The jawab family begins with responding to a question. Bare jawab occurs in commands, object voice, and informal speech; menjawab is the careful actor-voice form; dijawab centers the question; and jawapan is the response itself. The root also appears in solid Malaysian compounds tanggungjawab and bertanggungjawab, where “answering” develops into responsibility and accountability.
This page focuses on lexical choice and established family members. The meN- formation guide, passive di- guide, and other Word Formation pages explain the general affix rules.
The question-word overview covers how questions themselves are formed; this page follows what happens when someone responds.
No person or tense conjugation
| Function | Present/general | Past context | Future context |
|---|---|---|---|
| actor voice | Saya menjawab soalan itu. | Semalam saya menjawab soalan itu. | Esok saya akan menjawab soalan itu. |
| object voice | Soalan itu saya jawab. | Soalan itu sudah saya jawab. | Soalan itu akan saya jawab. |
| passive | Soalan itu dijawab. | Soalan itu telah dijawab. | Soalan itu akan dijawab. |
The verb does not agree with the respondent and takes no past ending. Aspect and time remain separate.
Bare jawab
Bare jawab is standard in commands and in object voice after a first- or second-person actor.
Jawab semua soalan pada Bahagian A.
Answer all the questions in Section A.
Pertanyaan itu saya jawab melalui e-mel pagi tadi.
I answered that query by email this morning.
Soalan terakhir yang awak jawab bernilai lima markah.
The last question that you answered is worth five marks.
Actor-first Saya jawab nanti is common (informal). Careful actor voice uses Saya akan menjawabnya nanti. Bare jawab is therefore not an infinitive used indiscriminately after subjects.
Menjawab takes a question or person in context
Menjawab is the standard actor-voice form. It directly takes a question, inquiry, call, criticism, or challenge.
Pegawai itu menjawab pertanyaan pelanggan dengan sopan.
The officer answered the customer's query politely.
Calon perlu menjawab empat daripada enam soalan esei.
Candidates need to answer four of the six essay questions.
Pihak kementerian belum menjawab kritikan yang dikemukakan oleh persatuan tersebut.
The ministry has not responded to the criticism raised by the association. (formal)
The required menjawab pertanyaan is a formal-neutral collocation. Soalan is the ordinary noun for a question; pertanyaan often suits inquiries and formal questioning.
With communication channels, Malay can say menjawab telefon/panggilan “answer the phone/call” and menjawab e-mel “reply to an email.” A person may appear after menjawab in conversational contexts, but menjawab soalan seseorang or menjawab seseorang dengan... makes the response relation clearer.
Dijawab centers what receives a response
Semua soalan mesti dijawab dalam masa tiga puluh minit.
All questions must be answered within thirty minutes.
Aduan itu telah dijawab oleh pihak pengurusan secara bertulis.
The complaint was answered in writing by management. (formal)
Panggilan anda akan dijawab oleh pegawai khidmat pelanggan sebentar lagi.
Your call will be answered by a customer-service officer shortly.
Passive di- attaches: dijawab oleh pegawai. Locative di kaunter remains separate. The actor can be omitted when service response or exam completion matters more than the respondent.
Jawapan: answer or response
Jawapan is the noun. It can be correct, incorrect, honest, evasive, brief, or detailed.
Jawapan yang betul ialah pilihan C.
The correct answer is option C.
Saya masih menunggu jawapan rasmi daripada pihak universiti.
I am still waiting for an official answer from the university.
Jawapannya ringkas tetapi sangat jelas.
Her answer was brief but very clear.
The phrase jawapan benar is possible when benar means truthful, but for an exam or factual item Malaysian Malay normally prefers jawapan yang betul “the correct answer.” Do not map English right/true/correct onto one Malay adjective without considering the kind of correctness.
Saksi itu diminta memberikan jawapan yang benar tentang perkara yang dilihatnya.
The witness was asked to give a truthful answer about what he saw. (formal)
Tanggungjawab and bertanggungjawab
Standard Malaysian spelling joins these compounds: tanggungjawab “responsibility” and bertanggungjawab “be responsible.”
Keselamatan makmal ialah tanggungjawab bersama semua pengguna.
