The label ber-...-kan describes a restricted Malaysian Malay construction found in berdasarkan bukti “be based on evidence,” bersenjatakan pedang “be armed with a sword,” and bermodalkan simpanan “use savings as capital.” The base names a role—basis, weapon, capital—and the noun phrase after the derived word identifies what fills that role.
This page explains the template, surface spelling, and recovery of the base. The meaning page develops the semantic network, while the usage page handles complements, competing constructions, and register. The crucial formal point is that final -kan belongs to the restricted whole construction; it is not the freely productive causative -kan simply attached after an ordinary ber- verb.
The canonical two-part template
A useful analysis is ber- + nominal base + -kan, followed by a complement that supplies the value of the base. The analytical hyphens reveal the parts; normal Rumi joins the actual word solidly.
| Base | Analytical segmentation | Written form | Typical frame |
|---|---|---|---|
| dasar “basis” | ber- + dasar + -kan | berdasarkan | berdasarkan bukti |
| senjata “weapon” | ber- + senjata + -kan | bersenjatakan | bersenjatakan pedang |
| modal “capital” | ber- + modal + -kan | bermodalkan | bermodalkan simpanan |
| anggota “member” | ber- + anggota + -kan | beranggotakan | beranggotakan sembilan orang |
| alas “mat/base” | ber- + alas + -kan | beralaskan | beralaskan tikar |
Beranggotakan and beralaskan are two further established formations, not forms invented merely to complete a table. In each row, the base is preserved in the written derivative: dasar, senjata, modal, anggota, and alas remain visible.
Keputusan itu dibuat berdasarkan bukti yang dapat disahkan.
The decision was made on the basis of verifiable evidence. (formal)
Pengawal istana itu bersenjatakan tombak.
The palace guard was armed with a spear.
Mereka memulakan perniagaan bermodalkan simpanan keluarga.
They started the business using family savings as capital.
Jawatankuasa tersebut beranggotakan sembilan orang.
That committee consists of nine members. (formal)
Kami tidur beralaskan tikar mengkuang malam itu.
We slept on woven pandan mats that night.
The actual word is written solid
Hyphens, plus signs, and brackets are tools of linguistic analysis. They do not appear inside an ordinary lowercase derivative. Write berdasarkan, not ber-dasar-kan; bersenjatakan, not ber senjata kan; and bermodalkan, not bermodal kan.
Laporan itu disusun berdasarkan rekod kewangan tahun lalu.
The report was prepared on the basis of last year’s financial records. (formal)
Pasukan itu hanya bersenjatakan kayu dan buluh.
The group was armed only with sticks and bamboo.
Usaha kecil itu bermodalkan sebuah mesin jahit lama.
That small business used an old sewing machine as its capital.
English encourages learners to see several separate function words in phrases such as “armed with” or “on the basis of.” Malay packages the role into one derived predicate, then places its value after that predicate. The result is one orthographic word plus a complement, not three written pieces.
Restricted ber- surface behavior
The left edge follows the ordinary ber- family. Before most bases, it appears as ber-, as in all five core rows. Before an r-initial base, the prefix-final r and root-initial r are not written as a doubled rr; only one r appears at their boundary. The established berumahkan “use something as a home” illustrates this behavior:
| Base | Morphological analysis | Surface form | What remains visible? |
|---|---|---|---|
| rumah | be- + rumah + -kan | berumahkan | the initial r of rumah |
Dalam hikayat itu, pengembara tersebut berumahkan gua dan beratapkan langit.
In the tale, the wanderer makes a cave his home and the sky his roof. (literary)
The analysis does not delete the root’s r. It says that the prefix has its conditioned be- surface shape at this boundary. Nor does this create a freely selectable prefix be-; learners should still look up the established word.
The high-frequency exceptional forms bekerja and belajar belong to the broader ber- system, but they do not supply productive models for this construction. There is no reason to turn a new ber-...-kan candidate into be-...-kan or bel-...-kan by analogy.
The suffix does not cause nasal replacement or root deletion
Unlike meN-, this template has no productive nasal substitution at the beginning of the base. Unlike some learners’ imagined “smoothing” rule, final -kan does not remove a base-final consonant. Compare every recoverable base:
| Surface segment | Recovered base | Preserved letters |
|---|---|---|
| -dasar- in berdasarkan | dasar | both final a-r |
| -senjata- in bersenjatakan | senjata | the complete base |
| -modal- in bermodalkan | modal | final l |
| -anggota- in beranggotakan | anggota | the complete base |
| -alas- in beralaskan | alas | final s |
Forms such as bermodakan or berdasakan are spelling errors, not allomorphs. The root category and lexical entry, rather than a consonant-deletion calculation, identify the word.
