The strings di and di- sound alike, but they do different grammatical jobs. The preposition di means “at, in, or on” and is written as a separate word before a place expression. The passive prefix di- attaches to a verb root and is written as part of that verb. Writing dirumah or di baca is therefore more than a spacing slip: it shows that the writer has misanalysed the following word.
This page gives practical tests for repairing that analysis. It does not reproduce the full Malay passive paradigm; the aim is to decide whether the form expresses location or a passive event and then spell it accordingly.
The broader voice pattern is covered in the di- passive and object voice; here spelling is used as a quick window into the analysis.
The core contrast
| Form | Job | What follows | Spelling |
|---|---|---|---|
| di | locative preposition | a place or spatial expression | separate: di rumah |
| di- | passive prefix | a verb root | attached: dibaca |
Aina menunggu di luar pejabat.
Aina is waiting outside the office.
Laporan itu dibaca oleh pengurus.
The report was read by the manager.
In the first sentence, di luar pejabat answers “where?” In the second, dibaca reports what happened to the report. Pronunciation does not reliably signal the written boundary, so meaning and syntax must do the work.
Test 1: can it answer di mana?
Separate di introduces a location. It commonly precedes a place noun, a demonstrative place word, or a spatial relational expression:
Kami berjumpa di stesen selepas kerja.
We met at the station after work.
Letakkan bungkusan itu di situ.
Put that parcel there.
Kucing itu tidur di bawah meja makan.
The cat is sleeping under the dining table.
The units are di stesen, di situ, and di bawah meja makan. Expressions such as di dalam, di atas, di hadapan, di belakang, di sebelah, and di antara keep the space because the first word remains a preposition.
One useful check is to replace di with another directional preposition. If di pejabat “at the office” can become ke pejabat “to the office” or dari pejabat “from the office,” the separate spelling is confirmed.
Dia berada di pejabat, kemudian pergi ke bank dari situ.
She was at the office, then went to the bank from there.
❌ Mereka menunggu dirumah jiran.
Incorrect — rumah jiran is a location, not a verb root.
✅ Mereka menunggu di rumah jiran.
They are waiting at the neighbour's house.
Test 2: can it be an event with an agent?
Attached di- forms the standard third-person passive with a verb root. The patient or affected item normally comes before the verb, and an agent may follow, often with oleh in formal or explicit wording.
Surat itu ditulis oleh ketua jabatan.
The letter was written by the head of department.
Pintu belakang sudah dikunci.
The back door has already been locked.
Semua permohonan akan diperiksa minggu depan.
All applications will be checked next week.
The verbal roots are tulis, kunci, and periksa. Prefixing di- yields the single words ditulis, dikunci, and diperiksa. Unlike meN-, di- does not trigger nasal substitution in the root, so the spelling test is especially transparent.
Try changing the passive into an active clause. Laporan itu dibaca oleh pengurus corresponds to Pengurus membaca laporan itu. If such an event contrast makes sense, attached di- is likely.
❌ Dokumen ini mesti di baca sebelum mesyuarat.
Incorrect — baca is a verb root and di- marks a passive event.
✅ Dokumen ini mesti dibaca sebelum mesyuarat.
This document must be read before the meeting.
Attached does not always mean the whole phrase is one word
The prefix attaches to the first verbal base even when other material follows. Derived verbs remain single words: tandatangan becomes ditandatangani, and ketepikan becomes diketepikan. A multiword lexical expression can retain an internal space after the prefixed verb: kemas kini gives dikemas kini, not di kemas kini or dikemaskini.
Perjanjian itu ditandatangani oleh kedua-dua pihak semalam.
The agreement was signed by both parties yesterday.
Maklumat pelanggan akan dikemas kini setiap bulan.
Customer information will be updated every month.
This distinction prevents a second overcorrection. Learning that passive di- attaches does not authorize deleting every later space in a verb phrase. Identify the lexical base and attach the prefix exactly where morphology requires it.
The same principle applies when an adverb follows: tidak dibaca dengan teliti keeps dibaca together but leaves dengan teliti as its own phrase. Orthographic attachment marks the prefix-root word, not the entire predicate.
Why sound cannot settle the question
In natural speech, di rumah and the opening of a word such as dirawat may both flow without a noticeable pause. Malay spelling represents grammatical word structure, not a pause after every written space. Typing what you think you hear will therefore produce inconsistent results.
Context can even place a locative di immediately before a passive verb phrase while an omitted noun is understood:
Fail yang di atas meja itu sudah disemak.
The file on the table has already been checked.
