Choose -kan when an established family privileges a transferred, caused-moving, or result theme; choose -i when the paired family privileges a recipient, goal, container, or surface. Then choose actor voice, di- passive, or pronoun-agent object voice according to the participant already central in discourse. The two decisions interact, but they are not the same: suffix selects an argument frame, while voice decides what the clause is about.
This page is a decision guide. Review formation and argument diagnostics before using it as a production checklist.
First decision: transferred theme or recipient?
Tara mengirimkan laporan akhir kepada Rina sore ini.
Tara sends the final report to Rina this afternoon.
Tara mengirimi Rina laporan akhir sore ini.
Tara sends Rina the final report this afternoon.
The first clause makes laporan akhir the direct object. It is natural when the report is being tracked: perhaps its contents, deadline, or delivery status matter. The second makes Rina the direct object. It is natural when Rina's receipt, response, or inclusion matters.
Laporan itu dikirimkan kepada Rina, lalu diarsipkan secara otomatis.
The report was sent to Rina and then archived automatically.
Rina dikirimi laporan itu, lalu diminta memeriksa lampirannya.
Rina was sent the report and then asked to check its attachments.
Formally possible alternatives are not pragmatically interchangeable: the continuations reveal different topics.
Second decision: moving content or affected container?
Petugas memasukkan arsip lama ke kotak tahan air.
The officer puts old records into a waterproof box.
Petugas memenuhi kotak tahan air itu dengan arsip lama.
The officer fills that waterproof box with old records.
Memasukkan profiles caused motion: the records move into a goal. Memenuhi profiles the resulting condition of the box: its capacity becomes occupied. One box need not become full merely because one record is inserted.
Petugas memasukkan satu map ke kotak yang masih kosong.
The officer puts one folder into a box that is still empty.
Petugas memenuhi tiga kotak dengan seluruh arsip tahun lalu.
The officer fills three boxes with all of last year's records.
Use mengisi kotak dengan arsip in ordinary container-filling contexts when memenuhi would overemphasize fullness. Lexical collocation and intended result matter alongside the broad suffix pattern.
Two nearest choices: bare/prepositional and alternate suffix
Before choosing either suffix, check whether a bare verb plus preposition is more natural.
Kami mengirim paket kepada Rina melalui layanan biasa.
We send a package to Rina by regular service.
Kami mengirimkan paket kepada Rina melalui layanan kilat.
We send the package to Rina by express service.
Bare mengirim and mengirimkan overlap substantially in ordinary transfer. Do not invent a categorical nuance every time -kan appears.
For movement, the choice can be sharper:
Para pekerja masuk ke gudang setelah pintunya dibuka.
The workers go into the warehouse after its door is opened.
Para pekerja memasuki gudang untuk memeriksa atap.
The workers enter the warehouse to inspect the roof.
Para pekerja memasukkan tangga ke gudang sebelum hujan.
The workers put a ladder into the warehouse before the rain.
Bare masuk ke profiles motion toward a goal, memasuki makes the warehouse a visited/entered object, and memasukkan adds a causer and selects the ladder as moving theme.
Content or surface in writing and filling
Maya menuliskan alamat pengirim pada sudut kiri amplop.
Maya writes the sender's address in the left corner of the envelope.
Maya menulisi amplop itu dengan catatan kecil dan gambar bunga.
Maya covers the envelope with small notes and flower drawings.
Staf mengisikan nomor pelanggan ke kolom paling atas.
The staff member enters the customer number into the top field.
Staf mengisi kolom paling atas dengan nomor pelanggan.
The staff member fills the top field with the customer number.
-Kan selects written or entered content; -i selects the affected surface or container. Distributed coverage is common with menulisi, but not obligatory for every -i verb.
Third decision: actor, third-person patient, or pronominal-agent object voice?
Once the lexical frame is selected, voice controls topicality.
Bagian hukum mengirimkan surat itu kepada Rina.
The legal department sends that letter to Rina.
Surat itu dikirimkan oleh bagian hukum kepada Rina.
That letter is sent by the legal department to Rina.
Surat itu sudah kami kirimkan kepada Rina.
We have sent that letter to Rina.
The same three-way choice applies to recipient-oriented -i:
Bagian hukum mengirimi Rina surat penjelasan.
The legal department sends Rina an explanatory letter.
Rina dikirimi surat penjelasan oleh bagian hukum.
Rina is sent an explanatory letter by the legal department.
Rina sudah kami kirimi surat penjelasan.
We have sent Rina an explanatory letter.
Actor voice tracks the department; di- passive tracks a theme or recipient with a third-person actor; object voice tracks that same nonactor while placing kami before the bare derived stem.
Definiteness and animacy
Recipient objects are normally animate or institutionally construed as addressees, but identifiability is only a discourse tendency.
Sistem mengirimi setiap pemohon pesan pengingat.
The system sends every applicant a reminder message.
Petugas mengirimi seorang saksi salinan laporan.
The officer sends a witness a copy of the report.
Animacy is not a restriction on -i objects as a whole. Marked-target and container frames naturally select inanimate objects:
Petugas menandai setiap kotak dengan nomor urut.
The officer marks each box with a serial number.
Theme objects under -kan can be animate or inanimate.
