suka and menyukai: Verb Family and Usage | Indonesian Grammar

Suka most often means “like,” but before an event it can also describe what regularly tends to happen. Menyukai is a transitive, object-focused verb, disukai is its passive counterpart, and kesukaan names a favorite or a liking. The crucial question is whether suka evaluates something positively or presents it as a recurring tendency.

No agreement and no tense endings

The form suka stays unchanged with every subject and time. Indonesian uses context, time expressions, and separate aspect words rather than English-style endings such as likes or liked.

Subject and time	Indonesian	English interpretation
I, now	saya suka kopi	I like coffee
she, in the past	dulu dia suka kopi	she used to like coffee
they, still now	mereka masih suka kopi	they still like coffee

Saya suka kopi tanpa gula setelah makan siang.

I like coffee without sugar after lunch.

Dulu Rani suka makanan pedas, tetapi sekarang tidak.

Rani used to like spicy food, but she doesn't now.

Anak-anak itu masih suka bermain di halaman pada sore hari.

Those children still like playing in the yard in the afternoon.

Suka is not an infinitive, and menyukai is not its “conjugated” form. They have different grammatical frames.

suka + noun: a preference

Before a noun, suka normally says that the subject has a positive preference for the referent. The noun follows directly; no equivalent of English “to” is required. Suka dengan is widespread in informal speech, especially with people or particular things, but direct suka + noun is the clean neutral pattern.

Bapak saya suka musik jazz dari tahun tujuh puluhan.

My father likes jazz music from the seventies.

Kamu suka warna yang mana untuk ruang tamu?

Which color do you like for the living room?

Saya kurang suka bagian akhir film itu.

I don't particularly like the ending of that film.

Dia suka dengan tetangga barunya.

She likes her new neighbor. (informal)

Kurang suka is a common polite softener: literally “like less,” it often means “not really like.” It sounds less blunt than tidak suka.

suka + verb: enjoying an activity

When the complement is an activity, suka + verb phrase usually means enjoying or liking that activity. Both predicates share the same subject.

Nenek suka membaca koran sambil minum teh.

Grandma likes reading the newspaper while drinking tea.

Kami suka berjalan kaki kalau cuacanya sejuk.

We like walking when the weather is cool.

Fajar tidak suka menunggu tanpa kepastian.

Fajar doesn't like waiting without certainty.

Mereka sangat suka mencoba resep baru bersama-sama.

They really like trying new recipes together.

Unlike English, Indonesian does not need a gerund or infinitive contrast after suka. The following verb simply keeps its ordinary form.

The other meaning: recurring tendency

With an event, especially one that is troublesome, characteristic, or repeated, suka can mean “tends to,” “often,” or “has a habit of.” The subject need not enjoy the event. Context, the kind of event, and sometimes intonation distinguish this reading from genuine liking.

Dia suka terlambat kalau rapat dimulai pagi-pagi.

He tends to be late when meetings start early.

Laptop lama ini suka mati sendiri saat terlalu panas.

This old laptop tends to shut itself off when it gets too hot. (informal)

Kalau gugup, saya suka lupa nama orang.

When I'm nervous, I tend to forget people's names. (informal)

Pintu belakang suka macet setelah hujan deras.

The back door tends to jam after heavy rain. (informal)

These sentences do not claim that a laptop enjoys shutting down or that a door enjoys jamming. A nonhuman subject makes the tendency reading unmistakable. With a human subject, compare neutral-frequency sering:

Dina sering datang terlambat karena busnya tidak teratur.

Dina often arrives late because her bus is unreliable.

Dina suka datang terlambat kalau tidak diingatkan.

Dina has a habit of arriving late unless reminded. (informal)

Sering counts recurrence neutrally. Tendency suka often presents the behavior as characteristic and may carry mild annoyance. It is common in conversation and informal writing; use sering or cenderung when a formal report requires a neutral description.

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When suka is followed by an event, ask: “Is this something the subject enjoys, or something that characteristically keeps happening?” A negative event or a nonhuman subject strongly favors the tendency reading.

menyukai: a transitive, object-focused verb

Menyukai takes a direct object. It is useful when the object is definite, elaborated, contrasted, or central to a careful statement. It is fully current, but often sounds more deliberate than everyday suka.

