The jawab family begins with a response to a question, message, call, claim, or situation. Bare jawab is common in commands and object-oriented clauses. Actor-oriented menjawab selects what receives a response; passive dijawab foregrounds it, and jawaban packages the response as a noun. From the idea of “having to answer for something,” Indonesian has also built the major accountability compound family: tanggung jawab, bertanggung jawab, mempertanggungjawabkan, and pertanggungjawaban.
That last development is lexical and grammatical, not a dictionary accident. A response becomes answerability, then responsibility and formal accountability. Its spelling is especially important: bertanggung jawab remains two words, but forms with both a prefix and suffix around the compound are solid. General voice, compound, and affix rules remain on their own pages. Unmarked examples are neutral Standard Indonesian; formal and informal extensions are labeled.
No person or tense paradigm
Menjawab and its relatives do not change for person, number, or time. Independent expressions supply those values.
| Frame | Form | Interpretive cue |
|---|---|---|
| first person | Saya menjawab pertanyaan itu. | saya; no agreement ending |
| third person | Dia menjawab pertanyaan itu. | dia; the same verb |
| plural | Mereka menjawab pertanyaan itu. | mereka; no plural ending |
| past response | Kemarin saya menjawabnya. | kemarin |
| ongoing response | Saya sedang menjawabnya. | separate sedang |
| completed response | Saya sudah menjawabnya. | separate sudah |
| future response | Nanti saya akan menjawabnya. | separate nanti and akan |
Saya menjawab pertanyaan terakhir dengan singkat.
I answered the final question briefly.
Dia sudah menjawab pesan saya tadi pagi.
She answered my message this morning.
Besok tim hukum akan menjawab tuduhan tersebut secara resmi.
Tomorrow the legal team will respond to the allegation officially.
English changes answer to answered and may add will. Indonesian leaves menjawab intact. Bare jawab is not an infinitive requiring to; it is the stem selected by particular clause types.
Bare jawab: commands, quotations, and object orientation
Direct commands use the base. The response may follow directly, appear in a quotation, or be described by a manner phrase.
Jawab pertanyaannya satu per satu.
Answer the questions one by one.
Tolong jawab dengan jujur meskipun hasilnya tidak menyenangkan.
Please answer honestly even if the result is unpleasant.
“Saya tidak tahu,” jawab saksi itu pelan.
'I don't know,' the witness answered quietly.
In narrative quotation, postposed jawab + speaker identifies the respondent. This is a conventional reporting pattern, not English tense inversion.
After a first- or second-person pronominal actor in an object-oriented clause, the base follows that actor:
Pertanyaan itu sudah saya jawab melalui surel.
I have already answered that question by email.
Pesan dari pelanggan belum kami jawab karena datanya belum lengkap.
We have not answered the customer's message because the data is incomplete.
Kalau dia menelepon lagi, jangan kamu jawab dulu.
If he calls again, do not answer yet.
Actor-first bare jawab also occurs in casual speech (informal):
Nanti aku jawab setelah sampai rumah.
I'll reply later after I get home. (informal)
Careful actor-oriented declaratives normally use menjawab.
Menjawab: the responder acts on a prompt
Menjawab is transitive. Its object is usually what elicits or receives a response: a question, message, call, letter, accusation, criticism, challenge, or need.
Mahasiswa itu menjawab semua pertanyaan penguji dengan tenang.
The student answered all the examiner's questions calmly.
Resepsionis menjawab telepon sambil mencari data reservasi.
The receptionist answered the phone while looking for the reservation data.
Pihak sekolah belum menjawab surat dari orang tua murid.
The school has not yet replied to the parents' letter.
Direktur menjawab kritik tersebut dalam pertemuan terbuka.
The director responded to that criticism in an open meeting.
Peneliti berusaha menjawab pertanyaan mengapa angka itu terus menurun.
The researcher tries to answer the question of why that figure keeps declining. (academic)
Indonesian usually places this prompt directly after menjawab, without an equivalent of English to.
The response content can appear as a quotation or a clause with bahwa:
Petugas menjawab, “Loket ini tutup pukul empat.”
The officer answered, 'This counter closes at four.'
Ketua panitia menjawab bahwa keputusan belum dibuat.