Panitia mendatangkan dua penerjemah dari Bandung.
The committee brings in two interpreters from Bandung.
Panitia memasukkan dua meja tambahan ke ruang rapat.
The committee puts two additional tables into the meeting room.
Recipients, containers, and surfaces therefore show that animacy follows the selected semantic role rather than the suffix by itself.
One administrative event in three genres
The same episode involves sending Rina a letter and packing evidence into a box. Genre and topicality alter the preferred packaging.
Dialogue
A: Surat untuk Rina sudah dikirim? B: Sudah. Aku sudah mengirimi Rina surat itu; sekarang lagi memasukkan barang bukti ke kotak.
A: Has Rina's letter been sent? B: Yes. I've sent Rina that letter; now I'm putting the evidence into a box. (informal dialogue)
The answer tracks Rina as recipient, then the evidence as the actor's current task.
News sentence
Surat pemberitahuan dikirimkan kepada Rina, sedangkan kotak penyimpanan dipenuhi dengan barang bukti yang telah diperiksa.
A notification letter was sent to Rina, while the storage box was filled with evidence that had been examined. (news style)
The report tracks official documents and the condition of the storage box, suppressing actors.
Personal narrative
Pagi itu saya mengirimkan surat kepada Rina, memasukkan barang bukti pertama ke kotak, lalu memenuhi kotak itu dengan berkas sampai penutupnya sulit dipasang.
That morning I sent a letter to Rina, put the first piece of evidence into a box, then filled the box with files until its lid was hard to close. (narrative)
The narrative makes the insertion-versus-fullness contrast explicit. A single moving item motivates memasukkan; the later achieved capacity motivates memenuhi.
Compact decision guide
- Verify that the root has the derivative you intend.
- Ask whether the event privileges a transferred/caused theme (-kan) or a recipient/location/container/surface (-i).
- Check whether a bare verb or analytic phrase is more conventional.
- Choose actor, passive, or object voice for the participant already central in discourse.
- Read the next clause: topic continuity should support the choice.
Common Mistakes
Choosing from English word order alone
❌ Karena bahasa Inggris dapat mengatakan ‘send Rina a letter’, mengirimkan Rina surat pasti benar.
Incorrect analysis — English order does not license the Indonesian -kan frame.
✅ Bagian arsip mengirimi Rina surat tentang dokumen yang hilang.
The archives department sends Rina a letter about the missing document.
Treating insertion and fullness as identical
❌ Memasukkan satu map selalu berarti memenuhi seluruh kotak.
Incorrect interpretation — one insertion need not fill the container.
✅ Petugas memasukkan satu map ke kotak yang hampir kosong.
The officer puts one folder into the nearly empty box.
Keeping the wrong passive subject
❌ Rina dikirimkan surat oleh kantor pusat.
Incorrect for recipient-centered passive in this contrast.
✅ Rina dikirimi surat oleh kantor pusat mengenai perubahan jadwal.
Rina was sent a letter by headquarters about the schedule change.
Assuming an -i recipient must be definite
❌ Mengirimi seorang pelanggan pesan tidak gramatikal karena pelanggannya belum dikenal.
Incorrect — indefinite recipient objects are possible.
✅ Sistem mengirimi seorang pelanggan pesan percobaan.
The system sends a customer a test message.
Assuming every formal alternative has the same focus
❌ ‘Surat dikirimkan kepada Rina’ dan ‘Rina dikirimi surat’ selalu mempunyai topik yang sama.
Incorrect analysis — the clauses privilege different participants.
✅ Rina dikirimi surat, lalu segera menelepon pengirimnya.
Rina was sent a letter and then immediately called its sender.
Key Takeaways
- Select the suffix by the affected participant: theme-oriented -kan versus target/recipient-oriented -i.
- Compare each suffix with bare and prepositional alternatives; apparent pairs may overlap or differ lexically.
- After choosing the lexical frame, voice selects the discourse pivot.
- Definiteness and animacy follow discourse and semantic roles, not mechanical suffix restrictions.
- Formally grammatical alternatives differ in topicality, event construal, and natural continuation.
Now practice Indonesian
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Indonesian →Related Topics
- -kan versus -i: Overview and FormationB2 — Recognize how -kan and -i select different affected participants in transfer, caused-motion, container, and surface-oriented lexical families.
- -kan versus -i: Subjects, Objects, and Argument OrderB2 — Track theme, recipient, moving object, and affected container across actor voice, passive, pronoun-agent object voice, pronouns, and omission.
- -kan versus -i: Aspect, Modality, and NegationC1 — Place temporal, modal, and negative particles before unchanged -kan and -i predicates while preserving object selection and lexical aspect.
- Choosing Voice Across a Discourse: Choosing This ConstructionC1 — Choose actor voice, di- passive, object voice, or ter- by tracking the participant that each clause and larger discourse keeps prominent.
- -kan Valency Patterns: Choosing This ConstructionB2 — Choose -kan and its voice according to the participant added by the lexical frame and the actor, beneficiary, or theme that anchors the discourse.
- -i Applicative Patterns: Choosing This ConstructionB2 — Choose -i when a goal, recipient, container, or target deserves object status, then select actor, passive, or object voice for the discourse topic.