Here di atas meja is spatial and separate, whereas disemak is one passive verb. Both uses belong in the same sentence, and only analysis distinguishes them.
Digital (informal) writing sometimes drops spaces carelessly, but dirumah is not an accepted colloquial alternative in Standard Malaysian Rumi. The same spelling standard applies in messages, essays, reports, and examination answers.
ke follows the same kind of distinction
The directional preposition ke “to, toward” is separate before a destination: ke sekolah, ke utara, ke dalam bilik. The prefix ke- is attached inside derived or lexical words such as ordinal kedua “second” and nouns with ke-...-an, such as keputusan “decision.”
Selepas sarapan, kami berjalan ke pasar.
After breakfast, we walked to the market.
Pasukan kami mendapat tempat kedua.
Our team came in second place.
❌ Bas itu bergerak kepusat bandar pada pukul tujuh.
Incorrect — pusat bandar is the destination of the separate preposition ke.
✅ Bas itu bergerak ke pusat bandar pada pukul tujuh.
The bus heads to the city centre at seven.
Do not turn the parallel into a false rule that every attached ke- is passive; Malay ke- has its own derivational functions. The useful parallel is orthographic: prepositions before place phrases are separate, while genuine prefixes belong to their word.
Mixed paragraph editing
The following office message mixes both errors. Diagnose each following element rather than applying one global search-and-replace.
❌ Borang itu perlu di isi dirumah, kemudian di hantar kepejabat cawangan. Salinan ke dua akan di simpan diatas meja penyelia.
Incorrect paragraph — passive prefixes have been separated, while place prepositions have been attached; the ordinal is also split.
✅ Borang itu perlu diisi di rumah, kemudian dihantar ke pejabat cawangan. Salinan kedua akan disimpan di atas meja penyelia.
The form must be completed at home, then sent to the branch office. The second copy will be kept on the supervisor's desk.
The repairs follow three analyses:
- diisi, dihantar, and disimpan are passive events, so di- attaches.
- di rumah, ke pejabat, and di atas meja are location or direction phrases, so the preposition remains separate.
- kedua is an ordinal built with the prefix ke-, so it is one word.
Common Mistakes
Attaching di to a place noun
❌ Telefon saya tertinggal didalam kereta.
Incorrect — dalam kereta is a spatial expression.
✅ Telefon saya tertinggal di dalam kereta.
I left my phone in the car.
Separating a passive prefix
❌ Mesyuarat itu akan di tangguhkan hingga Isnin.
Incorrect — tangguhkan is the verb base of a passive event.
✅ Mesyuarat itu akan ditangguhkan hingga Isnin.
The meeting will be postponed until Monday.
Assuming an agent makes oleh compulsory
The spacing rule and the agent rule are separate. Oleh is especially useful in (formal) prose or with a longer agent, but attached di- remains attached whether or not an agent is expressed.
❌ Makanan itu di sediakan pihak hotel.
Incorrect spacing — omission of oleh does not detach the passive prefix.
✅ Makanan itu disediakan pihak hotel.
The food was prepared by the hotel.
Using pronunciation as proof
❌ Pesakit itu di rawat dihospital daerah.
Incorrect — pronunciation does not license separating passive di- or attaching locative di.
✅ Pesakit itu dirawat di hospital daerah.
The patient was treated at the district hospital.
In the corrected sentence, dirawat is the passive verb “was treated,” while di hospital daerah gives the location.
Key Takeaways
- Write locative di separately before a place expression: di rumah, di situ, di atas meja.
- Attach passive di- to its verb root: dibaca, dihantar, diperiksa.
- Meaning and syntax reveal the boundary; pronunciation usually does not.
- The directional preposition ke is separate, while genuine prefixed forms such as kedua are attached.
- A spacing mistake here is a useful warning: reanalyse the following word as a place phrase or a verb before correcting it.
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Start learning Malay →Related Topics
- di-: Formation and Allomorphy in Malaysian MalayA1 — Form passive di- verbs with stable spelling and use spacing to distinguish the prefix from the locative preposition di.
- di- Passive versus Object Voice in Malaysian MalayB1 — Choose di- passive or bare-verb object voice from the actor type, patient prominence, and information structure.
- di versus ke versus dari in Malaysian MalayA1 — Choose di for a setting, ke for a destination, and dari for a source while keeping locative words separate from attached affixes.
- Locative Sentences in Malaysian MalayA1 — How Malay states where someone or something is with a prepositional predicate, with or without ada.
- Misplacing Passive Agents in Malaysian MalayB1 — Place passive agents naturally by choosing an adjacent bare agent, an oleh phrase, or first- and second-person object voice.