The lihat family organizes visual perception around different grammatical centers. Melihat starts from the perceiver who sees; dilihat starts from the stimulus as something someone views; terlihat and kelihatan start from the stimulus as visible or apparently having a property. Penglihatan packages the faculty or field of vision as a noun.
The base and its derivatives do not inflect for person or tense. Lihat is a complete base used in commands and voice constructions, not an infinitive “to see,” and it never receives English -s or -ed. This page teaches valency and lexical contrasts, while general nasal allomorphy, voice, ter-, and ke-...-an formation remain on their dedicated pages.
No person or tense paradigm
| Frame | Form | Interpretive cue |
|---|---|---|
| first person | Saya melihat burung itu. | perceiver subject |
| third person | Dia melihat burung itu. | same predicate |
| plural | Mereka melihat burung itu. | no agreement ending |
| past | Kemarin saya melihatnya. | kemarin |
| ongoing | Saya sedang melihatnya. | sedang |
| completed | Saya sudah melihatnya. | sudah |
| future | Besok saya akan melihatnya lagi. | besok and akan |
Kemarin saya melihat burung langka di tepi hutan.
Yesterday I saw a rare bird at the edge of the forest.
Mereka sedang melihat peta sebelum melanjutkan perjalanan.
They are looking at the map before continuing the journey.
Besok kami akan melihat lokasi kedua.
Tomorrow we will view the second location.
English varies see, saw, look at, and will view. Indonesian melihat stays unchanged; context and separate time, aspect, or future markers supply the viewpoint.
Bare lihat: command, object-oriented clause, and conversation
Bare lihat is natural in imperatives.
Lihat ini.
Look at this.
Lihat ke kiri dan ke kanan sebelum menyeberang.
Look left and right before crossing.
Coba lihat apakah pintunya sudah terkunci.
Check whether the door is already locked.
After a pronoun actor in an object-oriented clause, the base also appears naturally:
Film itu sudah saya lihat minggu lalu.
I already saw that film last week.
Foto-foto ini belum pernah kami lihat sebelumnya.
We have never seen these photos before.
Actor-first bare forms such as saya lihat are common in conversation (informal), while careful actor-oriented prose normally uses melihat.
Tadi saya lihat Rudi keluar lewat pintu belakang.
I saw Rudi leave through the back door earlier. (informal)
This distribution is grammatical voice and register, not tense. See the actor-oriented meN- overview for the larger system.
Melihat: the perceiver as subject
Melihat is transitive. Its subject is the perceiver or observer and its direct object is what is seen.
Dari balkon, kami melihat kapal memasuki pelabuhan.
From the balcony, we saw a ship entering the harbor.
Dokter melihat hasil pemindaian sebelum berbicara dengan pasien.
The doctor looked at the scan results before speaking with the patient.
Saya tidak melihat tanda peringatan di dekat pintu.
I did not see the warning sign near the door.
Dia melihatnya dari seberang jalan, tetapi tidak sempat menyapa.
He/She saw him/her from across the road but did not get a chance to say hello.
Attached -nya in melihatnya represents a third-person object or a definite referent and is written solid.
The object can be a proposition introduced by bahwa, or a participant plus an event:
Kami melihat bahwa jumlah pengunjung mulai meningkat.
We observe that the number of visitors is beginning to increase. (formal)
Saya melihat anak-anak bermain di halaman.
I saw the children playing in the yard.
Manajer melihat perubahan itu sebagai peluang, bukan ancaman.
The manager sees that change as an opportunity, not a threat.
The sebagai pattern extends physical seeing to interpretation: the perceiver construes one thing as another.
Dilihat: the viewed stimulus as subject
Dilihat is the passive counterpart used when the viewed object is the clause's starting point. An actor may follow with oleh or be omitted.
Rekaman itu sudah dilihat oleh penyidik.
The recording has already been viewed by the investigator.
Dari luar, ruangan itu tidak dapat dilihat dengan jelas.
From outside, the room cannot be seen clearly.
Masalah ini harus dilihat dari sudut pandang warga.
This problem must be viewed from the residents' perspective. (formal)
Jika dilihat dari dekat, kain itu memiliki pola yang sangat halus.
Seen up close, the fabric has a very fine pattern.
Karya tersebut dapat dilihat di ruang pamer utama.
The work can be viewed in the main exhibition room.
Dilihat reports an actual or potential viewing relation and readily takes a viewpoint phrase dari sudut pandang. It is written solid; locative di ruang pamer remains separate.
Terlihat: visible, perceptible, or apparently
Terlihat centers the stimulus as something that enters view. It often means “be visible/can be seen” or serves as a linking predicate “look/appear.”
Gunung itu terlihat jelas dari jendela kamar.
That mountain is clearly visible from the bedroom window.
Tulisan kecil ini tidak terlihat tanpa kacamata.
This small writing cannot be seen without glasses.
Pekerjaan itu terlihat mudah, tetapi membutuhkan ketelitian.
That job looks easy, but it requires precision.
Dia terlihat lebih tenang setelah berbicara dengan dokter.
He/She looks calmer after speaking with the doctor.
Tidak terlihat adanya kerusakan pada bagian luar mesin.
