The pikir family divides a general cognitive activity from attention directed at a particular object and from thoughts that arise spontaneously. Berpikir means engage in thought; memikirkan means think about, consider, or devote concern to something; terpikir presents an idea as coming to mind. Bare pikir survives naturally in the formula saya pikir..., commands, and several fixed expressions. The nouns pikiran and pemikiran package different kinds of mental content.
English think can cover every one of these frames, so translation alone is unreliable. General ber-, meN-...-kan, ter-, -an, and peN-...-an formation belongs on the Word Formation and Voice pages; this page explains the established lexical family.
No person or tense paradigm
Neither pikir nor the longer family members inflect for person or tense. The frequent opinion frame saya pikir... illustrates the invariant base clearly.
| Frame | Indonesian | What supplies the interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| first person | Saya pikir rencana itu masuk akal. | saya; no agreement |
| third person | Dia pikir rencana itu masuk akal. | dia; same base, conversational |
| plural | Kami pikir rencana itu masuk akal. | kami; same base |
| past opinion | Dulu saya pikir begitu. | dulu |
| current process | Saya sedang berpikir. | sedang |
| future process | Nanti saya akan memikirkannya. | nanti and akan |
Saya pikir kita perlu memeriksa angkanya sekali lagi.
I think we need to check the figures once more.
Dulu saya pikir perjalanan itu hanya memakan dua jam.
I used to think the journey took only two hours.
Nanti saya akan memikirkan tawaran itu dengan tenang.
I will think over that offer calmly later.
Pikir is not an infinitive, and berpikir/memikirkan are not conjugated tenses. Sedang and akan remain separate; the predicate never receives an English-style ending.
Bare pikir: opinion frame, command, and lexical root
In modern usage, bare pikir is especially natural after a subject in the high-frequency opinion frame saya pikir... “I think...” and in commands such as pikir dulu. It also appears as a noun/root meaning thought or judgment in fixed expressions.
Saya pikir kereta terakhir sudah berangkat.
I think the last train has already left.
Kemarin kami pikir masalahnya sudah selesai.
Yesterday we thought the problem had been resolved.
Pikir dulu sebelum mengirim pesan saat sedang marah.
Think first before sending a message while angry.
Kalau dipikir lagi, usulan kedua memang lebih sederhana.
Thinking about it again, the second proposal really is simpler.
Tak habis pikir, mengapa dokumen sepenting itu dibiarkan terbuka?
I cannot understand why such an important document was left open.
Full berpikir is generally preferable when the clause describes the activity or manner of thought. Bare pikir beyond established frames is common in informal varieties, but careful Standard Indonesian does not simply delete ber- or meN- everywhere.
Berpikir: engaging in cognition
Berpikir is intransitive. It presents the thinker as engaging in a mental process without requiring a direct object. A topic normally follows tentang/mengenai, while an adverb describes the manner or quality of thought.
Ia diam beberapa menit sambil berpikir.
He/She was silent for several minutes while thinking.
Kami sedang berpikir tentang cara mengurangi biaya perjalanan.
We are thinking about ways to reduce travel costs.
Anak-anak perlu belajar berpikir kritis saat membaca berita.
Children need to learn to think critically when reading news.
Cobalah berpikir dari sudut pandang pelanggan.
Try to think from the customer's point of view.
Setelah berpikir panjang, Rina menerima tawaran pekerjaan itu.
After careful consideration, Rina accepted the job offer.
Berpikir bahwa + clause is possible when the point is holding or developing a proposition, but everyday saya pikir bahwa... or simply saya pikir... is often lighter. Berpikir tentang X keeps X as a topic rather than a direct object.
Memikirkan: directing thought toward an object
Memikirkan is transitive. The object immediately after it is the issue, person, consequence, or plan receiving sustained thought, consideration, or concern.
Tim sedang memikirkan masalah distribusi di pulau-pulau kecil.
The team is thinking through the distribution problem on the smaller islands.
Saya perlu memikirkan akibat keputusan ini bagi keluarga.
I need to think about the consequences of this decision for the family.
Dia terlalu sering memikirkan pendapat orang lain.
He/She thinks too much about other people's opinions.
Jangan hanya memikirkan keuntungan jangka pendek.
Do not think only about short-term profit.
Kami belum sempat memikirkan tempat untuk acara berikutnya.
We have not yet had time to think about a venue for the next event.
Because memikirkan already selects its thought object, memikirkan tentang masalah is usually unnecessarily doubled. Choose berpikir tentang masalah for topic-oriented cognition or memikirkan masalah for direct object focus. The productive argument-changing background is developed in the -kan arguments guide.
Kami berpikir tentang masa depan desa itu, lalu memikirkan beberapa langkah yang dapat segera dilakukan.
We reflected on the village's future, then considered several steps that could be taken immediately.
Memikirkan seseorang can mean think about or worry about that person; context supplies the emotional interpretation.
Ibu terus memikirkan anaknya yang belum pulang.
The mother keeps worrying about her child who has not come home.
