The tutup family separates an actor's closing action, an event affecting something, and the resulting closed state. Pengurus menutup kedai highlights what the manager does; kedai ditutup reports a passive closing event; pintu tertutup describes the door as closed. English close/closed often leaves this event-versus-state distinction to context, whereas Malay makes it visible through voice and derivation.
This page explains the established family. General formation of meN-, passive di-, and ter- belongs under Word Formation.
Forms and perspectives
| Form | Perspective | Core meaning | Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| tutup | root, command, or informal predicate | close; shut; closure/cover in combinations | neutral in commands; informal as an active verb |
| menutup | actor-centered active event | close something | neutral |
| ditutup | patient-centered passive event | be closed | neutral |
| tertutup | state or achieved result | be closed, enclosed, not open | neutral |
| penutupan | nominal event/process | closure, closing, shutdown | neutral/formal |
| penutup | thing/final element | lid, cover, closing item | neutral |
The verbs have no person-or-tense paradigm:
| Subject/time | Malay | Marker |
|---|---|---|
| I, past | semalam saya menutup tingkap | semalam |
| she, ongoing | dia sedang menutup kedai | sedang |
| they, future | mereka akan menutup jalan itu | akan |
Menutup is an active transitive form, not an infinitive or present tense. Time and aspect remain separate.
Tutup as root, command, and lexical element
Root tutup is the normal direct command. It also appears as an informal active verb in Malaysian conversation and in combinations such as tutup kedai “close up shop” and tutup mulut “keep quiet/close one's mouth.”
Tutup pintu perlahan-lahan; bayi baru tidur.
Close the door gently; the baby has just fallen asleep.
Kedai tu tutup awal hari ini sebab ada urusan keluarga.
That shop is closing early today because of a family matter. (informal)
Jangan tutup telefon dulu; saya belum habis bercakap.
Don't hang up yet; I haven't finished speaking. (everyday)
As a lexical element, tutup botol means a bottle cap and waktu tutup means closing time. Full noun penutup is usual for a lid, cover, final speech, or concluding component. The correct choice is conventional: morphology does not turn every English noun close/cover into the same Malay form.
Menutup: an actor causes closure
Transitive menutup takes the entity made closed, inaccessible, covered, or no longer operational as its direct object.
Peniaga itu menutup kedai selepas pelanggan terakhir beredar.
The trader closed the shop after the last customer left.
Aina menutup mukanya dengan kedua-dua belah tangan.
Aina covered her face with both hands.
Pihak berkuasa menutup jalan tersebut kerana berlaku tanah runtuh.
The authorities closed the road because a landslide occurred. (formal)
With a business, menutup kedai can mean closing for the day or ceasing operations permanently. Add context such as malam ini, selama dua minggu, or buat selama-lamanya to prevent ambiguity. With discourse, menutup mesyuarat means formally bring a meeting to an end; it does not refer to a physical cover.
Pengerusi menutup mesyuarat pada pukul empat petang.
The chairperson closed the meeting at four in the afternoon. (formal)
Ditutup: a closing event in passive voice
Ditutup foregrounds what undergoes closure. The actor may be omitted or introduced with oleh.
Kedai itu ditutup oleh pemiliknya pada akhir tahun lalu.
The shop was closed by its owner at the end of last year.
Kaunter pendaftaran akan ditutup pada pukul lima tepat.
The registration counter will be closed at exactly five o'clock. (formal event/schedule)
Laluan pejalan kaki ditutup sementara untuk kerja pembaikan.
The pedestrian route is temporarily closed for repair work. (formal notice)
The second and third examples can describe scheduled or imposed closure because ditutup construes an event, even when no actor is named. Di- does not encode past: akan ditutup, sedang ditutup, and sudah ditutup locate the event separately.
Write the prefix solid. In ditutup di kaunter, attached di- marks passive voice, while separate di marks location.
Tertutup: a state or salient result
Tertutup commonly answers “What state is it in?” It presents an entity as closed, enclosed, inaccessible, or non-public without making a deliberate closer central.
