The short forms di and ke sound the same whether they are written separately or attached, but their spelling reveals their grammar. Write the prepositions di “at/in/on” and ke “to/towards” as separate words; write the passive prefix di- and the ordinal or collective prefix ke- directly on the following base. These are neutral rules of contemporary Standard Malaysian Malay.
This page isolates the orthographic choice. Dedicated pages treat pronunciation, passive and numeral meanings, and broader stylistic editing in depth.
Rancangan itu dibincangkan di pejabat daerah.
The plan was discussed at the district office.
The attached di- helps build the passive verb dibincangkan. The separate di introduces the location pejabat daerah. Pronunciation alone cannot tell you which spelling to choose; grammatical function can.
Separate di introduces a location
The preposition di locates something in space. It stands before a noun phrase or another expression treated as a place: di rumah, di Kuala Lumpur, di atas meja, di sini. The whole phrase answers a question such as di mana? “where?”
Kunci itu tertinggal di rumah.
The key was left at home.
Kami menunggu di hadapan perpustakaan.
We waited in front of the library.
Mereka tinggal di Kuala Terengganu sejak tahun lalu.
They have lived in Kuala Terengganu since last year.
In di hadapan perpustakaan, only di is the preposition. Hadapan begins the place expression, and the spaces show its internal word boundaries. Do not close up a frequent sequence merely because it is pronounced fluently.
English spelling does not provide a close parallel. English writes at, in, and on separately, but learners may still treat very common Malay combinations such as di dalam as single vocabulary items. Malay orthography instead keeps the preposition visibly separate.
Attached di- builds a passive verb
The prefix di- attaches to a verb base to form the ordinary third-person passive. It cannot stand on its own: di- + baca → dibaca, di- + hantar → dihantar, di- + periksa → diperiksa. The complete passive verb is one orthographic word.
Bungkusan itu dihantar pagi tadi.
The parcel was sent this morning.
Setiap borang akan diperiksa sebelum temu duga.
Each form will be checked before the interview.
Stor itu sudah dikunci oleh penyelia syif malam.
The storeroom has been locked by the night-shift supervisor.
These forms answer “what happened to it?”, not “where?”. Adding further verbal morphology does not create a space: diperiksa, dibacakan, and diperbaharui remain single words. The voice meaning belongs to the di-passive; the present rule concerns its visible boundary.
The same sentence can contain both types:
Dokumen itu ditandatangani di Putrajaya semalam.
The document was signed in Putrajaya yesterday.
Here ditandatangani is one passive verb, while di Putrajaya is a two-word location phrase. Reading from left to right, the spelling tells you immediately which di belongs to a verb and which introduces a place.
Separate ke marks a destination or direction
The preposition ke introduces an endpoint, destination, or direction: ke sekolah, ke Johor, ke luar bandar, ke arah utara. It is written separately from the following phrase.
Saya perlu pergi ke klinik selepas makan tengah hari.
I need to go to the clinic after lunch.
Bas itu bergerak ke arah pusat bandar.
The bus moved towards the city centre.
Mereka berpindah ke Johor pada awal tahun ini.
They moved to Johor at the beginning of this year.
The contrast between di and ke is semantic as well as orthographic: di klinik locates someone at the clinic, whereas ke klinik presents the clinic as a destination. Both are prepositions and therefore both remain separate.
Aina berada di pejabat sekarang, tetapi dia akan ke bank sebentar lagi.
Aina is at the office now, but she will go to the bank shortly.
In the second clause, Malay can omit a general motion verb when the destination meaning is clear: akan ke bank. That omission does not turn ke into a prefix; it still introduces the separate noun phrase bank.
Attached ke- forms ordinals and collectives
The prefix ke- attaches to a numeral to form an ordinal such as kedua “second”, ketiga “third”, or kesepuluh “tenth”. These forms locate an item in an ordered series, not in physical space.
Dia mendapat tempat kedua dalam pertandingan itu.
She took second place in the competition.
Ini kali ketiga saya menghubungi syarikat itu.
This is the third time I have contacted the company.
