An Indonesian expression can name one concept and still be written as two words. Kerja sama “cooperation” and tanggung jawab “responsibility” are semantic units, but their elements normally remain separated. Other compounds, including olahraga “sport,” have conventional solid spellings that must be learned as lexical facts.
Affixation adds a third pattern. One prefix or suffix leaves a compound's internal space intact, as in bertanggung jawab. When a prefix and suffix jointly surround the entire compound, the expression becomes one orthographic word: mempertanggungjawabkan. The crucial issue is therefore not merely “one meaning or two,” but how convention and affix scope organize the written word.
This page is strictly about orthography. For what compounds mean and how they behave syntactically, see noun compounds; for the affixes themselves, see affix spelling. Ordinary Indonesian uses no mandatory accent marks in any of these patterns.
Ordinary compounds are usually spaced
The default rule is that the elements of a compound or fixed multiword term are written separately. This remains true even when the combination has a specialized or partly idiomatic meaning that cannot be calculated word by word.
| Standard compound | Meaning | Why the space remains |
|---|---|---|
| kerja sama | cooperation | ordinary spaced compound |
| tanggung jawab | responsibility | ordinary spaced compound |
| rumah sakit | hospital | established multiword term |
| orang tua | parent(s); old person/people | compound interpretation does not force solid spelling |
| duta besar | ambassador | specialized title, still spaced |
Kerja sama kedua sekolah itu dimulai tahun lalu.
Cooperation between the two schools began last year.
Dia dirawat di rumah sakit selama tiga hari.
She was treated in the hospital for three days.
English gives unreliable guidance here. English writes cooperation solid, post office with a space, and well-being with a hyphen. Indonesian does not copy those divisions. Learn the Indonesian citation form and preserve it throughout edited writing (formal).
Established solid compounds must be memorized
EYD V lists a closed group of compounds that are written as one word. Frequent examples include olahraga, matahari, beasiswa, kosakata, saputangan, sukarela, and daripada. Their solid spelling reflects established convention, not a general rule that frequently used expressions always fuse.
Mereka berolahraga di taman setiap Minggu pagi.
They exercise in the park every Sunday morning.
Adik saya mendapat beasiswa untuk belajar di Bandung.
My younger sibling received a scholarship to study in Bandung.
Kosakata teknis itu dijelaskan di bagian akhir.
That technical vocabulary is explained in the final section.
There is no fully logical test for predicting this group. Olahraga is solid, but sepak bola “football” is spaced; matahari is solid, but rumah sakit is spaced. Frequency and semantic unity may contribute historically, yet only the conventional dictionary form settles the modern spelling.
One affix leaves the internal space
If a normally spaced compound receives only a prefix or only a suffix, its elements remain separate. The affix joins the element it directly attaches to; it does not automatically absorb the entire expression.
| Base | Affix scope | Standard result |
|---|---|---|
| kerja sama | prefix ber- only | bekerja sama |
| tanggung jawab | prefix ber- only | bertanggung jawab |
| tepuk tangan | prefix ber- only | bertepuk tangan |
| garis bawah | suffix -i only | garis bawahi |
| sebar luas | suffix -kan only | sebar luaskan |
Kedua lembaga itu bekerja sama dalam penelitian ini.
The two institutions are collaborating on this research.
Setiap anggota bertanggung jawab atas datanya sendiri.
Each member is responsible for their own data.
The form bertanggung jawab is especially important. Ber- attaches at the left edge, but no suffix closes around the compound. Consequently, the space between tanggung and jawab remains. The spelling bertanggungjawab incorrectly treats the base as an established solid word.
A prefix and suffix around the whole compound create one word
When a prefix and suffix apply together to the compound as a whole, standard spelling removes the internal space. This pattern is often described as whole-compound circumfixation: material appears on both sides of the base, and the entire unit is written solid.
Manajer harus mempertanggungjawabkan setiap pengeluaran.
The manager must account for every expense.
Panitia akan menyebarluaskan hasil survei besok.
The committee will disseminate the survey results tomorrow.
Tolong garis bawahi bagian yang perlu direvisi.