Why this is not ordinary causative -kan
Ordinary verbal -kan often introduces causation, transfer, or a beneficiary in a transitive active family: menjatuhkan pasu “make the pot fall,” for example. The final -kan in bersenjatakan pedang does not mean “cause to be armed,” and berdasarkan data does not mean “cause data to become a basis.” Instead, the complete template licenses a complement whose semantic role is named by the base.
Rumah batu itu beratapkan genting tanah liat.
That brick house has clay tiles as its roof.
Here genting tanah liat fills the “roof” role named by atap. The subject rumah batu itu is not causing the tiles to roof something. Compare the transitive active clause:
Pekerja itu memasang genting tanah liat pada bumbung rumah.
The worker installed clay tiles on the house roof.
The second sentence introduces an actor and an affected location. It is a different valency pattern, not a longer paraphrase created by stripping ber- from beratapkan.
Root-category and lexical restrictions
The clearest members use nominal bases that name a relational role: dasar, senjata, modal, anggota, alas, atap, teras, and rumah. This common category explains why a following noun phrase can specify “what counts as the basis/weapon/capital/etc.” It does not mean every noun freely enters the template.
Berteraskan nilai bersama “having shared values as its core” and beratapkan rumbia “having thatch as its roof” are established. By contrast, a learner cannot safely coin berkomputerkan lima komputer to mean “be equipped with five computers.” Malaysian Malay uses a transparent predicate such as dilengkapi dengan lima buah komputer.
Program itu berteraskan nilai saling menghormati.
The programme is founded on the value of mutual respect. (formal)
Makmal itu dilengkapi dengan lima buah komputer baharu.
The laboratory is equipped with five new computers.
This restriction is genuinely lexical. Meaning can make a candidate understandable without making it conventional.
Finding the base in a dictionary
A Malaysian dictionary may list the complete derivative and group it with its base family. Search berdasarkan and dasar, bersenjatakan and senjata, or bermodalkan and modal. Do not recover a base merely by deleting the first visible syllable and final letters: dasar is recoverable because its spelling and meaning are independently attested, not because any word beginning ber and ending kan contains this template.
Berikan “give” is a useful warning. It begins with the letters ber and ends with kan, but its imperative analysis is beri + -kan, not ber- + i + -kan. Surface resemblance alone does not establish morphology.
Berikan salinan resit itu kepada pelanggan.
Give the customer a copy of the receipt.
Common Mistakes
1. Writing the analytical label literally.
❌ Keputusan itu ber-dasar-kan bukti baharu.
Incorrect spelling — analytical hyphens do not appear inside the word.
✅ Keputusan itu berdasarkan bukti baharu.
The decision is based on new evidence.
2. Treating final -kan as an ordinary causative.
❌ Bersenjatakan bermaksud menyebabkan seseorang menerima senjata.
Incorrect analysis — bersenjatakan X means to have or use X as a weapon.
✅ Pengawal itu bersenjatakan sebilah pedang.
The guard is armed with a sword.
3. Inventing deletion inside the root.
❌ Mereka memulakan perniagaan bermodakan pinjaman kecil.
Incorrect — modal retains its final l before -kan.
✅ Mereka memulakan perniagaan bermodalkan pinjaman kecil.
They started the business using a small loan as capital.
4. Extending the template to every noun.
❌ Pejabat itu berkomputerkan lima komputer.
Nonstandard coinage — the construction is lexically restricted.
✅ Pejabat itu dilengkapi dengan lima buah komputer.
The office is equipped with five computers.
Key Takeaways
- The canonical analysis is ber- + nominal base + -kan, written as one solid Malaysian Rumi word.
- Core formations preserve their bases: berdasarkan, bersenjatakan, bermodalkan, beranggotakan, and beralaskan.
- An r-initial base shows ordinary ber- boundary fusion, as in berumahkan; the root’s r remains.
- Final -kan licenses a role-filling complement within a restricted construction and is not an ordinary productive causative.
- Use dictionary evidence for both the complete derivative and its base; do not infer the construction from letter shape alone.
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Start learning Malay →Related Topics
- ber-...-kan: Meanings and Derivational Network in Malaysian MalayC2 — Understand how Malaysian Malay ber-...-kan predicates assign a basis, weapon, capital, member, or other role to a following complement.
- ber-...-kan: Valency, Lexicalization, and Register in Malaysian MalayC2 — Use established Malaysian Malay ber-...-kan predicates with their selected complements, competing frames, lexical restrictions, and appropriate register.
- ber-: Formation and Allomorphy in Malaysian MalayA1 — Form Malaysian Malay ber- words with default ber-, conditioned boundary fusion, and the high-frequency exceptions bekerja and belajar.
- -kan: Formation and Allomorphy in Malaysian MalayA2 — Form Malaysian Malay -kan verbs with solid spelling, an intact base, and the correct double k at a root boundary.
- -kan Valency Patterns: Overview and Formation in Malaysian MalayA2 — Form Malaysian Malay -kan verbs and recognize how they add a causer, beneficiary, moved theme, or result-bearing participant.