Malay mencari means “look for” or “seek,” but it takes the thing sought directly: mencari kunci, not a construction modeled on English look for. The wider family shows how voice, beneficiary, nominalization, and reduplication reorganize that basic search. Bare cari is especially common in instructions and informal speech; mencari is the neutral active transitive verb.
This page explains the established members of the cari family. General formation of meN- verbs, benefactive -kan, and di- passives is covered separately.
Family and argument frames
| Form | Frame | Meaning | Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| cari | cari + object | look for; search out | neutral in commands; informal in many active clauses |
| mencari | mencari + sought object | look for, seek | neutral |
| dicari | sought object + dicari | be sought/wanted | neutral |
| mencarikan | mencarikan + beneficiary + item / item + untuk beneficiary | find or look for something for someone | neutral |
| pencari | pencari + field/object | seeker, searcher | neutral |
| pencarian | pencarian + object | search, quest | neutral/formal |
| mencari-cari | mencari-cari + object | keep searching; hunt around for | neutral; often evaluative |
The forms do not agree with their subject and do not carry tense:
| Time/person | Malay form | Time expression |
|---|---|---|
| I, past | semalam saya mencari resit itu | semalam |
| they, ongoing | mereka sedang mencari rumah | sedang |
| we, future | kami akan mencari jalan lain | akan |
Mencari is not an infinitive selected by tense. It is an active-voice form, and separate particles or adverbs locate the search in time.
Cari and mencari
Use bare cari naturally in a command because the imperative commonly uses the root. It is also widespread as an informal active verb in Malaysian conversation.
Cari kunci pendua dalam laci sebelah telefon.
Look for the spare key in the drawer beside the telephone.
Saya tengah cari tempat letak kereta dekat stesen.
I'm looking for a parking space near the station. (informal)
In neutral speech and careful writing, active transitive mencari is the dependable choice.
Hani sudah setengah jam mencari kunci keretanya.
Hani has been looking for her car keys for half an hour.
Syarikat itu sedang mencari juruteknik yang berpengalaman.
The company is looking for an experienced technician.
Kami perlu mencari penyelesaian yang tidak membebankan penduduk.
We need to seek a solution that does not burden residents.
Notice that kunci, juruteknik, and penyelesaian are direct objects. English requires for after look, but Malay lexicalizes the whole “seek” relation in mencari. A Malay preposition is not inserted merely because the English translation contains one.
Dicari: the sought item becomes prominent
Dicari presents the person or thing being sought as the grammatical starting point. The searcher may be omitted or added with oleh.
Dokumen yang dicari akhirnya ditemukan di dalam fail lama.
The document being sought was finally found in an old file.
Lelaki itu sedang dicari oleh polis bagi membantu siasatan.
The man is being sought by the police to assist the investigation. (formal)
The passive prefix is written solid. Dicari di pasar contains both forms: dicari “is sought” has attached di-, while di pasar “at the market” has the separate locative preposition.
Mencarikan: searching for somebody else
The suffix -kan commonly introduces a beneficiary: someone performs the search for another person. One natural pattern places the beneficiary immediately after the verb; another states the sought item and introduces the beneficiary with untuk.
Pegawai itu sedang mencarikan pekerjaan untuk ibu tunggal di kawasan tersebut.
The officer is looking for jobs for single mothers in the area.
Boleh tolong carikan saya nombor telefon bengkel itu?
Could you find the workshop's telephone number for me? (informal request)
Kakak mencarikan ayah cermin mata yang lebih ringan.
My older sister looked for lighter glasses for Dad.
Colloquial carikan is normal in direct requests. Neutral prose normally uses full mencarikan in an active declarative clause. The beneficiary is not optional background decoration: it is the participant whose interests motivate the suffixed form.
Pencari and pencarian
Pencari denotes a person or entity that searches. It occurs in compounds such as pencari kerja “job seeker,” pencari nafkah “breadwinner,” and enjin pencari “search engine,” though enjin carian is also common for the last meaning.
Bengkel itu membantu pencari kerja menyediakan resume dan menghadapi temu duga.
The workshop helps job seekers prepare résumés and face interviews.
Pencarian names the process or undertaking of searching and is common in news and official reporting. Carian often refers to a search operation or its results, especially in digital and database contexts.
Operasi pencarian mangsa diteruskan selepas cuaca kembali baik.
The search operation for the victim continued after the weather improved. (formal)
Carian dalam talian itu memaparkan beberapa alamat yang sudah lama.
The online search displayed several outdated addresses.
These nouns are lexicalized choices. Pencarian is not automatically the correct translation of every English noun search.
Mencari-cari and common idioms
Reduplicated mencari-cari presents a search as prolonged, repeated, unfocused, or suspiciously deliberate. Its tone depends on the object.
Jangan mencari-cari alasan untuk menangguhkan permohonan itu lagi.
Don't keep looking for excuses to delay that application again.
Dia mencari-cari cermin matanya, padahal cermin mata itu tersangkut pada kolar bajunya.
He hunted around for his glasses even though they were caught on his shirt collar.
Write the repeated base with a hyphen: mencari-cari. This is real word reduplication, unlike abstract descriptions of affixes such as meN- and -kan.
Several combinations have conventional meanings. Mencari nafkah and informal cari makan mean earning a living; mencari jalan can mean finding a solution; informal cari pasal means provoking trouble. These meanings are learned as combinations, not assembled word by word from English.
Ramai penduduk kampung mencari nafkah sebagai nelayan.
Many villagers earn a living as fishers.
Common Mistakes
1. Importing English for
❌ Kami sedang mencari untuk sebuah rumah sewa.
Incorrect—mencari takes the sought object directly.
✅ Kami sedang mencari sebuah rumah sewa berhampiran hospital.
We are looking for a rental house near the hospital.
2. Using the benefactive form without a beneficiary
❌ Saya mencarikan kunci saya yang hilang.
Wrong for the intended simple search—no beneficiary has been added.
✅ Saya mencari kunci saya yang hilang.
I am looking for my lost key.
3. Splitting the passive prefix
❌ Calon itu sedang di cari oleh beberapa syarikat.
Incorrect—the passive prefix di- is attached to the verb.
✅ Calon itu sedang dicari oleh beberapa syarikat.
That candidate is being sought by several companies.
4. Omitting the reduplication hyphen
❌ Dia mencari cari alasan untuk pulang awal.
Incorrect spelling—full-word reduplication takes a hyphen.
✅ Dia mencari-cari alasan untuk pulang awal.
He kept looking for excuses to leave early.
5. Treating mencari as person-marked
❌ Mereka mencaris pekerja sambilan setiap hujung tahun.
Incorrect—Malay verbs do not take an English plural or third-person ending.
✅ Mereka mencari pekerja sambilan setiap hujung tahun.
They look for part-time workers at the end of every year.
Key Takeaways
Use imperative or informal cari, neutral active mencari + direct object, passive dicari, and benefactive mencarikan when someone searches for another participant. Pencari names a seeker, pencarian a search process, and hyphenated mencari-cari a repeated or extended search. Most importantly, resist translating the English preposition: Malay says mencari kunci directly.
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