Dari identifies a source: the point from which a movement, period, object, comparison, or selected portion originates. English distributes these meanings among from, of, out of, and sometimes than, but Indonesian keeps the same source relationship visible across them.
The core idea: look back to a source
With physical movement, dari marks the starting point, while ke marks the destination. The two prepositions therefore present opposite ends of the same path.
Kereta ini berangkat dari Bandung pukul enam.
This train leaves Bandung at six.
Saya berjalan dari kantor ke stasiun karena jalanan macet.
I walked from the office to the station because traffic was congested.
Angin kencang bertiup dari arah laut sejak tadi malam.
A strong wind has been blowing from the direction of the sea since last night.
The source need not be a place that the subject itself leaves. In suara dari dapur “a sound from the kitchen,” the sound is understood as originating there. This source logic also explains the other uses on this page: a material is an object's source substance, and the second term in a comparison is the reference point from which a difference is measured.
Origin, sender, and affiliation
Dari states geographical or institutional origin and can introduce the source of information, a message, or an object. Indonesian often uses dari + place as a complete predicate where English needs be from.
Saya dari Bandung, tetapi sekarang tinggal di Makassar.
I’m from Bandung, but I live in Makassar now.
Kami baru menerima kabar dari kantor pusat.
We’ve just received news from head office.
Ada paket dari Rina untukmu di meja depan.
There’s a package from Rina for you at the front desk.
In the last example, Rina is the package's source or sender. That differs from a passive agent introduced by oleh: surat dari Rina means “a letter from Rina,” whereas surat yang ditulis oleh Rina means “a letter written by Rina.” The same person may happen to fill both roles, but the grammatical relationship is different.
Laporan itu ditulis oleh Rina berdasarkan data dari kementerian.
The report was written by Rina based on data from the ministry.
Starting points in time: dari and sejak
Dari can mark the beginning of a time span, especially when the endpoint is also stated or understood as a schedule boundary. The pattern dari X sampai Y means “from X until Y.”
Kami bekerja dari pagi sampai sore, lalu makan bersama.
We worked from morning until late afternoon, then ate together.
Toko itu buka dari pukul delapan sampai pukul sembilan malam.
The shop is open from eight in the morning until nine at night.
Dia sudah sibuk dari pagi dan baru sempat membalas pesanku sekarang.
She has been busy since this morning and has only just had time to reply to my message.
The last use of dari pagi is common in conversation (informal), particularly when the speaker treats the morning as the beginning of today's stretch. In careful Standard Indonesian, sejak is the more precise choice when a situation began then and is still continuing now: sejak pagi “since this morning.” By contrast, dari pagi sampai sore explicitly maps a bounded interval. English from and since make a similar distinction, but Indonesian conversation permits more overlap.
Saya sudah menunggu sejak pagi, tetapi dokternya belum datang.
I’ve been waiting since this morning, but the doctor still hasn’t arrived.
See relative time expressions for the contrast among dari, sejak, and selama.
Material and composition
When one substance becomes an object, dari introduces the source material. This is especially natural with terbuat dari “made of/from” and dibuat dari “made from.”
Meja ini terbuat dari kayu jati yang sudah dikeringkan.
This table is made of teak that has already been dried.
Tas itu dibuat dari bahan daur ulang.
That bag is made from recycled material.
Mereka membuat kompos dari sisa makanan dapur.
They make compost from kitchen food scraps.
English often chooses of when the material remains recognizable and from when it is transformed. Indonesian dari covers both relations; the verb and real-world context indicate how much transformation occurred. Do not replace it with oleh: material is a source substance, not an actor.
Comparison and standards
After a comparative expression, dari can introduce the standard against which something is measured. This is extremely widespread in speech (informal).
Kamar ini lebih besar dari kamar yang kemarin kita lihat.
This room is bigger than the room we saw yesterday.
Harga tiketnya lebih murah dari perkiraan saya.
The ticket price is lower than I expected.
In careful formal writing, daripada is traditionally preferred before a comparison standard: lebih besar daripada kamar itu. Contemporary speakers frequently use dari, however, and it is natural rather than defective in everyday Indonesian. In an ordinary quality comparison, the sequence matters: lebih + adjective + dari/daripada + standard, not lebih dari + adjective. Do not confuse this with a threshold expression such as lebih dari cukup “more than enough.”