Dipikirkan: the issue as patient
The patient-oriented counterpart dipikirkan places the issue, option, or consequence first. It is common when the thinker is generic, obvious, or less important.
Usulan itu perlu dipikirkan dengan matang sebelum disetujui.
That proposal needs to be thought through carefully before it is approved.
Dampak bagi warga sekitar belum dipikirkan oleh pengembang.
The impact on nearby residents has not yet been considered by the developer.
Masalah ini sudah kami pikirkan sejak awal tahun.
We have been thinking about this problem since the beginning of the year.
The last sentence uses first-person object voice kami pikirkan, not passive di-, because the patient is topical and the actor is a pronoun. Actual passive dipikirkan is written solid; locative di kantor is separate.
Terpikir: a thought arises
Terpikir presents an idea, possibility, or realization as coming into someone's mind without deliberate effort. It is frequent with tiba-tiba, pernah, and negated tidak/tak pernah.
Tiba-tiba terpikir oleh saya untuk memeriksa kotak surat.
It suddenly occurred to me to check the mailbox.
Tidak pernah terpikir bahwa jalan kecil itu menuju pantai.
It never occurred to me that the small road led to the beach.
Saat melihat foto itu, terpikir olehnya sebuah cara untuk membantu.
On seeing the photograph, a way to help occurred to him/her. (literary)
Tak terpikir sedikit pun bahwa rapat akan berakhir secepat itu.
It did not occur to me at all that the meeting would end so quickly.
The oleh + experiencer phrase is especially natural in careful or literary framing (formal/literary); everyday speech often uses saya tiba-tiba kepikiran... (informal). Kepikiran is common colloquially but should not replace terpikir automatically in formal prose.
Terpikirkan has a related abilitative/result meaning “conceivable/can be thought of,” especially under negation. It is not identical to spontaneous terpikir.
Tidak terpikirkan sebelumnya bahwa gedung itu dapat selesai dalam enam bulan.
It had not previously been conceivable that the building could be completed in six months.
Pikiran and pemikiran
Pikiran is the everyday noun for a thought, idea, mind, intention, or mental state. It readily takes possessive -nya and ordinary descriptive modifiers.
Pikiran saya sulit tenang setelah mendengar kabar itu.
My mind could not settle after hearing that news.
Ada satu pikiran yang terus mengganggunya sepanjang malam.
One thought kept troubling him/her throughout the night.
Rina berubah pikiran setelah membaca seluruh laporan.
Rina changed her mind after reading the whole report.
Pemikiran more often packages a process, body, framework, or product of thought. It is common in formal and academic discussion.
Tulisan itu membahas pemikiran tokoh pendidikan dari awal abad kedua puluh.
The article discusses the thought of an educational figure from the early twentieth century. (academic)
Kebijakan baru memerlukan pemikiran jangka panjang.
The new policy requires long-term thinking. (formal)
Ia menawarkan pemikiran baru tentang pengelolaan air kota.
He/She offers a new perspective on urban water management. (formal)
The distinction is a tendency, not a rigid countability rule. Satu pikiran mengganggu saya is an individual thought; pemikiran ekonomi seorang tokoh is a developed body or process of thought.
Common Mistakes
1. Giving berpikir a direct object
❌ Kami sedang berpikir masalah anggaran.
Incorrect — intransitive berpikir needs a topic preposition.
✅ Kami sedang berpikir tentang masalah anggaran.
We are thinking about the budget problem.
2. Doubling the memikirkan object with tentang
❌ Saya perlu memikirkan tentang tawaran itu.
Incorrectly doubled in careful Indonesian — memikirkan takes a direct object.
✅ Saya perlu memikirkan tawaran itu.
I need to think about that offer.
3. Using terpikir for deliberate concentration
❌ Tim terpikir masalah itu selama tiga jam dengan sengaja.
Incorrect — terpikir profiles a spontaneous thought, not sustained deliberate work.
✅ Tim memikirkan masalah itu selama tiga jam.
The team thought about that problem for three hours.
4. Confusing pikiran with an academic body of thought
❌ Disertasi itu menganalisis pikiran ekonomi tokoh tersebut secara menyeluruh.
Unnatural for a developed intellectual system in academic prose.
✅ Disertasi itu menganalisis pemikiran ekonomi tokoh tersebut secara menyeluruh.
The dissertation thoroughly analyzes that figure's economic thought. (academic)
5. Splitting passive di-
❌ Semua akibatnya harus di pikirkan sebelum bertindak.
Incorrect spelling — passive di- attaches to pikirkan.
✅ Semua akibatnya harus dipikirkan sebelum bertindak.
All the consequences must be considered before acting.
Key Takeaways
- Bare pikir is natural in saya pikir + clause, commands, and fixed expressions, but it is not a universal replacement for longer forms.
- Berpikir is intransitive cognition; memikirkan takes the focused issue as a direct object.
- Terpikir presents a spontaneous thought, while dipikirkan presents an issue under consideration.
- Pikiran is an everyday individual thought or mind; pemikiran often packages a process or developed body of thought (formal/academic).
- None of these forms inflects for person or tense; actual derivatives remain solid and aspect words remain separate.
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