Pintu bilik stor itu masih tertutup ketika pengawal tiba.
The storeroom door was still closed when the guard arrived.
Tingkap tertutup rapat kerana angin kencang malam tadi.
The window ended up tightly shut because of last night's strong wind.
Mesyuarat itu tertutup kepada orang awam.
The meeting is closed to the public. (formal)
The form has lexical extensions: masyarakat tertutup “closed society,” fikiran tertutup “closed mind,” and soalan tertutup “closed question.” In these, a concrete closing event may not exist at all.
Compare the central contrast:
| Clause | What it foregrounds |
|---|---|
| Pekerja menutup pintu. | the worker's action |
| Pintu ditutup oleh pekerja. | the event affecting the door |
| Pintu tertutup. | the door's closed state/result |
Penutupan and penutup
Penutupan is the noun for a closing event, closure, shutdown, or final phase. Its complement identifies what closes.
Penutupan jalan itu menyebabkan kesesakan di pusat bandar.
The road closure caused congestion in the town center.
Majlis penutupan kejohanan akan diadakan pada petang Ahad.
The tournament's closing ceremony will be held on Sunday afternoon.
Penutupan kilang tersebut menjejaskan ratusan pekerja.
The factory closure affected hundreds of workers. (formal)
Penutup names a covering object or concluding element: penutup botol, kata penutup, acara penutup. It is not a synonym for the process noun penutupan.
Sebagai penutup, penyanyi itu mempersembahkan lagu rakyat Pahang.
As a finale, the singer performed a Pahang folk song.
Common Mistakes
1. Using active menutup for a state
❌ Pintu itu menutup sejak pagi.
Incorrect for the intended closed state—menutup requires an actor-like subject acting on something.
✅ Pintu itu tertutup sejak pagi.
That door has been closed since morning.
2. Using tertutup with a deliberate agent
❌ Jalan itu tertutup oleh pihak polis pada pukul lapan.
Wrong for an intentional closure event with a named actor.
✅ Jalan itu ditutup oleh pihak polis pada pukul lapan.
The road was closed by the police at eight o'clock.
3. Splitting passive di-
❌ Kaunter itu di tutup semasa waktu rehat.
Incorrect—the passive prefix di- is attached.
✅ Kaunter itu ditutup semasa waktu rehat.
The counter is closed during the break.
4. Treating penutupan as an active verb
❌ Mereka penutupan kedai pada pukul sepuluh.
Incorrect—penutupan is a noun, not the active verb ‘close.’
✅ Mereka menutup kedai pada pukul sepuluh.
They close the shop at ten o'clock.
5. Translating every English close with tutup
❌ Kami ialah kawan tutup sejak kecil.
Incorrect—English ‘close friends’ uses rapat, not the physical-closing family.
✅ Kami berkawan rapat sejak kecil.
We have been close friends since childhood.
Key Takeaways
Use root tutup for commands and labeled informal clauses, menutup for an actor's transitive action, ditutup for a passive closure event, and tertutup for a closed state or lexical property. Penutupan names a closure or closing event; penutup names a cover or final element. Voice and derivation shape perspective, while time remains in separate markers.
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
- buka, membuka, and terbuka: Verb Family and Usage in Malaysian MalayB1 — Distinguish actor-centered membuka, eventive dibuka, stative terbuka, benefactive bukakan, and the noun pembukaan.
- ter- versus di- in Malaysian MalayB1 — Choose ter- for accidental events, resultant states, and limited potential readings, and di- for an eventive passive whose actor may be expressed.
- 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.
- di-: Meanings and Derivational Network in Malaysian MalayA2 — Understand how passive di- keeps the lexical event but presents it from the patient’s perspective without marking tense or person.
- ter-: Meanings and Derivational Network in Malaysian MalayC1 — Connect accidental events, resulting states, potential readings, and superlatives through ter-'s shared focus on low control or a prominent endpoint.
- peN-...-an: Meanings and Derivational Network in Malaysian MalayC1 — Understand how peN-...-an packages actions as processes, organized activities, results, and institutional domains.