Before a number, lebih dari has the distinct meaning “more than.” Here dari introduces the numerical threshold rather than following an adjective.
Lebih dari seratus warga menghadiri rapat tadi malam.
More than a hundred residents attended the meeting last night.
The comparative forms page develops this variation and the use of daripada.
Partitives: selecting from a larger set
In a partitive expression, the chosen item is conceptualized as coming from a larger group. This gives patterns such as dua dari lima “two out of five,” salah satu dari “one of,” and sebagian dari “part of.”
Dua dari lima calon belum mengirim dokumen lengkap.
Two of the five candidates haven’t submitted complete documents.
Ini salah satu dari sedikit warung yang masih buka tengah malam.
This is one of the few food stalls that are still open at midnight.
Sebagian dari biaya perjalanan akan diganti oleh kantor.
Part of the travel cost will be reimbursed by the office.
English of is much broader than Indonesian dari. Possession, for example, normally uses simple noun order rather than dari: mobil Rina, not mobil dari Rina, for “Rina's car.” The version with dari instead suggests a car received or sent from Rina.
Spelling: dari stands on its own
As a preposition, dari is written separately from its complement: dari Bandung, dari pagi, dari kayu. The free prepositions di and ke follow the same pattern (di rumah, ke Bandung), while bound forms such as di- in ditulis and ke- in kedua attach to their bases. Dari is not a prefix, so forms such as dariBandung are never standard.
Common Mistakes
1. Joining the preposition to its complement
❌ Bus itu berangkat dariSurabaya pukul tujuh.
Incorrect — the preposition dari must be written separately from Surabaya.
✅ Bus itu berangkat dari Surabaya pukul tujuh.
The bus leaves Surabaya at seven.
2. Using dari instead of sejak for a continuing situation
❌ Saya tinggal di sini dari tahun 2020.
Incorrect for the intended continuing meaning ‘since 2020’ — use sejak to mark an onset that remains in force.
✅ Saya tinggal di sini sejak tahun 2020.
I have lived here since 2020.
3. Marking a passive agent as a source
❌ Novel itu ditulis dari Pramoedya Ananta Toer.
Incorrect — the writer is the agent, not a source introduced by dari.
✅ Novel itu ditulis oleh Pramoedya Ananta Toer.
The novel was written by Pramoedya Ananta Toer.
4. Treating material as an agent
❌ Lemari ini terbuat oleh kayu jati.
Incorrect — teak is the source material, not the actor performing an action.
✅ Lemari ini terbuat dari kayu jati.
This cabinet is made of teak.
5. Putting dari before the comparative adjective
❌ Kamar ini lebih dari besar kamar sebelah.
Incorrect — the comparative adjective must come before dari and its standard.
✅ Kamar ini lebih besar dari kamar sebelah.
This room is bigger than the room next door.
Key Takeaways
- Dari marks a source in space, time, origin, material, comparison, and partitive selection.
- Use sejak for an onset that continues to the reference time, especially in careful usage.
- Use oleh for the actor in a passive clause; use dari for a sender, informational source, or material.
- Write the preposition separately: dari Bandung, dari pagi, dari kayu.
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- ke: Direction and DestinationA1 — Use free ke for movement toward destinations and endpoints, contrasting it with static di and attached ordinal or derivational ke-.
- sebelum, sesudah, and setelahA2 — Place one event before or after another with sebelum, sesudah, and setelah, whether the complement is a noun phrase or a clause.
- oleh: Passive Agent and CauseA2 — Use oleh for passive agents, selected affected causes, and the formal connective oleh karena itu.
- sejak, hingga, and sampaiA2 — Mark the beginning or end of a period with sejak, sampai, and hingga, and combine those boundaries with aspect to show whether a situation continues.
- Comparatives with lebih and daripadaA2 — Build analytic Indonesian comparisons with lebih plus an adjective and an optional standard introduced by daripada or conversational dari.
- Parts, Portions, and PartitivesB1 — Express indefinite portions and explicit selection from known sets with sebagian, separuh, setengah, sepotong, and bagian dari.