Per- families often change a property or state into a two-participant event. Ruangannya besar describes one entity; arsitek memperbesar ruangan adds a causer and turns the room into an affected object. With satu, the larger per-...-kan pattern similarly introduces something that causes separate participants to form a unity.
The schema is productive only within limits. Actual usage depends on a larger active, passive, imperative, or suffixed template, on competition with meN-...-kan, and on lexicalized words such as memperoleh and mempelajari. Its shapes are treated on the per- formation page, and its semantic families on the per- meaning page.
From a property predicate to a transitive event
A gradable adjective normally forms a one-place predicate:
Ruang rapat itu cukup besar untuk tiga puluh orang.
That meeting room is large enough for thirty people.
When a licensed per- family is placed inside memper-, an actor or cause is added and the entity whose property changes becomes a direct object.
Arsitek memperbesar ruang rapat itu dengan menghapus sekat.
The architect enlarges that meeting room by removing a partition.
Tim desain memperpanjang meja agar semua peserta bisa duduk bersama.
The design team lengthens the table so all participants can sit together.
Sistem baru mempercepat pemeriksaan dokumen.
The new system speeds up document checks.
The basic valency pattern is causer + memper-verb + affected object. The causer can be a person, institution, tool, event, or abstract circumstance.
Hujan deras memperbesar risiko longsor di lereng itu.
Heavy rain increases the landslide risk on that slope.
Ketidakpastian memperpanjang proses negosiasi.
Uncertainty prolongs the negotiation process.
Passive and directive counterparts
Because the transparent causative verbs are transitive, their objects can become passive subjects.
Ruang rapat itu diperbesar tahun lalu.
That meeting room was enlarged last year.
Masa berlaku kartu ini dapat diperpanjang secara daring.
This card's validity period can be extended online. (formal)
Prosedur pemeriksaan dipercepat tanpa mengurangi ketelitian.
The inspection procedure was accelerated without reducing accuracy. (formal)
In a direct command, the inner per- stem can surface without meN-:
Perbesar hurufnya dua tingkat.
Increase the font size by two levels.
Perpanjang garis biru sampai batas halaman.
Extend the blue line to the page boundary.
This bare directive is especially natural in software instructions, editing, design, and technical procedures. It does not license bare perbesar as the neutral finite verb in every declarative clause.
The satu family requires a larger frame
With satu, current usage normally includes -kan: persatukan, mempersatukan, dipersatukan. The affected object may be plural, coordinated, or collective because it contains the entities brought into one whole.
Pemimpin baru itu berusaha mempersatukan dua kelompok yang berselisih.
The new leader tries to unite two groups that are in conflict.
Ketiga unit kerja dipersatukan di bawah satu direktorat.
The three work units were united under one directorate. (formal)
Persatukan semua catatan ini dalam satu berkas.
Combine all these notes into one file.
The endpoint phrase often uses dalam, menjadi, or di bawah: one system, one organization, or one authority. The verb itself already supplies the causative relation; do not add a separate English-style “make” verb.
Noun phrases built around per- clauses
The changed entity can head a relative clause, and the whole event can occur as a complement of a noun such as upaya, rencana, or keputusan.
Gambar yang diperbesar itu kehilangan ketajaman.
The enlarged image lost sharpness.
Kontrak yang diperpanjang kemarin masih menunggu tanda tangan direktur.
The contract extended yesterday is still awaiting the director's signature.
Upaya memperbesar kapasitas server akan dimulai bulan depan.
The effort to increase server capacity will begin next month. (formal)
Keputusan memperpanjang masa pendaftaran diumumkan melalui situs resmi.
The decision to extend the registration period was announced through the official website. (formal)
Gagasan mempersatukan ketiga organisasi itu mendapat dukungan luas.
The idea of uniting the three organizations received broad support.
Indonesian does not need an English-style infinitive marker before these verbal complements. Upaya memperbesar kapasitas is a noun phrase headed by upaya, with a verbal expression specifying the effort's content.
Competition with neighboring causatives
Membesarkan versus memperbesar
Both can mean “make bigger,” but lexical domains differ. Membesarkan anak conventionally means raise a child; memperbesar gambar means enlarge an image. Substitution can change the intended sense.
Mereka membesarkan tiga anak di rumah kecil itu.
They raised three children in that small house.
Mereka memperbesar foto anak-anak untuk dipajang di ruang keluarga.
They enlarged the children's photo to display in the family room.
Memperbesar anak would normally suggest increasing the child's represented or physical size, not raising the child through childhood.
Memanjangkan versus memperpanjang
Memanjangkan is natural for making a physical item or bodily feature longer; memperpanjang is especially conventional for duration, validity, routes, and institutional extensions. There is overlap, so noun–verb collocations matter more than a rigid physical/abstract rule.
Penjahit memanjangkan lengan baju itu dua sentimeter.
The tailor lengthens that sleeve by two centimeters.
Kantor imigrasi memperpanjang masa berlaku izin tinggalnya.
The immigration office extends the validity of her residence permit. (formal)
Menyatukan versus mempersatukan
Both mean “join/unite.” Menyatukan is broad and common for combining objects, files, colors, or people. Mempersatukan often foregrounds creating cohesion among previously separate parties and is frequent in formal, civic, and rhetorical language.
Aplikasi ini menyatukan beberapa berkas PDF menjadi satu.
This application combines several PDF files into one.
Pengalaman bersama itu mempersatukan warga setelah bencana.
That shared experience united the residents after the disaster.
The distinction is a lexical tendency, not an absolute ban. For data files, menyatukan usually sounds lighter; for national or social cohesion, mempersatukan is conventional.
