The dapat family connects several ideas that English usually gives different words: possibility (can), receipt (get/receive), deliberate acquisition (obtain/secure), and income (earnings). Morphology helps keep these meanings apart. Bare dapat can be a (formal) modal or a lexical verb, mendapat and mendapatkan are active transitive verbs, and pendapatan is a conventional noun with a narrower meaning than “anything obtained.”
The family at a glance
Indonesian does not conjugate any member of this family for person or tense. Separate time and aspect words locate the event.
| Form | Structure | Central use |
|---|---|---|
| dapat + predicate | modal | can, may, be possible (formal) |
| dapat + noun | lexical verb | get, receive (informal) in many contexts |
| mendapat + noun | active transitive | receive, get |
| mendapatkan + noun | active transitive | obtain, secure, get |
| didapat(kan) | passive | be received/obtained |
| pendapatan | noun | income, revenue, earnings |
Pemohon dapat memeriksa status berkas melalui laman resmi.
Applicants can check the status of their files through the official website.
Tadi pagi saya mendapat kabar baik dari rumah sakit.
This morning I received good news from the hospital.
Akhirnya mereka mendapatkan izin untuk membuka kembali jalur pendakian.
They finally obtained permission to reopen the hiking trail.
Pendapatan keluarga itu bergantung pada hasil kebun kopi.
That family's income depends on the coffee harvest.
Modal dapat: formal possibility or authorization
Before another predicate, dapat is a modal meaning can, may, or be possible. It is frequent in official notices, instructions, reports, academic prose, and careful public speech. In everyday conversation, bisa is usually more natural, though dapat is not limited to writing.
Hasil lengkap dapat diunduh setelah proses verifikasi selesai.
The complete results can be downloaded after verification is finished.
Perubahan kecil pada suhu dapat memengaruhi hasil percobaan.
A small change in temperature can affect the outcome of the experiment.
Peserta dapat memilih salah satu dari tiga jadwal wawancara.
Participants may choose one of three interview schedules.
The modal itself is not passive. In dapat diunduh, di- belongs to the following verb diunduh. With object voice, a definite agent precedes the bare predicate:
Kesalahan seperti ini dapat kita cegah dengan pemeriksaan kedua.
We can prevent an error like this with a second check.
Semua catatan dapat Anda akses melalui akun yang sama.
You can access all the records through the same account.
The formal question particle -kah can attach to the modal. It is common in surveys, interviews, rhetoric, and careful service encounters, but less common in relaxed conversation.
Dapatkah Bapak menjelaskan sumber angka tersebut?
Could you explain the source of that figure, sir?
Bagaimana prinsip ini dapat diterapkan di daerah terpencil?
How can this principle be applied in remote areas?
Use the ability choice guide to compare this institutional or formal possibility with everyday bisa and capacity-focused mampu.
Lexical dapat and mendapat: receiving an outcome
When followed directly by a noun, dapat can be a lexical verb meaning get or receive. This bare-root use is especially frequent in (informal) speech. Standard active prose generally favors mendapat.
Aku dapat tempat duduk dekat pintu, jadi nanti mudah turun.
I got a seat near the door, so it will be easy to get off later.
Setiap relawan mendapat kaus dan kartu identitas.
Each volunteer receives a T-shirt and an identification card.
Tim peneliti mendapat akses ke arsip yang sebelumnya tertutup.
The research team gained access to an archive that had previously been closed.
Mendapat often presents the object as something received, encountered, or awarded. It does not by itself emphasize the effort or procedure used to secure it.
Film itu mendapat penghargaan pilihan penonton.
The film received the audience choice award.
Kami mendapat sambutan hangat dari warga setempat.
We received a warm welcome from local residents.
The meN- spelling is mendapat, because meN- appears as men- before base-initial d. The d remains. This contrasts with nasal substitution before certain other consonants.
Mendapatkan: obtain, secure, or get for a purpose
Mendapatkan is also transitive, and it overlaps substantially with mendapat. There is no perfect rule that separates them in every collocation. Still, mendapatkan often highlights achieving, procuring, finding, or securing the object as a result, while mendapat readily highlights receipt. Learn frequent combinations rather than forcing a difference where native usage allows both.
Kami mendapatkan harga lebih murah setelah membandingkan empat pemasok.
We got a lower price after comparing four suppliers.
Wartawan itu berhasil mendapatkan salinan laporan internal.
The journalist managed to obtain a copy of the internal report.
Ia mendapatkan pekerjaan pertamanya melalui bursa kerja kampus.
She got her first job through the campus job fair.
With information, opportunities, access, permission, and concrete objects, both verbs occur; aspect and discourse can matter more than a proposed dictionary distinction.
Dari wawancara itu, kami mendapat gambaran umum tentang masalahnya.
From the interview, we got a general picture of the problem.
Setelah tiga kali mencoba, kami mendapatkan jawaban yang cukup jelas.
After three attempts, we obtained a sufficiently clear answer.
