The suffix -kan attaches directly to a base and is written as part of the same word: baca + -kan → bacakan, bersih + -kan → bersihkan. Its spelling is unusually transparent, which lets learners see the base even though the new verb may have a different number and arrangement of participants.
This page covers formation and spelling only. The meaning page explains causative, benefactive, and caused-result readings, while the usage page handles argument structure, lexicalization, and register. Use a hyphen in the analytical label -kan, but write every real Malaysian form solid.
Add one stable suffix to the complete base
There is one productive written suffix -kan, not a set of spelling variants. Attach it after the entire citation-form base.
| Base | Analytical segmentation | Bare derived form | Common active form |
|---|---|---|---|
| duduk “sit” | duduk + -kan | dudukkan | mendudukkan |
| baca “read” | baca + -kan | bacakan | membacakan |
| masuk “enter” | masuk + -kan | masukkan | memasukkan |
| bersih “clean” | bersih + -kan | bersihkan | membersihkan |
| besar “big” | besar + -kan | besarkan | membesarkan |
| selesai “finished” | selesai + -kan | selesaikan | menyelesaikan |
Dudukkan anak itu di kerusi yang lebih selamat.
Seat the child in the safer chair. (neutral command)
Bacakan mesej itu kepada datuk kerana cermin matanya tertinggal.
Read that message aloud to Grandfather because he left his glasses behind. (neutral command)
Masukkan kata laluan baharu dua kali.
Enter the new password twice. (neutral instruction)
Bersihkan meja ini selepas makan.
Clean this table after eating. (neutral command)
The forms in these commands are bare -kan verbs. In ordinary actor-first declarative clauses, Malaysian standard grammar normally adds the active meN- layer: mendudukkan, membacakan, memasukkan, and membersihkan.
Why final k becomes kk
When a base ends in written k, the first k remains part of the base and the second begins -kan:
duduK + Kan → duduKKan
masuK + Kan → masuKKan
letaK + Kan → letaKKan
This is not an irregular doubling rule added for pronunciation. It is simply the visible meeting of two morphemes that both contain k. Dropping either letter hides part of the standard spelling and can produce another word: masukan is a noun meaning “input; entry” in relevant contexts, whereas the command “put in” is masukkan.
Ibu mendudukkan adik di tempat duduk belakang sebelum memasang tali pinggangnya.
Mother seated my younger sibling in the back seat before fastening the seat belt. (neutral)
Sila letakkan bungkusan itu di atas kaunter.
Please put the parcel on the counter. (polite instruction)
Kakitangan memasukkan semua maklumat ke dalam sistem sebelum tengah hari.
The staff entered all the information into the system before noon. (formal workplace context)
The double k remains under a voice prefix: mendudukkan, memasukkan, diletakkan, and dimasukkan. Neither meN- nor di- deletes a letter at the suffix boundary.
Bases ending in other consonants or vowels
After another consonant, append kan without changing the base: bersih → bersihkan, besar → besarkan, tulis → tuliskan, dengar → dengarkan. After a vowel, do the same: baca → bacakan, sewa → sewakan, selesai → selesaikan. Do not insert a hyphen, linking consonant, or apostrophe.
Pengurus membesarkan ruang menunggu dengan merobohkan dinding itu.
The manager enlarged the waiting area by removing that wall. (neutral)
Kami perlu menyelesaikan laporan ini sebelum mesyuarat esok.
We need to finish this report before tomorrow's meeting. (neutral)
Tolong tuliskan nombor telefon anda di sini.
Please write your telephone number here. (neutral request)
In menyelesaikan, the visible change at the beginning comes from the active prefix meN- before an s-initial base. The suffix has not caused s deletion, nor has the base mysteriously become elesai. Compare passive diselesaikan, where the complete base is easy to see.
Prefixes form an outer layer
The useful morphological order is voice prefix + base + -kan:
| Clause function | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| active declarative | meN- + base + -kan | membacakan |
| third-person passive | di- + base + -kan | dibacakan |
| command | base + -kan | bacakan |
| first-person passive | pronoun + base + -kan | saya bacakan |
Cerita itu dibacakan oleh guru sebelum kelas tamat.
The story was read aloud by the teacher before class ended. (neutral)
Surat ini akan saya bacakan kepada semua ahli mesyuarat.
