativity is not grammatical.

Saluran drainase dipenuhi sampah. Akibatnya, air hujan menggenangi puluhan rumah.

The drains were filled with rubbish. As a result, rainwater flooded dozens of homes. (news)

Server utama tidak pernah diperbarui. Akibatnya, proses pemulihan data berlangsung sangat lambat.

The main server had never been updated. Consequently, data recovery was very slow.

Dua anggota tim mengundurkan diri pada minggu yang sama. Akibatnya, jadwal produksi harus diubah.

Two team members resigned in the same week. As a result, the production schedule had to be changed.

Pemerintah membuka jalur bus baru. Akibatnya, waktu perjalanan warga berkurang hampir dua puluh menit.

The government opened a new bus route. As a result, residents' travel time fell by almost twenty minutes.

The last effect is positive, showing that akibatnya is not inherently “bad.” Its strong collocation with problems simply makes adverse readings frequent.

Write akibatnya as one word; -nya is attached. Sentence-initial Akibatnya, takes a comma.

oleh karena itu: formal inference or response

Oleh karena itu points back to one or more premises and introduces what should be concluded or done (formal). Write the three words separately and follow the sentence-opening connector with a comma.

Data dari wilayah utara belum lengkap. Oleh karena itu, perbandingan antardaerah belum dapat dilakukan.

Data from the northern region are incomplete. Therefore, an interregional comparison cannot yet be made. (academic)

Permukaan jembatan masih licin. Oleh karena itu, pengendara diminta mengurangi kecepatan.

The bridge surface is still slippery. Therefore, drivers are asked to reduce speed. (formal public advice)

Biaya perbaikan melebihi nilai mesin. Oleh karena itu, perusahaan memutuskan membeli unit baru.

The repair cost exceeds the machine's value. Therefore, the company decided to buy a new unit.

The conclusion can be epistemic (comparison is not justified) or practical (drivers should slow down). Neither is necessarily a physical effect.

Inference can run opposite to causation

Semua jalan di sekitar stadion basah. Oleh karena itu, kemungkinan besar hujan turun sebelum kami tiba.

All the roads around the stadium are wet. Therefore, it probably rained before we arrived. (inference from evidence)

Rain caused the wet roads in the hypothesized real-world chain, but the text reasons backward from wet roads to rain. Akibatnya would wrongly claim that wet roads caused the earlier rain.

maka: a formally structured consequence

Maka presents a logical result after a condition, cause, or premise (formal/rhetorical). It is common in rules, proofs, and balanced structures such as sebab X, maka Y.

Jika tekanan melewati batas aman, maka sistem akan berhenti secara otomatis.

If the pressure exceeds the safe limit, then the system will stop automatically. (formal rule)

Sebab seluruh variabel lain dikendalikan, maka perbedaan hasil dapat dikaitkan dengan perlakuan tersebut.

Because all other variables were controlled, the difference in results can be attributed to that treatment. (academic reasoning)

Tanpa tanda tangan kedua pihak, maka perjanjian belum memiliki kekuatan mengikat.

Without both parties' signatures, the agreement is not yet binding. (formal)

In many sentences, maka can be omitted because the initial condition already predicts a consequence. Use it when the rhetorical or logical step deserves explicit marking, not after every jika.

One causal chain in three genres

Dialogue

“Kenapa kita lewat jalan belakang?” “Karena jalan utama ditutup, jadi lewat sini lebih cepat.”

‘Why are we taking the back road?’ ‘Because the main road is closed, so this way is faster.’ (conversation)

“Berarti kita terlambat?” “Tidak. Jadi, tenang saja.”

‘Does that mean we'll be late?’ ‘No. So don't worry.’ (conversation)

The first jadi draws a practical conclusion; the second organizes a reassuring response.

News report

Hujan deras menyebabkan tebing di sisi jalan longsor. Akibatnya, jalur penghubung dua kecamatan ditutup selama enam jam.

Heavy rain caused the roadside slope to collapse. As a result, the route connecting two districts was closed for six hours. (news)

Petugas telah membersihkan material longsor. Oleh karena itu, jalur tersebut kini dibuka secara terbatas.

Officers have cleared the landslide debris. Therefore, the route has now reopened on a limited basis. (news/formal response)

Academic prose

Tingkat kehilangan data pada kedua kelompok tidak berbeda secara signifikan. Oleh karena itu, perbedaan hasil utama tidak dapat dijelaskan oleh ketidaklengkapan data.

Data-loss rates in the two groups did not differ significantly. Therefore, the difference in the main outcome cannot be explained by incomplete data. (academic)

Karena interval pengamatan hanya berlangsung tiga bulan, maka temuan mengenai dampak jangka panjang harus ditafsirkan secara hati-hati.

Because the observation interval lasted only three months, findings about long-term effects must be interpreted cautiously. (academic)

The dialogue tolerates flexible jadi. News distinguishes an actual consequence from an official response. Academic prose makes the inferential warrant explicit.

Common Mistakes

1. Using jadi throughout a formal argument

❌ Sampelnya kecil. Jadi, hasilnya terbatas. Jadi, penelitian baru diperlukan.

Incorrect organization—repeated jadi fails to distinguish a limitation from the recommendation that follows.

✅ Ukuran sampel membatasi jangkauan temuan. Oleh karena itu, penelitian lanjutan dengan sampel yang lebih besar diperlukan.

The sample size limits the scope of the findings. Therefore, further research with a larger sample is required. (academic)

2. Confusing consequence with inference

❌ Jalanan basah. Akibatnya, mungkin hujan turun satu jam yang lalu.

Wrong direction—wet roads are evidence for the rain inference, not its cause.

✅ Jalanan di depan rumah basah. Oleh karena itu, mungkin hujan turun saat kami tidur.

The road in front of the house is wet. Therefore, it may have rained while we slept.

3. Separating -nya in akibatnya

❌ Sistem pembayaran gagal. Akibat nya, antrean semakin panjang.

Incorrect spelling—the attached form is akibatnya.

✅ Sistem pembayaran gagal. Akibatnya, antrean di kasir semakin panjang.

The payment system failed. As a result, the checkout line grew longer.

4. Writing oleh karena itu as one word

❌ Olehkarena itu, jadwal pengiriman perlu diubah.

Incorrect spacing—oleh karena itu is a three-word connector.

✅ Persediaan di gudang timur habis. Oleh karena itu, jadwal pengiriman perlu diubah.

Stock in the eastern warehouse has run out. Therefore, the delivery schedule needs to be changed.

5. Treating maka as obligatory after every condition

❌ Setiap klausa jika wajib diikuti maka.

Incorrect rule—maka is optional, not obligatory, after a jika clause.

✅ Jika lampu hijau menyala, tekan tombol mulai selama dua detik.

If the green light comes on, press the start button for two seconds.

Key Takeaways

Karena introduces a cause; akibatnya highlights an actual consequence.
Conversational jadi can express a result, inference, decision, or next move.
Formal oleh karena itu introduces a conclusion or response supported by prior premises.
Maka marks structured logical consequence and is not obligatory after every condition.
Real-world causal direction and the direction of textual inference can differ.

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