Me-, me-i, and me-kan

[Nimbus]

Thanks for posting this. There definitely is a huge difference between me-i and me-kan words. ... I'm sure John would appreciate Tina knowing the difference here...

Tina sedang menidurkan John.
Tina sedang meniduri John.

I think John would appreciate it either way, although he would be much happier in the latter





Ok, for those of you who are still struggling with the meaning:
Tina sedang menidurkan John = Tina is putting John to sleep.
Tina sedang meniduri John = Tina is (actively) sleeping with John. Yes, it means sex too in Indonesian.

[Alia]

What about 'Tina menidurin John' ?

Not a formal Indonesian, but if you talk like native Indonesian speaker, its not rare to be heard.

I think it could means either way ? Tina is putting John to sleep and Tina is (actively) sleeping with John ?

[Nimbus]

What about 'Tina menidurin John' ?

Not a formal Indonesian, but if you talk like native Indonesian speaker, its not rare to be heard.

I think it could means either way ? Tina is putting John to sleep and Tina is (actively) sleeping with John ?

That's right, the informal suffix -in is ambiguous because it acts as both -i and -kan. In informal speech the me- suffix is eliminated but the inflection (in this case n) is retained.

Formal: me- (n) tidur -i = meniduri or me- (n) tidur -kan = menidurkan
Informal: (n) tidur -in = nidurin

[747-8]

Formal: me- (n) tidur -i = meniduri or me- (n) tidur -kan = menidurkan
Informal: (n) tidur -in = nidurin

This is why I always avoid using the -in suffix when speaking Indonesian .. it confuses the hell out of me. I don't recall being taught the -in suffix when I studied HSC Bahasa Indonesia back in Australia but I hear it so often here. My Indonesian girlfriend always say to me, "kalau udah mendarat, kabar-in ya sayang" ... to which I reply, "ya sayang, aku akan kabar-kan setelah mendarat nanti" ..or if I'm feeling tired, I just reply ... "Sip sip sip"

[Nimbus]

This is why I always avoid using the -in suffix when speaking Indonesian .. it confuses the hell out of me. I don't recall being taught the -in suffix when I studied HSC Bahasa Indonesia back in Australia but I hear it so often here. My Indonesian girlfriend always say to me, "kalau udah mendarat, kabar-in ya sayang" ... to which I reply, "ya sayang, aku akan kabar-kan setelah mendarat nanti" ..or if I'm feeling tired, I just reply ... "Sip sip sip"

What? You speak formal Indonesian to your Indonesian GF? You get away with it only because you're a foreigner

In this context you can use either kabari or kabarkan. You can say "aku kabari kamu" or "aku kabarkan kedatangannya", in short lazy Indonesians can say "aku kabari" or "aku kabarkan". Here the difference between -i and -kan is trivial, so when you use -in there's no ambiguity problem.

[Alia]

... to which I reply, "ya sayang, aku akan kabar-kan setelah mendarat nanti" ..

Sweet, you are too polite, Capt ! You can also say : "ya sayang, ntar aku kabarin.."

In this context you can use either kabari or kabarkan. You can say "aku kabari kamu" or "aku kabarkan kedatangannya"

What ..? Gak bisa dong ! "aku kabarkan kedatangannya" means : I will let you know about her/his arrival (another person than the 2 of them).

If he wants to let her know about his arrival, he will need to say "kedatanganku".

[ricky_id]

Or just say "Aku kasih tau".

[teena]

What about 'Tina menidurin John' ?

Not a formal Indonesian, but if you talk like native Indonesian speaker, its not rare to be heard.

I think it could means either way ? Tina is putting John to sleep and Tina is (actively) sleeping with John ?

Ouh,Alia,,I NEVER meniduri or even menidurkan John... Hikss

[john madden]

Ouh,Alia,,I NEVER meniduri or even menidurkan John... Hikss

I am, unfortunately, able to confirm this.

[ausdag]

The prefix me- forms an active verb out of any root word.

Me- creates an intransitive verb

Many (most?) Me-verbs are transitive. Or do you mean specifically in relation to those base words that can take all three forms - me~, me-kan, and me-i?