Passive and object-voice forms
Didapat and didapatkan make the received or obtained item prominent. The passive prefix is attached: didapat, never di dapat. Didapatkan often suits findings, resources, or results produced through a process.
Angka tersebut didapat dari survei terhadap seribu responden.
That figure was obtained from a survey of one thousand respondents.
Bahan baku ini sulit didapat selama musim hujan.
This raw material is difficult to obtain during the rainy season.
Kesimpulan itu didapatkan melalui analisis beberapa sumber independen.
That conclusion was reached through analysis of several independent sources.
In (formal) research and administrative prose, diperoleh is a common stylistic alternative meaning be obtained. It belongs to the peroleh family, not morphologically to dapat.
Sampel tambahan diperoleh dari tiga lokasi pesisir.
Additional samples were obtained from three coastal locations.
With a definite first- or second-person agent, object voice uses dapatkan without meN-:
Beasiswa itu kami dapatkan setelah melewati seleksi panjang.
We obtained that scholarship after going through a long selection process.
Foto lama ini Anda dapatkan dari mana?
Where did you get this old photograph?
Pendapatan and other established extensions
Pendapatan most often means money received regularly or in a period: income, revenue, or earnings. It is not the general noun for every prize, message, or object someone gets.
Pendapatan bulanan pedagang itu naik setelah pasar direnovasi.
The trader's monthly income rose after the market was renovated.
Pajak tersebut menjadi salah satu sumber pendapatan daerah.
That tax became one source of regional revenue.
Laporan ini membandingkan pendapatan dan pengeluaran rumah tangga.
This report compares household income and expenditure.
Two other common words are formally related but strongly lexicalized. Terdapat means there is/are or be found in (formal) description; kedapatan commonly means be caught/found in the act.
Terdapat tiga kesalahan penomoran pada lampiran kedua.
There are three numbering errors in the second appendix.
Seorang penumpang kedapatan membawa cairan melebihi batas.
A passenger was found carrying liquid over the limit.
Do not treat these as freely predictable tense or voice forms of modal dapat. Their conventional meanings must be learned as whole lexical items.
Common Mistakes
Giving the modal a person ending
❌ Pemohon dapats memilih sesi sore.
Incorrect — modal dapat never takes an English-style third-person ending.
✅ Pemohon dapat memilih sesi sore jika ruang masih tersedia.
The applicant may choose the afternoon session if space is still available.
Using mendapat as a modal
❌ Pengguna mendapat mengubah kata sandi kapan saja.
Incorrect — mendapat means receive/get, not modal can.
✅ Pengguna dapat mengubah kata sandi kapan saja.
Users can change their password at any time.
Treating pendapatan as anything received
❌ Pendapatan saya kemarin adalah sebuah paket dari Surabaya.
Incorrect — pendapatan normally means income or revenue, not a parcel received.
✅ Kemarin saya mendapat sebuah paket dari Surabaya.
Yesterday I received a parcel from Surabaya.
Separating the passive prefix
❌ Informasi itu di dapat dari narasumber anonim.
Incorrect — passive di- attaches to the verb.
✅ Informasi itu didapat dari narasumber anonim.
The information was obtained from an anonymous source.
Mixing modal and acquisition structure
❌ Kami dapatkan masuk ke gedung setelah menunjukkan kartu.
Incorrect for ‘were able to enter’ — dapatkan is an acquisition verb, not the modal.
✅ Kami dapat masuk ke gedung setelah menunjukkan kartu.
We were able to enter the building after showing our cards.
Key Takeaways
- Dapat + predicate is a common (formal) modal for possibility and authorization.
- Bare lexical dapat is common (informal) speech; mendapat presents receipt, while mendapatkan often presents securing or obtaining a result.
- Use didapat(kan) for passive voice and agent + dapatkan for pronominal object voice.
- Pendapatan means income or revenue, not every kind of thing received.
- Treat terdapat and kedapatan as established lexical extensions rather than predictable modal forms.
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Start learning Indonesian →Related Topics
- dapat: Can, Obtain, and Formal PossibilityA2 — Distinguish formal modal dapat before predicates from lexical dapat or mendapat meaning receive and obtain.
- bisa: Ability and PossibilityA1 — Use bisa for learned ability, situational feasibility, possibility, and pragmatic permission while recognizing its noun homonym meaning venom.
- meN-: Formation and AllomorphyA1 — Build standard meN- verbs by matching the nasal to the base and applying productive p, t, s, and k substitution.
- di- Passive: Overview and FormationA1 — Recognize and form the Indonesian di- passive, where an affected patient is subject and a third-person agent may follow or remain unspoken.
- peN-: Valency, Lexicalization, and RegisterC1 — Use peN- nouns with their licensed complements, lexical competitors, and formal or conversational alternatives.
- bisa versus dapat versus mampuA2 — Choose everyday bisa, formal or lexical dapat, and capacity-focused mampu by identifying the source of ability, possibility, or permission.