The preposition dengan gathers several meanings around one relationship: an event is carried out in association with something. The associated participant may be a tool (dengan pena “with a pen”), a companion (dengan rakan “with a friend”), a manner (dengan cepat “quickly”), or the other participant in a reciprocal event (berbincang dengan pengurus “discuss with the manager”).
English also uses with for many of these jobs, but the match is not complete. In particular, Malay dan joins equal items, while dengan marks one participant as accompanying another; and passive English by normally corresponds to oleh, not dengan.
Instrument: the means used to perform an action
Use dengan + noun phrase for a tool, instrument, or means deliberately used in carrying out an action.
Dia menulis nota itu dengan pena biru.
She wrote the note with a blue pen.
Potong tali ini dengan gunting yang tajam.
Cut this string with sharp scissors.
Kami menghantar dokumen itu dengan e-mel.
We sent the document by email.
The noun following dengan need not be a handheld object. It can be a channel or means such as dengan bas, dengan e-mel, or dengan kaedah baharu. The common logic is that the phrase answers “using what means?”
Speakers often omit the instrument when it is obvious. Dia menulis nota is complete; dengan pena biru adds contrast or useful information. It is therefore not comparable to an obligatory English preposition selected by a verb.
Companion: who accompanies whom
Use dengan when one person or group accompanies another in an activity, journey, residence, or social relationship.
Saya pergi ke perpustakaan dengan rakan sekelas.
I went to the library with a classmate.
Nadia tinggal dengan ibu bapanya buat sementara waktu.
Nadia is living with her parents temporarily.
Boleh saya duduk dengan kamu semasa makan tengah hari?
May I sit with you during lunch?
The noun before dengan is normally the participant selected as the grammatical subject or topic; the noun after dengan accompanies that participant. The real-world relationship may be equal, but the sentence gives them different grammatical packaging.
Compare coordination with dan:
Amir dan Sara pergi ke pasar.
Amir and Sara went to the market.
Amir pergi ke pasar dengan Sara.
Amir went to the market with Sara.
The first sentence has a coordinated subject: both Amir and Sara are presented equally as the people who went. The second makes Amir the subject and adds Sara as his companion. This can matter in a longer passage because later omitted subjects are more readily understood as Amir alone.
Manner: how an event unfolds
Before an adjective or a phrase naming an attitude or style, dengan marks manner. English frequently translates the entire phrase with an -ly adverb.
Sila jawab soalan itu dengan jujur.
Please answer the question honestly.
Pasukan perubatan bertindak dengan cepat.
The medical team acted quickly.
Dia menerangkan perubahan itu dengan penuh kesabaran.
She explained the change with great patience.
Malay does not require dengan before every manner word. A bare adjective can modify an action: Dia berjalan cepat “He walks quickly.” Dengan cepat packages the description more explicitly and is especially natural in careful instructions or when the manner phrase is long. See manner with dengan for that choice.
Reciprocal partners
Some events inherently relate two sides: meeting, speaking, discussing, competing, arguing, or reconciling. With verbs such as berjumpa, berbincang, berunding, bergaduh, and bersaing, dengan introduces the other participant.
Saya akan berbincang dengan penyelia sebelum membuat keputusan.
I will discuss it with my supervisor before making a decision.
Pasukan tempatan bersaing dengan juara bertahan malam ini.
The local team is competing against the defending champions tonight.
Kedua-dua jiran itu akhirnya berdamai dengan satu sama lain.
The two neighbours finally made peace with each other.
English varies among with, against, and zero marking after different verbs. Malay keeps dengan because it marks the linked partner; the verb determines whether the relationship is cooperative, neutral, or adversarial. With an overt plural subject, a reciprocal verb may make the partner phrase unnecessary: Mereka berbincang can mean “They discussed [it] with one another,” depending on context.
Do not automatically add English-like each other to every reciprocal verb. Satu sama lain is available when the reciprocal relation needs emphasis, but the ber- verb and plural context often carry enough information.
Resolving genuine ambiguity
Because the same form covers several roles, one dengan phrase can be ambiguous. Syntax and real-world plausibility usually resolve it.
Hakim melihat lelaki itu dengan teropong.
Hakim saw the man with binoculars / Hakim saw the man who had binoculars.
The phrase may modify melihat (Hakim used binoculars) or the noun lelaki itu (the man had them). Malay, like English, can leave this attachment ambiguous. If the difference matters, restructure:
Dengan menggunakan teropong, Hakim melihat lelaki itu di atas bukit.
Using binoculars, Hakim saw the man on the hill.
Hakim melihat lelaki yang membawa teropong itu.
Hakim saw the man who was carrying the binoculars.
Ambiguity is not a grammatical failure; it becomes a communication problem only when both readings are plausible and context does not choose one.
Do not translate every English by as dengan
English by marks an agent, means, deadline, spatial proximity, authorship, or measurement. Malay distributes these roles among different constructions.
| English role | Malay pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| passive agent | oleh | ditulis oleh Aina |
| means | dengan / melalui | dihantar dengan e-mel |
| deadline | sebelum / selewat-lewatnya | sebelum Jumaat |
| beside | di sebelah | di sebelah pintu |
| authorship | oleh | novel oleh Shahnon Ahmad |
Laporan itu disediakan oleh pasukan audit dengan perisian baharu.
The report was prepared by the audit team using new software.
Here replacing oleh with dengan would confuse the people who prepared the report with the instrument used.
Word boundaries
Dengan is a free preposition and is separated from its complement: dengan rakan, dengan cepat. So are locative di and directional ke: di rumah, ke pejabat. Attached di- instead forms a passive verb: ditulis, dipotong. Attached ke- appears in derived words such as kecantikan.
Common Mistakes
1. Using dan for accompaniment
❌ Saya pergi ke klinik dan kakak saya.
Incorrect for 'I went with my sister'; dan coordinates and leaves the second phrase without a matching predicate.
✅ Saya pergi ke klinik dengan kakak saya.
I went to the clinic with my older sister.
2. Using dengan for a passive agent
❌ Surat itu ditulis dengan pengurus.
Incorrect if the manager is the writer; dengan suggests accompaniment or an instrument-like relation.
✅ Surat itu ditulis oleh pengurus.
The letter was written by the manager.
3. Adding dengan before every manner adjective
❌ Anda mesti sentiasa menggunakan dengan sebelum cepat untuk menghasilkan adverba.
Incorrect rule—Malay adjectives can function directly as manner modifiers.
✅ Dia berjalan cepat, tetapi pasukan perubatan perlu bertindak dengan cepat.
He walks quickly, but the medical team needs to act quickly.
4. Omitting the selected preposition with a reciprocal partner
❌ Saya berbincang penyelia tentang jadual itu.
Incorrect in Standard Malay—the partner of berbincang is introduced by dengan.
✅ Saya berbincang dengan penyelia tentang jadual itu.
I discussed the schedule with my supervisor.
5. Joining dengan to its complement
❌ Kami datang denganbas.
Incorrect—the preposition and its noun phrase are separate words.
✅ Kami datang dengan bas.
We came by bus.
Key Takeaways
Use dengan for an instrument, companion, manner, or reciprocal partner: menulis dengan pena, pergi dengan rakan, bertindak dengan cepat, berbincang dengan penyelia. Use dan when two coordinated items have equal grammatical status, and oleh for a passive agent. When a dengan phrase could describe either the action or a nearby noun, clarify it only if context cannot do the work.
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