Lexicalized frames
Some per-containing verbs have arguments that cannot be predicted from a property scale. Mempelajari takes a topic or body of material as its object. Memperoleh takes what is obtained. Memperlakukan takes the person or thing treated, often followed by a manner phrase with dengan or sebagai.
Mahasiswa mempelajari tiga teori sebelum menganalisis data.
The students study three theories before analyzing the data.
Tim memperoleh akses ke arsip setelah mengajukan izin.
The team obtained access to the archive after applying for permission.
Semua peserta harus diperlakukan dengan adil.
All participants must be treated fairly.
Perusahaan memperlakukan keluhan itu sebagai masukan penting.
The company treats the complaint as important feedback. (formal)
None is fully compositional from modern ajar, oleh, or laku plus a single general meaning of per-. Learn their complement frames just as you would learn the government of an English verb.
Formal and conversational distribution
Transparent memper- verbs are standard in all careful registers, but they are especially dense in administrative, academic, and technical prose. Conversation often uses bikin + lebih, tambah, a simple causative, or a lexical paraphrase.
Kebijakan tersebut memperbesar kapasitas layanan, memperpanjang masa operasional, dan mempersatukan tiga unit kerja dalam satu direktorat.
The policy increases service capacity, extends the operating period, and unites three work units in one directorate. (formal)
Aturan itu bikin kapasitasnya lebih besar, nambah masa bukanya, terus bikin tiga tim itu jadi satu.
That rule makes the capacity bigger, adds to the opening period, and then turns the three teams into one. (informal)
The informal paraphrase is intentionally analytic. It does not make memperbesar or memperpanjang “too formal” for speech; it shows a common conversational alternative when a compact derived verb feels bureaucratic.
Bisa dibesarin sedikit fotonya?
Could you make the photo a little bigger? (informal, colloquial -in form)
Dapatkah ukuran foto tersebut diperbesar sedikit?
Could the size of that photograph be increased slightly? (formal)
The colloquial dibesarin is a Jakarta-influenced (informal) form and is inappropriate as standard edited spelling outside represented dialogue.
Coining versus established productivity
Gradable meaning alone does not guarantee memper-. Standard Indonesian uses memperbaiki, not memperbaik. It also lists mempersenang, but in an ordinary sentence about an atmosphere speakers normally choose menyenangkan or membuat ... lebih menyenangkan. Some words require -kan or -i; others are restricted by collocation or select an analytic phrase.
Teknisi memperbaiki kabel yang putus.
The technician repairs the broken cable.
Musik yang pelan membuat suasana lebih menyenangkan.
The soft music makes the atmosphere more pleasant.
A dictionary entry is the beginning of usage analysis, not the end. Check whether the form is transitive, which object it selects, which suffix it contains, and whether it is limited to a specialist register.
Common Mistakes
1. Using the inner stem as a neutral finite active verb
❌ Perusahaan perbesar kapasitas gudang tahun lalu.
Incorrect in careful Standard Indonesian—the actor-oriented finite verb is memperbesar.
✅ Perusahaan memperbesar kapasitas gudang tahun lalu.
The company increased the warehouse capacity last year.
2. Adding a redundant causative verb
❌ Sistem baru membuat mempercepat pemeriksaan dokumen.
Incorrect double causative—mempercepat already means ‘cause to become faster.’
✅ Pembaruan itu mempercepat pemeriksaan dokumen.
That update speeds up document checks.
3. Treating a dictionary-listed derivative as freely interchangeable
❌ Musik itu mempersenang suasana restoran.
Marked in this context—mempersenang exists, but it is not the conventional collocation for making an atmosphere more pleasant.
✅ Musik itu membuat suasana restoran lebih menyenangkan.
The music makes the restaurant atmosphere more pleasant.
4. Joining free per in a distributive phrase
❌ Dokumen diperiksa satu persatu.
Incorrect spelling for ‘one by one’—free per must remain separate.
✅ Dokumen diperiksa satu per satu.
The documents are checked one by one.
5. Regularizing the exceptional ajar family
❌ Para peserta memperajari prosedur baru.
Incorrect—the established verb is mempelajari.
✅ Para peserta mempelajari prosedur baru.
The participants study the new procedure.
Key Takeaways
- Transparent per- families add a causer and an affected object to a property: besar → memperbesar ruang.
- Passive diper- and directive inner stems alternate with the actor-oriented memper- form.
- The satu family normally requires -kan and profiles integration into one whole.
- Neighboring causatives compete by collocation: membesarkan anak but memperbesar gambar.
- Lexicalized verbs such as mempelajari, memperoleh, and memperlakukan must be learned with their argument frames and register.
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Start learning Indonesian →Related Topics
- per-: Formation and AllomorphyC1 — Recognize restricted per- stems, their r-loss and exceptional pel- patterns, and the larger templates in which they normally surface.
- per-: Meanings and Derivational NetworkC1 — Interpret restricted per- stems across causative, unifying, numerical, and lexicalized families without confusing their homographs.
- memper-: Valency, Lexicalization, and RegisterB2 — Use memper- verbs with appropriate objects, established lexical families, competing causatives, and register-sensitive alternatives.
- diper-: Valency, Lexicalization, and RegisterC1 — Use diper- passives with natural agents, aspect markers, objects and complements, lexical families, and register-appropriate alternatives.
- Valency-Changing MorphologyB2 — See how Indonesian derivation adds, removes, and promotes participants through causative, applicative, reciprocal, middle, and ter- constructions.
- Standard Formal Written IndonesianB1 — Write clear standard Indonesian with EYD V spelling, explicit relations, purposeful nominalization, stable reference, and controlled sentence length.