The committee chair answered that no decision had been made.
Ketika ditanya soal biaya, ia hanya menjawab bahwa angkanya masih dihitung.
When asked about the cost, she only answered that the figure was still being calculated.
When a person follows directly, that person can be construed as the one receiving a response. In careful service writing, it is often clearer to name the prompt or use memberi jawaban kepada + person.
Saya menjawab pelanggan itu dengan tenang ketika ia meminta penjelasan.
I answered the customer calmly when she asked for an explanation.
Kami sudah memberi jawaban tertulis kepada pelanggan tersebut.
We have already given that customer a written response. (careful)
Lexical extensions: needs, challenges, and expectations
In formal and journalistic language, menjawab extends from literal replies to meeting a need, challenge, or demand. The object still functions as something that calls for a fitting response.
Layanan baru itu dirancang untuk menjawab kebutuhan warga lanjut usia.
The new service is designed to meet the needs of elderly residents. (formal)
Kebijakan tersebut belum menjawab tantangan transportasi di daerah terpencil.
That policy has not yet addressed transportation challenges in remote areas. (formal)
Produk ini menjawab permintaan pasar akan kemasan yang lebih kecil.
This product responds to market demand for smaller packaging. (formal/commercial)
These are established collocations, not permission to translate every English meet with menjawab. People memenuhi syarat “meet requirements” and teams bertemu tenggat is not standard; lexical object choice matters.
Dijawab: the prompt in the foreground
Passive dijawab foregrounds the question, call, message, or problem receiving a response. The responder may follow with oleh or remain implicit.
Pertanyaan pertama dijawab oleh kepala bagian keuangan.
The first question was answered by the head of finance.
Telepon di meja depan tidak dijawab selama jam istirahat.
The phone at the front desk was not answered during the break.
Semua surat elektronik harus dijawab dalam dua hari kerja.
All emails must be answered within two working days. (formal)
Masalah itu tidak dapat dijawab hanya dengan menambah anggaran.
That problem cannot be answered simply by increasing the budget. (formal)
The last example uses “answered” in the sense of solved or adequately addressed. Depending on the problem, diselesaikan may be more direct. Passive di- attaches in dijawab, while location di meja depan remains separate.
Jawaban: response content as a noun
Jawaban can be counted, evaluated, possessed, compared, or followed by a complement. It means an answer, response, or solution supplied to a prompt.
Jawaban benar mendapat nilai dua poin.
A correct answer earns two points.
Saya belum menerima jawaban atas permohonan tersebut.
I have not yet received a response to that application.
Jawabannya terlalu umum dan tidak menyentuh persoalan utama.
Her answer is too general and does not address the main issue.
Tidak ada satu jawaban sederhana untuk masalah ini.
There is no single simple answer to this problem.
Panitia membacakan jawaban resmi terhadap keberatan para peserta.
The committee read out the official response to the participants' objection. (formal)
Jawaban atas + question/request and jawaban terhadap + criticism/objection are common careful patterns. Colloquial jawabannya apa? asks for the answer directly.
Jadi, jawaban akhirnya apa?
So, what is the final answer? (everyday)
From answer to responsibility
The compound noun tanggung jawab means responsibility. Conceptually, a responsible person must carry a burden and be ready to answer for decisions or consequences. Modern usage is lexicalized: do not calculate its meaning word by word each time.
Keselamatan pengunjung adalah tanggung jawab pengelola gedung.
Visitor safety is the building management's responsibility.
Setiap anggota mempunyai tanggung jawab yang berbeda dalam proyek ini.
Each member has a different responsibility in this project.
Ia menerima tanggung jawab itu setelah berdiskusi dengan keluarganya.
She accepted that responsibility after discussing it with her family.
The two words stay separate in the base compound. With only the prefix ber-, they also remain separate: bertanggung jawab.
Bertanggung jawab: answerable for and accountable to
Bertanggung jawab is an intransitive/adjectival predicate meaning be responsible. Atas marks the decision, conduct, outcome, or domain for which someone is answerable; kepada marks the authority or community to which they are accountable. Untuk + verb can name an assigned duty.
Manajer bertanggung jawab atas keamanan data pelanggan.
The manager is responsible for customer data security.
