di-: Meanings and Derivational Network | Indonesian Grammar

The central meaning of di- is not “past” or even a fixed English phrase such as “is done.” It changes the voice of a verb: the affected participant becomes the clause's subject or topic, while the agent can be stated or left unspoken. This page maps that stable voice meaning onto the varied translations and lexical readings that arise in real contexts.

From an action to a patient-oriented event

Compare Rina membaca buku itu “Rina reads that book” with Buku itu dibaca Rina “That book is read by Rina.” The underlying event is the same: Rina is the reader and the book is what she reads. The difference is viewpoint. The active begins with the agent; the di- passive begins with the patient.

Rina membaca buku itu setiap malam.

Rina reads that book every night.

Buku itu dibaca Rina setiap malam.

That book is read by Rina every night.

Petugas memeriksa semua tas di pintu masuk.

The officers inspect all bags at the entrance.

Semua tas diperiksa di pintu masuk.

All bags are inspected at the entrance.

The agent is optional because a passive is useful precisely when the patient matters more. It may be unknown, already obvious, deliberately withheld, or irrelevant to the message. If an agent is expressed, a bare third-person noun can immediately follow the verb, or oleh can introduce it. Oleh is especially useful with a longer agent phrase and in careful (formal) prose.

Dompet saya ditemukan di halte.

My wallet was found at the bus stop.

Jadwalnya sudah diubah.

The schedule has already been changed.

Surat ini ditulis oleh kepala sekolah.

This letter was written by the principal.

Usulan tersebut disetujui oleh mayoritas anggota dewan.

The proposal was approved by a majority of council members. (formal)

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The omitted agent is not a vague grammatical “someone” that must be translated. It is simply outside the speaker's chosen frame. Translate the sentence in whatever way preserves that information structure naturally.

Four common root families

The prefix does not replace the base meaning. It presents that meaning from the affected participant's side. Nevertheless, each base can have several related senses, and the object often selects the intended one.

Base	di- form	Core range	Contextual extension
baca	dibaca	be read	be interpreted, be legible
tulis	ditulis	be written	be authored, entered, recorded
ambil	diambil	be taken	be collected, selected, photographed
kirim	dikirim	be sent	be dispatched, transmitted, submitted

Tulisan kecil itu sulit dibaca tanpa kacamata.

That small print is hard to read without glasses.

Dalam laporan itu, penurunan penjualan dibaca sebagai tanda melemahnya permintaan.

In the report, the decline in sales is interpreted as a sign of weakening demand. (formal)

Nomor pesanan harus ditulis di kolom paling atas.

The order number must be entered in the top field.

Novel itu ditulis ketika pengarangnya tinggal di Makassar.

The novel was written while its author was living in Makassar.

Paketnya sudah diambil kurir.

The package has already been collected by the courier.

Foto ini diambil dari balkon hotel.

This photo was taken from the hotel balcony.

Dua nama diambil secara acak dari daftar peserta.

Two names were selected at random from the participant list.

Dokumen akan dikirim melalui surel.

The document will be sent by email.

Berkas itu harus dikirim sebelum Jumat sore.

That file must be submitted before Friday afternoon.

There is therefore no one-to-one English translation for di-. Diambil can correspond to “was taken,” “has been picked up,” “is selected,” or “was photographed.” That variation comes from the base, the object, aspect, and situation—not from a different hidden version of the prefix.

Voice without tense or person agreement

English passive clauses use a form of be plus a participle, and be changes for tense and subject: “is sent,” “was sent,” “were sent.” Indonesian di- does none of that. Dikirim remains unchanged with singular and plural subjects, past and future reference, and any agent.

Time comes from context or from words such as sudah “already,” sedang “in progress,” baru “just,” and akan “will.” Modal words also remain separate: harus dibaca “must be read,” bisa diambil “can be collected.”

Pesan itu dibaca setiap pagi.

That message is read every morning.

Pesan itu sudah dibaca tadi pagi.

That message was read this morning.

Pesan itu sedang dibaca sekarang.

That message is being read now.

Pesan itu akan dibaca besok.

That message will be read tomorrow.

Satu paket dikirim hari ini, dan tiga paket dikirim besok.

One package is sent today, and three packages are sent tomorrow.

Formulir ini harus diisi dengan tinta hitam.

This form must be filled out in black ink.

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Do not search inside di- for English tense. First identify the passive viewpoint, then use aspect words and context to decide between “is,” “was,” “has been,” or “will be” in translation.

Conventional and partly lexicalized readings

The passive schema is productive, but frequent di- words develop conventional combinations that English may translate with an adjective or another verb. Dikenal sebagai means “be known as,” dianggap means “be considered,” disebut means “be called/mentioned,” and dimaksud in yang dimaksud means “what is meant/intended.” They still place the entity being known, considered, named, or intended at the center.

Kota itu dikenal sebagai pusat kerajinan perak.

The city is known as a center of silver craftsmanship.

Masalah ini dianggap selesai setelah kedua pihak berdamai.

This matter is considered settled after the two sides reconcile.

Nama perusahaan itu tidak disebut dalam laporan.

The company's name is not mentioned in the report.

Apa yang dimaksud dengan biaya tambahan?

What is meant by an additional fee?

These meanings cannot always be predicted by replacing di- with English “be + past participle.” Learn the frequent collocation together with its complements: dikenal sebagai, dianggap penting, disebut dalam, dimaksud dengan. The formation page explains how to recover their bases; a dictionary then shows which senses are conventional.

Common Mistakes

Treating di- as past tense

❌ Besok paket itu dikirim kemarin.

Incorrect — di- does not itself express past time, and the time phrases conflict.

✅ Besok paket itu akan dikirim.

The package will be sent tomorrow.

Adding an English-style passive auxiliary

❌ Surat itu adalah ditulis oleh Dina.

Incorrect — Indonesian does not put adalah before a di- passive verb.

✅ Surat itu ditulis oleh Dina.

The letter was written by Dina.

Changing the verb for a plural patient

❌ Dua formulir itu diisis karena subjeknya jamak.

Incorrect — di- verbs do not agree with a plural subject.

✅ Dua formulir itu diisi oleh petugas.

The two forms were filled out by the officer.

Forcing the most literal base translation

❌ Foto ini diambil berarti foto ini dibawa pergi.

Incorrect interpretation — with foto, diambil normally means ‘taken’ as a photograph.

✅ Foto ini diambil di Pantai Sanur.

This photo was taken at Sanur Beach.

Separating the prefix as though it were locative di

❌ Nama tamu di tulis di buku ini.

Incorrect — the first di- is the passive prefix and must be attached.

✅ Nama tamu ditulis di buku ini.

The guests' names are written in this book.

Key Takeaways

Di- gives the patient or affected participant the central grammatical viewpoint; the agent may be stated or omitted.
The prefix marks voice, not tense, aspect, number, or person. Those meanings come from separate words and context.
Each base contributes its own semantic range, so diambil and other forms require contextual translation.
Frequent combinations such as dikenal sebagai and dimaksud dengan are part of the lexical network and should be learned as collocations.

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