The tulis family does more than distinguish “write” from “written.” Menulis presents an actor producing text, menuliskan profiles content put into written form or writing done for someone, and menulisi selects the surface that receives writing. The nouns tulisan, penulis, and penulisan then distinguish product, producer, and process.
This page explains those lexical frames. General nasal alternation and the broader meanings of -kan, -i, and peN- belong to the linked Word Formation pages.
One predicate form across persons and times
Indonesian verbs do not conjugate for person, number, or tense. Menulis remains menulis; a subject, time expression, or separate aspect word supplies the missing information.
| Context | Indonesian | Time cue |
|---|---|---|
| I, now | saya menulis surat | context |
| she, yesterday | kemarin dia menulis surat | kemarin |
| they, ongoing | mereka sedang menulis surat | sedang |
| we, future | besok kami akan menulis surat | besok, akan |
Saya menulis surat kepada pengelola gedung tadi malam.
I wrote a letter to the building manager last night.
Mereka sedang menulis laporan di ruang rapat.
They are writing a report in the meeting room.
Besok kami akan menulis surat balasan yang lebih singkat.
Tomorrow we will write a shorter reply.
English alternates write, writes, and wrote. Indonesian does not. Tulis is therefore not an infinitive, and menulis is not a tense-marked conjugation.
Bare tulis: commands and object voice
Bare tulis is natural in commands. It also appears after a first- or second-person actor when the written item has been placed first in object voice.
Tulis nama lengkapmu di kotak paling atas.
Write your full name in the top box.
Tolong tulis dengan huruf yang mudah dibaca.
Please write in legible handwriting.
Catatan ini saya tulis sebelum berangkat kerja.
I wrote this note before leaving for work.
Alamat itu harus kamu tulis persis seperti di kartu identitas.
You must write that address exactly as it appears on the identity card.
Actor-first bare saya tulis also occurs in conversation (informal). In careful actor-oriented prose, use saya menulis. These are voice and register choices, not tense differences.
menulis: produce a text or written content
Menulis takes the text, genre, words, or topic being written as its object. It may also be used without an overt object when the activity itself is central.
Nadia menulis artikel tentang transportasi umum.
Nadia is writing an article about public transportation.
Kakek masih menulis dengan pensil di buku catatan kecil.
Grandpa still writes with a pencil in a small notebook.
Wartawan itu menulis bahwa proyek tersebut terlambat enam bulan.
The journalist wrote that the project was six months late.
Setiap pagi ia menulis selama setengah jam sebelum membuka surel.
Every morning she writes for half an hour before opening her email.
The material surface usually appears in a prepositional phrase: menulis di kertas, menulis pada formulir, or menulis di papan. In this frame, the surface is not the direct object.
Anak-anak menulis puisi di kertas berwarna.
The children write poems on colored paper.
menuliskan: put content into writing
Menuliskan commonly profiles the content that is written down: a name, address, number, answer, message, or statement. Compared with plain menulis, it often highlights the completed written result or the act of recording specified content.
Petugas menuliskan alamat baru saya pada formulir pendaftaran.
The officer writes my new address on the registration form.
Bisakah Anda menuliskan nomor telepon yang dapat dihubungi?
Could you write down a telephone number where you can be reached?
Guru menuliskan tiga kata sulit di papan tulis.
The teacher writes three difficult words on the board.
Dokter menuliskan petunjuk pemakaian obat dengan jelas.
The doctor writes down the directions for using the medicine clearly.
Menuliskan can also describe producing a text for someone. The transparent pattern keeps the written content as object and expresses the beneficiary with untuk.
Sekretaris menuliskan ringkasan singkat untuk direktur.
The secretary writes a short summary for the director.
Saya menuliskan surat permohonan untuk tetangga yang sedang sakit.
I write an application letter for a neighbor who is ill.
Here -kan retains its content/result orientation; untuk independently identifies the beneficiary. The larger range of benefactive patterns is explained in the -kan guide.
menulisi: select the written-on surface
Menulisi makes a surface, object, or area covered with writing the direct object. The written content can follow with dengan or be supplied by context. This is the family's clearest surface-oriented form.