Collective numeral forms likewise begin with attached ke-: kedua-dua “both”, ketiga-tiga “all three”, keempat-empat “all four”. Their hyphen marks exact reduplication of the numeral; it does not separate the prefix from its base.
Kedua-dua pintu itu sudah dikunci.
Both doors have been locked.
Ketiga-tiga calon hadir tepat pada waktunya.
All three candidates arrived on time.
The spelling therefore contains two distinct decisions in ketiga-tiga: attach ke- to tiga, then use a hyphen between the repeated numeral forms. Hyphens in reduplication explains the second decision.
A practical grammatical test
Use the following questions before writing:
| Form | Job | Test | Spelling |
|---|---|---|---|
| di | location preposition | Does it answer di mana? | di rumah |
| di- | passive prefix | Does it make a passive verb? | dibaca |
| ke | direction preposition | Does it name a destination? | ke rumah |
| ke- | ordinal/collective prefix | Does it form an order number or total set? | kedua, kedua-dua |
This test is more reliable than asking whether the sequence feels like “one idea”. Di rumah expresses one compact location, yet it contains a preposition plus a noun. Dibaca can be translated by two English words, “was read”, yet it is one Malay word. Malay spelling follows Malay structure, not the number of words in an English translation.
No accent or apostrophe is needed
Ordinary Rumi does not add an accent, apostrophe, or special separation mark to distinguish these forms. Write di rumah, dibaca, ke rumah, and kedua exactly as shown. Context and spacing carry the contrast. Pronunciation and the historical development of the prefixes are separate questions, not reasons to alter the spelling.
Common Mistakes
Joining the location preposition to its noun
❌ Saya menunggu dirumah.
Incorrect — location di is a separate preposition.
✅ Saya menunggu di rumah.
I am waiting at home.
Separating the passive prefix from its verb
❌ Baucar tersebut di sahkan oleh ketua unit.
Incorrect — passive di- attaches to the verb.
✅ Baucar tersebut disahkan oleh ketua unit.
The voucher was approved by the unit head.
Joining the direction preposition to a destination
❌ Kami akan kerumah nenek petang ini.
Incorrect — directional ke is written separately.
✅ Kami akan ke rumah nenek petang ini.
We will go to Grandmother's house this afternoon.
Separating the ordinal prefix
❌ Atlet muda itu menamatkan perlumbaan di tempat ke dua.
Incorrect — ordinal ke- attaches to the numeral.
✅ Atlet muda itu menamatkan perlumbaan di tempat kedua.
The young athlete finished the race in second place.
Treating ke- as separate inside a collective numeral
❌ Ke dua-dua adik saya masih bersekolah.
Incorrect — ke- attaches before the reduplicated numeral.
✅ Kedua-dua adik saya masih bersekolah.
Both of my younger siblings are still at school.
Key Takeaways
Write spatial prepositions separately: di rumah, ke rumah. Attach grammatical prefixes: dibaca, kedua, kedua-dua. Because all four patterns are pronounced without a special boundary signal, you must identify the form's function; no Malay accent or apostrophe substitutes for the correct space.
Now practice Malay
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Malay →Related Topics
- Attaching Prefixes and Suffixes in Malaysian MalayA2 — Spell ordinary Malay affixes solidly and use a hyphen only when capitals or mixed-case bases interrupt normal word spelling.
- Compounds: Separate, Solid, or Circumfixed in Malaysian MalayB1 — Spell Malaysian Malay compounds according to lexical convention and the scope of any affix.
- Hyphens in Reduplication in Malaysian MalayA1 — Write full, affixed, and changing-sound Malay reduplication with the hyphens required in Standard Malaysian Rumi.
- di- Passive: Overview and Formation in Malaysian MalayA1 — Form the Malaysian Malay di- passive by placing the affected subject first, attaching di- to the verb, and optionally adding a third-person agent.
- Ordinals with ke- and pertama in Malaysian MalayA2 — Form first, second, and later ordinals with pertama and attached ke-, and distinguish an ordinal member from an entire numbered set.