Saya menyukai cara dia menjelaskan masalah yang rumit.

I like the way she explains complicated problems.

Banyak pembaca menyukai tokoh utama yang tidak sempurna itu.

Many readers like that imperfect main character.

Manajer baru menyukai laporan yang singkat dan jelas.

The new manager likes reports that are brief and clear.

Anak kami menyukai kegiatan yang melibatkan air.

Our child likes activities involving water.

General formation of verbs in meN-...-i is covered under word formation. Here, learn the solid lexical form menyukai and its object-taking behavior. Do not choose it merely because English uses a finite verb “likes.”

disukai: the liked thing as pivot

The di- passive disukai makes the liked person or thing central. An agent can follow oleh, though it is often omitted when it is general or already known.

Menu baru itu langsung disukai pelanggan tetap.

Regular customers immediately liked the new menu.

Guru yang tegas tetapi adil biasanya disukai murid.

Teachers who are firm but fair are usually liked by students.

Lagu ini disukai oleh pendengar dari berbagai usia.

This song is liked by listeners of many ages.

Tempat yang paling disukai anak-anak ada di lantai dua.

The place the children like best is on the second floor.

Passive di- is attached in disukai. Locative di is separate in di lantai dua; the last example shows both spellings in one sentence.

kesukaan: favorites and personal preferences

Kesukaan is a noun. In everyday use it often identifies a favorite: makanan kesukaan is “favorite food,” literally “food of liking.” It can also name someone's particular taste or habitual preference.

Soto ayam adalah makanan kesukaan kakek.

Chicken soto is Grandpa's favorite food.

Apa warna kesukaan anakmu sekarang?

What is your child's favorite color now?

Bersepeda adalah kegiatan kesukaan mereka pada akhir pekan.

Cycling is their favorite weekend activity.

Kami memilih hadiah sesuai kesukaannya.

We chose a gift according to her preferences.

Write kesukaan, kesukaanku, and kesukaannya solid. These are established members of the family, not freely interchangeable with every English noun “liking.”

Use separate words around the family: sangat suka or suka sekali for strong liking, masih suka for continuing preference, and tidak lagi suka when it has ended. A state of liking normally does not need progressive sedang.

Saya suka sekali aroma roti yang baru dipanggang.

I really like the smell of freshly baked bread.

Dia sudah tidak lagi menyukai pekerjaan itu.

She no longer likes that job.

Kami masih suka datang ke warung kecil dekat stasiun itu.

We still like coming to that small food stall near the station.

Use mau or ingin for what someone wants to do, suka for what they enjoy or characteristically do, and cinta for much stronger affection or devotion. Suka duka (“joys and sorrows”) is an established fixed pairing; its suka is not the ordinary predicate frame described above.

Common Mistakes

Treating menyukai as the required finite form

❌ Setiap pagi saya menyukai membaca berita.

Incorrect — menyukai does not normally take a plain activity verb as its object.

✅ Setiap pagi saya suka membaca berita.

Every morning I like reading the news.

Reading tendency as enjoyment

❌ Dia suka terlambat berarti dia menikmati keterlambatan.

Incorrect interpretation — here suka can mark a recurring habit, not enjoyment.

✅ Dia suka terlambat kalau tidak memasang alarm.

He tends to be late if he doesn't set an alarm.

Separating the passive prefix

❌ Buku itu di sukai banyak remaja.

Incorrect — passive di- is attached to the verb.

✅ Buku itu disukai banyak remaja.

That book is liked by many teenagers.

Splitting an established derivative

❌ Ini makanan ke suka an adik saya.

Incorrect — kesukaan is one solid word.

✅ Ini makanan kesukaan adik saya.

This is my younger sibling's favorite food.

Using suka for an immediate request

❌ Saya suka memesan sup sekarang.

Wrong for the intended request — this means that ordering soup is my habit or preference.

✅ Saya ingin memesan sup sekarang.

I would like to order soup now.

Key Takeaways

Suka + noun/verb usually expresses preference or enjoyment, but before an event it can mark a recurring tendency.
Menyukai is transitive and object-focused; disukai makes that object the pivot.
Kesukaan is an established noun for a favorite or preference.
Forms do not change for person or tense, and aspect words remain separate.

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