Indonesian can place ke-...-an around a copied adjective or noun base to mean “somewhat X,” “X-like,” or “too much like X”: kemerah-merahan “reddish” and kebarat-baratan “Westernized in a conspicuous or imitative way.” The construction often does more than reduce degree. It lets the speaker keep some distance from the full label and may add doubt, criticism, or “not genuinely X.”
This pattern is lexically limited. It is not a neutral comparative and cannot be generated from every adjective. Individual ke-...-an paradigms and general classifier syntax belong to dedicated adjacent pages.
Color approximation: near a category, not fully in it
With established color bases, ke- + copied base + -an commonly describes an appearance that approaches a color without being categorized simply as that color.
Setelah dicampur, cat cokelat itu menjadi kemerah-merahan.
After being mixed, the brown paint became reddish.
Dari kejauhan, air danau tampak kebiru-biruan.
From a distance, the lake water looks bluish.
Lampu tua itu menghasilkan cahaya kekuning-kuningan.
That old lamp gives off a yellowish light.
The speaker sees a resemblance to merah, biru, or kuning but withholds the unqualified category. A reddish brown is not necessarily a pale red; its dominant category can be brown while red is perceptible within it.
Setelah memudar, kain hitam itu terlihat keabu-abuan.
After fading, the black cloth looks grayish.
Ujung daun mulai kecokelat-cokelatan karena kekurangan air.
The tips of the leaves are becoming brownish because of insufficient water.
Awan di ufuk tampak kehitam-hitaman sebelum hujan.
The clouds on the horizon look blackish before the rain.
Keabu-abuan is built on the already lexicalized color base abu-abu, so its repeated material belongs to the base itself. By contrast, kecokelat-cokelatan and kehitam-hitaman visibly copy simple color bases. Unreduplicated forms such as kemerahan and kehijauan also occur, and the distribution and nuance of the available shapes are not wholly predictable from the base alone. Learn established forms rather than creating new ones by analogy.
Bracketing and spelling
The visible structure of kemerah-merahan is ke- + merah-merah + -an. In ordinary spelling, the prefix attaches to the first copy, the suffix attaches at the end, and the copied material retains one internal hyphen.
| Base | Established form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| merah | kemerah-merahan | reddish |
| biru | kebiru-biruan | bluish |
| kuning | kekuning-kuningan | yellowish |
| Barat | kebarat-baratan | conspicuously/imitatively Westernized |
Warna dinding itu putih kebiru-biruan, bukan putih murni.
That wall color is a bluish white, not pure white.
Kulit buah yang kekuning-kuningan menandakan bahwa mangga itu mulai matang.
Yellowish skin indicates that the mango is beginning to ripen.
Do not copy an already affixed adjective as two full words. Kemerahan-kemerahan would look like a repetition of independent kemerahan rather than the established approximate formation. The hyphen guide develops the full orthographic principle.
Resemblance can carry criticism
With some noun-like bases, the pattern means “having the manner or appearance associated with X.” It frequently suggests imitation, excess, superficiality, or failure to count as the genuine category.
Dekorasi kafe itu sengaja dibuat kebarat-baratan.
The café’s décor was deliberately made conspicuously Western-looking.
Menurut kritikus itu, dialog dalam film tersebut terlalu kebarat-baratan.
According to that critic, the dialogue in the film is too Westernized.
Penjelasannya terdengar keilmu-ilmuan, tetapi tidak didukung data.
His/Her explanation sounds pseudo-scholarly, but it is not supported by data.
In kebarat-baratan, the speaker is not neutrally locating something in the West. The form often suggests copying a generalized image of “Western” behavior, sometimes with disapproval. Because that judgment can stereotype people or practices, use a neutral alternative when evaluation is not intended.
Kurikulum itu banyak dipengaruhi tradisi akademik Barat.
The curriculum is strongly influenced by Western academic traditions.
Restoran itu menyajikan makanan bergaya Barat dan makanan Indonesia.
That restaurant serves Western-style food and Indonesian food.
These sentences describe influence and style without the distancing stance of kebarat-baratan. Likewise, ilmiah means “scientific,” while keilmu-ilmuan can imply merely wearing the appearance of scholarship.
Another established evaluative form is kekanak-kanakan “childish.” The base kanak-kanak is already lexicalized and reduplicated, so the affixes surround that base without inserting an additional internal copy.
Cara dia mengejek rekan kerja terdengar kekanak-kanakan.
The way he/she mocked a coworker sounded childish.
Rasa ingin tahu seperti anak-anak tidak sama dengan bersikap kekanak-kanakan.
Childlike curiosity is not the same as behaving childishly.
English distinguishes positive childlike from negative childish. Indonesian kekanak-kanakan strongly favors the negative evaluation; a neutral comparison needs a fuller phrase such as seperti anak-anak.