Para siswa menulisi papan dengan pesan perpisahan.
The students cover the board with farewell messages.
Seseorang menulisi dinding halte dengan cat merah.
Someone wrote all over the bus-stop wall in red paint.
Jangan menulisi meja perpustakaan dengan nama kalian.
Do not write your names all over the library tables.
Anak kecil itu menulisi seluruh halaman belakang buku resep.
The small child scribbled writing over the entire back page of the recipe book.
Compare the object choices:
Mira menulis slogan di papan kayu.
Mira writes a slogan on a wooden board.
Mira menuliskan slogan itu di papan kayu.
Mira writes that slogan down on a wooden board.
Mira menulisi papan kayu itu dengan berbagai slogan.
Mira covers that wooden board with various slogans.
The event may be similar, but menulis/menuliskan select written content while menulisi selects the receiving surface. The distributive or covering flavor of menulisi is lexical and cannot be predicted by substituting English “write.”
ditulis and other passive forms
Ditulis promotes the text or content selected by menulis. Dituliskan can promote recorded content, while ditulisi promotes the surface. Passive di- always attaches to the verb; locative di remains separate.
Laporan itu ditulis oleh dua peneliti muda.
The report was written by two young researchers.
Nomor darurat dituliskan di bagian belakang kartu.
The emergency number is written on the back of the card.
Papan pengumuman itu ditulisi pesan dari para peserta.
The noticeboard was covered with messages from the participants.
Cerita yang ditulis di Bandung itu kemudian diterbitkan di Jakarta.
The story written in Bandung was later published in Jakarta.
The final example contains attached passive ditulis and separate locative di Bandung and di Jakarta.
tulisan, penulis, and penulisan
These nouns divide the event into product, producer, and process.
| Form | Typical meaning | Perspective |
|---|---|---|
| tulisan | writing, written piece, handwriting | product or visible result |
| penulis | writer, author | producer |
| penulisan | writing process, spelling/formulation | process or manner |
Tulisan di papan itu terlalu kecil untuk dibaca dari belakang.
The writing on the board is too small to read from the back.
Penulis novel itu akan berdiskusi dengan pembaca sore ini.
The novelist will hold a discussion with readers this afternoon.
Penulisan laporan akhir memerlukan data yang lengkap.
Writing the final report requires complete data.
Periksa kembali penulisan nama jalan pada amplop.
Check the spelling of the street name on the envelope again.
Tulisan may be an article, an inscription, or handwriting; penulisan is not the finished article. These are established lexical members even though their morphology is regular.
Common Mistakes
Giving the base an English tense ending
❌ Kemarin dia tulis-ed pesan panjang kepada saya.
Incorrect — Indonesian bases never take an English past-tense ending.
✅ Kemarin dia menulis pesan panjang kepada saya.
Yesterday she wrote me a long message.
Selecting content with menulisi
❌ Sinta menulisi alamat baru di formulir.
Incorrect for simply writing down the address — menulisi selects the receiving surface.
✅ Sinta menuliskan alamat baru di formulir.
Sinta writes the new address on the form.
Selecting a surface with plain menuliskan
❌ Mereka menuliskan dinding dengan puluhan nama.
Incorrect for covering the wall with writing — the surface-oriented verb is menulisi.
✅ Mereka menulisi dinding itu dengan puluhan nama.
They cover that wall with dozens of names.
Separating passive di-
❌ Artikel itu di tulis pada tahun lalu.
Incorrect spelling — passive di- attaches to the verb.
✅ Artikel itu ditulis pada tahun lalu.
That article was written last year.
Confusing product and process nouns
❌ Saya membaca penulisan terbaru karya Dini.
Wrong noun for a finished piece — penulisan means the process or manner of writing.
✅ Saya membaca tulisan terbaru karya Dini.
I read Dini's latest piece.
Key Takeaways
- Menulis normally selects the text; menuliskan emphasizes specified content or a written result; menulisi selects a surface receiving writing.
- Bare tulis appears in commands and object voice, not as an infinitive.
- Tulisan, penulis, and penulisan profile product, producer, and process.
- Actual derivatives are solid, aspect words stay separate, and passive di- differs from locative di.
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