No damage is visible on the exterior of the machine. (formal)
The subject is the visible or apparently characterized entity, not an active perceiver. Saya melihat gunung starts from me; gunung terlihat starts from the mountain's visibility.
Compare passive event and visibility:
Lukisan itu dilihat oleh ratusan pengunjung setiap hari.
That painting is viewed by hundreds of visitors every day.
Lukisan itu terlihat dari pintu masuk galeri.
That painting is visible from the gallery entrance.
Dilihat reports viewing; terlihat describes access to sight or appearance. General stative and abilitative ter- meanings are explained on the ter- meaning page.
Kelihatan: everyday visibility and appearance
Kelihatan overlaps substantially with terlihat and is extremely common in conversation (informal). It can mean visible or look/seem.
Dari sini panggungnya masih kelihatan.
The stage is still visible from here. (informal)
Kamu kelihatan capek; mau istirahat sebentar?
You look tired; do you want to rest for a moment? (informal)
Bekas lukanya hampir tidak kelihatan lagi.
The scar is hardly visible anymore. (informal)
Dari fotonya, kamar itu kelihatan lebih luas daripada ukuran sebenarnya.
From the photo, the room looks larger than its actual size. (informal)
Terlihat spans conversation and formal prose; kelihatan has a more everyday conversational profile. Both are written solid. Regional preferences and frequency vary, but both belong to contemporary Indonesian.
Penglihatan: sight and vision
Penglihatan is a lexical noun for the faculty, quality, or field of sight.
Penglihatannya mulai kabur ketika membaca tulisan kecil.
His/Her vision begins to blur when reading small print.
Pemeriksaan penglihatan tersedia setiap hari Selasa.
Vision tests are available every Tuesday.
Asap tebal menghalangi penglihatan pengemudi.
Thick smoke obstructed the driver's vision.
Benda itu bergerak keluar dari bidang penglihatan saya.
The object moved out of my field of vision.
For an opinion or viewpoint, Indonesian normally uses pandangan or pendapat, not penglihatan. The English noun view therefore splits across several Indonesian families.
Memperlihatkan: show or display
Another common family member is transitive memperlihatkan, which causes or allows something to be seen.
Petugas meminta saya memperlihatkan kartu identitas.
The officer asked me to show my identity card.
Grafik ini memperlihatkan penurunan harga selama tiga bulan.
This graph shows a decline in prices over three months. (formal)
Dia memperlihatkan foto keluarganya kepada kami.
He/She showed us a family photo.
Do not derive its argument pattern from English show alone; learn the displayed theme and optional recipient with kepada.
Melihat is not always “watch”
For sustained attention to a film, television program, performance, or match, menonton is normally more specific.
Kami menonton pertandingan itu di rumah teman.
We watched the match at a friend's house.
Saya melihat layar sebentar untuk membaca pesan yang masuk.
I looked at the screen briefly to read an incoming message.
Melihat televisi can mean seeing the television set. Use menonton televisi for watching television content.
Idioms and conventional combinations
Kami hanya melihat-lihat sambil menunggu hujan reda.
We were just browsing while waiting for the rain to stop.
Saya melihat kejadian itu dengan mata kepala sendiri.
I saw that incident with my own eyes.
Nanti kita lihat saja bagaimana hasil akhirnya.
We will just have to wait and see how it turns out.
Melihat-lihat presents casual, exploratory looking and is written with a hyphen in the repeated portion. Dengan mata kepala sendiri emphatically claims direct eyewitness experience. Kita lihat saja postpones judgment until evidence becomes available.
Common Mistakes
Giving terlihat an active perceiver and object
❌ Saya terlihat gunung dari balkon.
Incorrect — terlihat centers the visible stimulus, not an active perceiver with an object.
✅ Saya melihat gunung dari balkon hotel.
I saw the mountain from the hotel balcony.
Using dilihat for apparent quality
❌ Pekerjaan itu dilihat mudah dari luar.
Incorrect for 'looks easy' — passive dilihat reports viewing, not appearance.
✅ Pekerjaan itu terlihat mudah dari luar.
That job looks easy from the outside.
Separating passive di-
❌ Rekaman itu sudah di lihat oleh polisi.
Incorrect spelling — passive dilihat is one word.
✅ Rekaman itu sudah dilihat oleh polisi tadi pagi.
The recording was viewed by the police this morning.
Translating every English “watch” with melihat
❌ Kami melihat pertandingan sepak bola selama dua jam di televisi.
Poor lexical choice for sustained viewing of a match.
✅ Kami menonton pertandingan sepak bola selama dua jam di televisi.
We watched a football match on television for two hours.
Using penglihatan for an opinion
❌ Menurut penglihatan saya, rencana itu terlalu mahal.
Wrong noun for an opinion — penglihatan means sight/vision.
✅ Menurut pendapat saya, rencana itu terlalu mahal.
In my opinion, that plan is too expensive.
Key Takeaways
- Bare lihat is natural in commands and object-oriented clauses; actor-oriented melihat takes a perceiver subject and perceived object.
- Dilihat foregrounds something as viewed; terlihat foregrounds it as visible or apparently having a property.
- Kelihatan overlaps with terlihat but is especially conversational (informal).
- Penglihatan means sight/vision, while memperlihatkan means show or display.
- Aspect words remain separate, actual derivatives are solid, and locative di remains separate from passive di-.
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