Laboratory safety is the shared responsibility of all users.
Pengurus projek bertanggungjawab memastikan semua rekod disimpan dengan selamat.
The project manager is responsible for ensuring that all records are stored safely.
Setiap penulis bertanggungjawab terhadap ketepatan maklumat yang diterbitkan.
Every writer is responsible for the accuracy of published information.
The manifest phrase bertanggung jawab reflects neighboring Indonesian spacing; it is not the Malaysian house style. Write the actual derivative solid: bertanggungjawab. Likewise the noun is tanggungjawab, not tanggung jawab.
Accountability derivatives
Mempertanggungjawabkan means hold someone responsible/accountable or assign responsibility, depending on context. Passive dipertanggungjawabkan can mean entrusted with responsibility or held accountable.
Lembaga itu boleh mempertanggungjawabkan pengarah atas kegagalan mematuhi prosedur.
The board can hold the director accountable for failing to follow procedure. (formal)
Beliau dipertanggungjawabkan untuk menyelaras operasi bantuan di daerah tersebut.
He was entrusted with responsibility for coordinating relief operations in that district. (formal)
For the abstract noun “accountability,” Malaysian institutional prose widely uses kebertanggungjawaban or akauntabiliti, depending on house style. Pertanggungjawaban is also recorded in Malaysian dictionaries for the state of being responsible or something entrusted to someone, although it is especially prominent in Indonesian usage. It is therefore not ungrammatical Malaysian Malay; choose kebertanggungjawaban when you want the clearest established label for institutional accountability.
Kebertanggungjawaban awam memerlukan rekod yang telus dan boleh diaudit.
Public accountability requires transparent and auditable records. (formal)
⚠️ Laporan itu membincangkan pertanggungjawaban pegawai.
Attested in Malaysian dictionaries, but kebertanggungjawaban is clearer here for institutional accountability.
✅ Laporan itu membincangkan kebertanggungjawaban pegawai awam.
The report discusses the accountability of public officers.
Common collocations
| Expression | Meaning |
|---|---|
| menjawab soalan/pertanyaan | answer a question/inquiry |
| memberikan jawapan | give an answer |
| jawapan yang betul | correct answer |
| memikul tanggungjawab | shoulder responsibility |
| bertanggungjawab terhadap | be responsible for |
Ketua jabatan perlu memikul tanggungjawab atas keputusan tersebut.
The department head needs to take responsibility for that decision.
Common Mistakes
1. Using jawab as a careful actor-voice default
⚠️ Pegawai itu jawab semua pertanyaan media.
Natural informal speech but too colloquial for a formal report.
✅ Pegawai itu menjawab semua pertanyaan media selepas mesyuarat.
The officer answered all the media's questions after the meeting.
2. Confusing verb and noun
❌ Saya belum jawapan soalan terakhir.
Incorrect—the predicate requires the verb menjawab/jawab.
✅ Saya belum menjawab soalan terakhir.
I have not answered the last question yet.
3. Separating passive di-
❌ Aduan itu sudah di jawab oleh pihak pengurusan.
Incorrect spacing—the passive verb dijawab is one word.
✅ Aduan itu sudah dijawab oleh pihak pengurusan.
The complaint has been answered by management.
4. Copying Indonesian compound spacing
❌ Setiap pegawai bertanggung jawab terhadap tugasnya.
Incorrect Malaysian spelling—the compound is solid.
✅ Setiap pegawai bertanggungjawab terhadap tugasnya.
Every officer is responsible for their duties.
5. Choosing benar for exam correctness automatically
⚠️ Pilih jawapan benar bagi soalan ini.
Understandable, but jawapan yang betul is the idiomatic Malaysian exam instruction.
✅ Pilih jawapan yang betul bagi soalan ini.
Choose the correct answer for this question.
Key Takeaways
Use menjawab as careful actor voice, jawab in commands, object voice, and informal speech, dijawab for passive response, and jawapan for the answer itself. Malaysian compounds are written tanggungjawab and bertanggungjawab. For institutional accountability, kebertanggungjawaban and akauntabiliti are clear choices; pertanggungjawaban is also recorded in Malaysian dictionaries but has a wider regional profile.
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