Panitia harus bertanggung jawab atas penggunaan dana sumbangan.
The committee must be accountable for the use of donated funds.
Kepala unit bertanggung jawab kepada direktur operasional.
The unit head is accountable to the operations director. (formal)
Saya bertanggung jawab untuk mengirim laporan sebelum Jumat.
I am responsible for sending the report before Friday.
Orang tua tetap bertanggung jawab terhadap kebutuhan dasar anak.
Parents remain responsible for their child's basic needs.
Atas focuses on answerability for something; kepada identifies the accountability relation. Terhadap often presents an ongoing responsibility toward an affected person or need. These patterns overlap semantically, but are not interchangeable in every collocation.
Mempertanggungjawabkan and pertanggungjawaban
Transitive mempertanggungjawabkan means account for, justify, or accept answerability for an action, result, or use of resources. Its object is what must be explained and borne as one's responsibility.
Bendahara harus mempertanggungjawabkan setiap pengeluaran kepada anggota.
The treasurer must account for every expenditure to the members. (formal)
Pejabat tersebut diminta mempertanggungjawabkan keputusannya di depan dewan.
The official was asked to account for the decision before the council. (formal)
Semua penggunaan anggaran harus dapat dipertanggungjawabkan.
All use of the budget must be capable of being accounted for. (formal)
Penulis wajib mempertanggungjawabkan keakuratan data yang dikutip.
Authors must take responsibility for the accuracy of the data they cite. (academic)
Pertanggungjawaban is the process, obligation, or account of being answerable. It is especially common in administrative, legal, and academic contexts (formal).
Laporan pertanggungjawaban diserahkan paling lambat akhir bulan.
The accountability report must be submitted by the end of the month. (formal)
Masyarakat menuntut pertanggungjawaban atas kerusakan lingkungan tersebut.
The public demands accountability for that environmental damage. (formal)
Mekanisme pertanggungjawaban harus dijelaskan sejak awal program.
The accountability mechanism must be explained at the start of the program. (formal)
These solid spellings reflect affixation around the compound as a whole, not a general rule that tanggung jawab is one word.
The same prefix-only versus prefix-and-suffix distinction is explained systematically in the compound-spelling guide.
Common Mistakes
Adding tense or agreement to menjawab
❌ Dia menjawabs semua pesan sebelum sarapan.
Incorrect — menjawab never takes an English third-person ending.
✅ Dia menjawab semua pesan sebelum mulai bekerja.
She answers all messages before starting work.
Inserting a preposition before the prompt
❌ Petugas menjawab kepada pertanyaan saya dengan singkat.
Incorrect — pertanyaan is the direct object of menjawab.
✅ Petugas menjawab pertanyaan saya dengan singkat dan jelas.
The officer answered my question briefly and clearly.
Using the verb base where a noun is required
❌ Jawab benar untuk soal ini adalah pilihan ketiga.
Incorrect — the answer noun is jawaban.
✅ Jawaban benar untuk soal ini adalah pilihan ketiga.
The correct answer to this question is the third option.
Joining bertanggung jawab
❌ Ketua tim bertanggungjawab atas seluruh keputusan.
Incorrect spelling — with prefix-only ber-, the compound remains two words.
✅ Ketua tim bertanggung jawab atas seluruh keputusan rapat.
The team leader is responsible for all decisions made at the meeting.
Separating solid passive and nominal forms
❌ Dana itu tidak dapat di pertanggung jawabkan dalam laporan.
Incorrect spelling — dipertanggungjawabkan is one word.
✅ Dana itu tidak dapat dipertanggungjawabkan dalam laporan akhir.
Those funds cannot be accounted for in the final report. (formal)
Key Takeaways
- Bare jawab appears in commands and object-oriented clauses; actor-oriented menjawab selects the question, message, claim, or need receiving a response.
- Passive dijawab foregrounds the prompt; noun jawaban packages the response content.
- Tanggung jawab and bertanggung jawab remain separate, while mempertanggungjawabkan, dipertanggungjawabkan, and pertanggungjawaban are solid.
- Atas marks what someone answers for, kepada whom they are accountable to, and untuk + verb an assigned duty.
- The response-to-accountability development is lexicalized; learn each family member with its objects, complements, spelling, and register.
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