Malu-malu: hesitant behavior without ke-...-an
Not all approximate or attenuated adjective copying uses ke-...-an. Full malu-malu presents shy, hesitant, or self-conscious behavior. It often modifies an action rather than classifying a permanent personality.
Dia tersenyum malu-malu saat diperkenalkan kepada keluarga calon suaminya.
She smiled shyly when she was introduced to her fiancé’s family.
Anak itu menjawab malu-malu sambil bersembunyi di belakang ibunya.
The child answered shyly while hiding behind his/her mother.
Pada awal pertemuan, para peserta masih malu-malu untuk bertanya.
At the beginning of the meeting, the participants were still hesitant to ask questions.
Compare simple malu, which can name the state of feeling ashamed or shy:
Saya malu karena datang terlambat.
I am embarrassed because I arrived late.
Saya bertanya malu-malu karena belum mengenal siapa pun di ruangan itu.
I asked hesitantly because I did not know anyone in the room.
Established kemalu-maluan can mean “rather shy,” but it is much less frequent than ordinary malu-malu in everyday descriptions. This lexical unevenness is another reason not to treat the pattern as a fully productive paradigm.
Neutral degree and genuine comparison
Use agak, sedikit, or a precise descriptive phrase for neutral approximation. Use lebih ... daripada for comparison. Approximate reduplication does not compare two entities.
Sup ini agak asin, tetapi masih enak.
This soup is a little salty, but it is still tasty.
Kain ini lebih merah daripada kain yang tadi.
This cloth is redder than the previous cloth.
Warnanya cokelat dengan sedikit nuansa merah.
The color is brown with a slight red tinge.
These alternatives express degree, comparison, or color composition directly and without the lexical or evaluative baggage of an established copied form.
Orthography
Hyphenate visible full copying: kemerah-merahan, kebarat-baratan, malu-malu. Attach ke- and -an according to the bracketed word: kebiru-biruan, never ke biru-biru an. Partial and lexicalized forms follow their own established spelling. The digit shortcut merah2 is nonstandard digital writing (informal) and never belongs in edited prose.
Common Mistakes
1. Treating approximation as comparison
❌ Kain ini kemerah-merahan daripada kain itu.
Incorrect comparison — the approximate form does not take a daripada standard.
✅ Kain ini lebih merah daripada kain itu.
This cloth is redder than that cloth.
2. Using an evaluative form for a neutral cultural description
❌ Mata kuliah itu membahas kebarat-baratan dalam seni modern.
Incorrect for the intended neutral meaning ‘Western influence’ — kebarat-baratan adds an imitative or critical stance.
✅ Mata kuliah itu membahas pengaruh Barat dalam seni modern.
That course discusses Western influence in modern art.
3. Generating the pattern from any adjective
❌ Udara hari ini kepanas-panasan.
Incorrect for neutral ‘somewhat hot’ — this is not a productive approximate adjective.
✅ Udara hari ini agak panas.
The air is somewhat hot today.
4. Copying the fully affixed form
❌ Cahaya lampunya kemerahan-kemerahan.
Incorrect bracketing for the established reduplicated approximation.
✅ Cahaya lampunya kemerah-merahan.
The light from the lamp is reddish.
5. Omitting the hyphen or using digit 2
❌ Langit sore ini kemerah2an.
Incorrect edited spelling — write the copied base in full with a hyphen.
✅ Langit sore ini kemerah-merahan.
The sky is reddish this evening.
Key Takeaways
- Ke-...-an around a copied base can express partial resemblance: kemerah-merahan.
- With social or cultural bases, it often adds speaker distance or criticism: kebarat-baratan, keilmu-ilmuan.
- Simple malu-malu presents shy or hesitant behavior without the circumfix.
- Use agak for neutral approximation and lebih ... daripada for genuine comparison.
- The construction is lexically limited; preserve the established hyphen and affix bracketing.
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Start learning Indonesian →Related Topics
- Reduplication: An Indonesian Grammar MapA2 — Map the major forms and meanings of Indonesian reduplication without mistaking every repeated word for a plural.
- Affixes Around Full ReduplicationB1 — Use morphological bracketing to place prefixes, suffixes, and clitics around the correct copied base.
- Adjective ReduplicationB1 — Understand how copied adjectives distribute properties, describe manner, intensify predicates, and form se-...-nya expressions.
- agak, lumayan, and Moderated JudgmentsB1 — Use agak, lumayan, and related degree expressions to moderate evaluations, manage politeness, and signal expectations.
- Comparatives with lebih and daripadaA2 — Build analytic Indonesian comparisons with lebih plus an adjective and an optional standard introduced by daripada or conversational dari.
- Hyphens in ReduplicationA1 — Use a hyphen inside Indonesian full, affixed, and changing-sound reduplication while avoiding informal digit shortcuts.