I will read this letter aloud to all the meeting members. (formal)
The beginning of an active form obeys the ordinary meN- formation rules: baca → membacakan, duduk → mendudukkan, bersih → membersihkan, selesai → menyelesaikan. Do not extend those initial-consonant alternations to the end of the root. The suffix preserves the base boundary.
Which kinds of bases allow -kan?
Attested derivatives come from several categories: verbs (duduk → dudukkan, baca → bacakan), adjectives (bersih → bersihkan, besar → besarkan), nouns (hadiah → hadiahkan), and some complex or lexical bases (beritahu → beritahukan). This range does not mean that every Malay word freely accepts -kan.
The morphological template tells you how to spell a derivative once it is established; it does not guarantee that the derivative exists or has the meaning you predict. Membesarkan is conventional, but a learner cannot take any adjective, add -kan, and assume native speakers use the result. Lexicalized families must be checked as whole words.
Derived bases can themselves contain an earlier affix or fixed combination. In memperkenalkan, for example, the base family includes kenal and the outer form contains memper-...-kan. Do not treat every final kan sequence as the standalone suffix discussed here: makan “eat” contains kan as part of its root, and removing it would not reveal a valid base ma.
How dictionaries expose the root
A Malaysian dictionary generally groups mendudukkan under duduk, membacakan under baca, memasukkan under masuk, and membersihkan under bersih. Search both the complete surface form and the likely base. The entry confirms three separate things: the base spelling, the accepted derivative, and its conventional senses.
This matters most when the initial meN- form obscures the first consonant. From menyelesaikan, a learner might wrongly guess nyelesai; the dictionary family reveals selesai. From menggunakan, the root is guna, not ngguna. Root recovery follows prefix allomorphy, not random letter removal.
Actual forms are solid in all registers: selesaikan (neutral), menyelesaikan (formal/neutral), and even a shortened conversational clause still writes the word solid. Hyphens belong to linguistic explanation—meN-...-kan, -kan—not to ordinary Rumi spelling.
Common Mistakes
1. Separating the suffix from the base.
❌ Sila baca kan arahan ini kepada semua peserta.
Incorrect — the suffix is bound and cannot be written as a separate word.
✅ Sila bacakan arahan ini kepada semua peserta.
Please read these instructions aloud to all participants.
2. Dropping one k where a k-final base meets -kan.
❌ Masukan nombor rujukan anda di ruang pertama.
Incorrect for the command — masuk + -kan is masukkan with kk.
✅ Masukkan nombor rujukan anda di ruang pertama.
Enter your reference number in the first field.
3. Inserting a hyphen into a real derived word.
❌ Mereka akan selesai-kan kerja itu petang ini.
Incorrect — analytical hyphens are not used inside the actual word.
✅ Mereka akan menyelesaikan kerja itu petang ini.
They will finish the work this afternoon.
4. Inventing root deletion at the suffix boundary.
❌ Tolong bersikan papan putih itu.
Incorrect — bersih keeps its final h before -kan.
✅ Tolong bersihkan papan putih itu.
Please clean that whiteboard.
Key Takeaways
- Attach the single stable suffix -kan to the complete base and write the result solid.
- A final k plus suffix-initial k produces kk: dudukkan, masukkan, letakkan.
- Changes at the beginning of membacakan or menyelesaikan belong to meN- allomorphy, not to -kan.
- Formation spans several base categories but remains lexically restricted.
- Use dictionaries to recover the real root and verify the whole derivative; never infer a root by deleting letters mechanically.
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Start learning Malay →Related Topics
- -kan: Meanings and Derivational Network in Malaysian MalayC1 — Understand how Malaysian Malay -kan adds or promotes a causer, beneficiary, moved theme, or caused result.
- -kan: Valency, Lexicalization, and Register in Malaysian MalayB2 — Use Malaysian Malay -kan verbs with attested object frames, lexicalized senses, and register-appropriate alternatives.
- -i: Formation and Allomorphy in Malaysian MalayB2 — Form Malaysian Malay -i verbs with an unchanged base, solid spelling, and the prefix patterns required by clause type.
- meN-: Formation and Allomorphy in Malaysian MalayA1 — Form Malaysian meN- verbs by matching the nasal to the root's first sound and applying productive consonant deletion.
- -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.