Please underline the part that needs revision.
Compare the last example with the fully surrounded form menggarisbawahi:
Editor sudah menggarisbawahi tiga masalah utama.
The editor has underlined three main problems.
The contrast is structural:
| Form | Affix pattern | Spelling |
|---|---|---|
| bertanggung jawab | prefix only | space retained |
| pertanggungjawaban | per-...-an around the whole base | solid |
| mempertanggungjawabkan | memper-...-kan around the whole base | solid |
| sebar luaskan | suffix only | space retained |
| menyebarluaskan | meN-...-kan around the whole base | solid |
Hyphens are not a third default
Indonesian does not normally insert a hyphen simply because two elements form a compound. Forms such as kerja-sama and tanggung-jawab are nonstandard. A hyphen may clarify a genuinely ambiguous grouping, as in contrasts modeled on buku-sejarah baru “a new history book” versus buku sejarah-baru “a book about new history,” but that is a special disambiguating use. The broader rules belong on the hyphen page.
Spacing is also independent of pronunciation. Speakers may run the elements together fluently, but smooth pronunciation never proves that a standard space should disappear. Conversely, a solid compound can remain phonologically complex. Detailed pronunciation is treated in the pronunciation overview.
Register and practical editing
These spelling rules apply to edited prose, official documents, and careful digital communication (formal) as well as academic work (academic). Informal messages sometimes show kerjasama or tanggungjawab (informal), partly because spaces feel expendable on a phone. Those spellings are understandable but remain unsuitable when Standard Indonesian is required.
Do not add accents to show compound boundaries. Ordinary Indonesian has no mandatory written accent system. Spaces, conventional solid spelling, affixes, and occasional hyphens carry the relevant orthographic information.
Common Mistakes
1. Joining an ordinary spaced compound
❌ Kerjasama ini menguntungkan kedua pihak.
Incorrect standard spelling — kerja sama is written as two words.
✅ Kerja sama ini menguntungkan kedua pihak.
This cooperation benefits both parties.
2. Splitting an established solid form
❌ Dia suka olah raga air.
Incorrect standard spelling — olahraga is an established solid compound.
✅ Dia suka olahraga air.
She likes water sports.
3. Removing the space after prefix-only affixation
❌ Siapa yang bertanggungjawab atas keputusan ini?
Incorrect standard spelling — a prefix alone leaves the compound space intact.
✅ Siapa yang bertanggung jawab atas keputusan ini?
Who is responsible for this decision?
4. Preserving a space inside a circumfixed compound
❌ Direktur harus mempertanggung jawabkan keputusan itu.
Incorrect standard spelling — memper-...-kan encloses the whole compound, so the result is solid.
✅ Direktur harus mempertanggungjawabkan keputusan itu.
The director must account for that decision.
Key Takeaways
- Most compounds, including kerja sama and tanggung jawab, are written with spaces.
- A limited conventional group, including olahraga, is written solid and must be memorized.
- Prefix-only or suffix-only attachment preserves the internal space: bertanggung jawab.
- A prefix and suffix around the whole compound produce one orthographic word: mempertanggungjawabkan.
- Hyphens clarify special ambiguities; they do not routinely replace spaces in compounds.
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Start learning Indonesian →Related Topics
- Attaching Prefixes and SuffixesA2 — Write ordinary Indonesian affixes solid with lowercase bases and use boundary hyphens around capitalized or acronym bases.
- Hyphens in ReduplicationA1 — Use a hyphen inside Indonesian full, affixed, and changing-sound reduplication while avoiding informal digit shortcuts.
- An EYD V Editing ChecklistB2 — Edit Indonesian spelling in a repeatable sequence covering capitals, word boundaries, compounds, reduplication, particles, punctuation, and loans.
- Head-Initial Noun CompoundsA2 — Understand why the first noun normally names the category in Indonesian noun compounds.
- memper-...-kan: Formation and AllomorphyB2 — Build and recognize memper-...-kan verbs, including their inner per- stem, r-related variants, suffix spelling, and active–passive counterparts.