Indonesian/prefix me

A form of Indonesian Conjugation

Awalan me- (Prefix me-)
Prefix me- is used to form active verbs. You may combine any nouns, any adjective, numbers, and even verbs themselves to form another verb.

Prefixing any words with me- would require a minor spelling change (inflection) in order to facilitate a smooth transition in pronunciation. The inflection is based solely on the first letter of the original word. This is an example of consonant mutation. See the table below.

Note:
 * Since original Indonesian words have no q, x, and z, the inflection is adapted from the existing ones. The q and x words would follow g rules, z words would follow j words.
 * Other initial letters (l, m, n, r, w, and y) don't have spelling changes.
 * If the word is monosyllabic (only has one syllable), regardless of the first letter of the word, the me- always turns into menge-, then add the word. For example:
 * cat (= paint) &rarr; mengecat (= to paint),
 * bor (= boring tool / drill) &rarr; mengebor (= to make a hole with drill).

Me- + Kata Kerja (Me- + Verb)
Verbs can be combined with me- prefix. The meaning is exactly the same as the infinitive. The semantics may be different depending on the type of verbs. To refresh our mind -- there are two kinds of verbs in Indonesian:
 * Transitive verbs (verbs that can have objects)
 * Intransitive verbs (verbs that cannot have objects, [almost] equivalent to reflexive verbs)

Me- + Kata Kerja Transitif (Me- + Transitive Verbs)
Transitive verbs can not be used in a sentence in their infinitive forms, except for a few words (e.g. makan (= to eat), minum (= to drink)). So, in order to use it, you must conjugate it with me- or some other prefixes.

Example:
 * Aku memakan roti (= I eat [a slice of] bread)
 * Dia menulis buku (= He/she writes [a] book(s))

Me- + Kata Kerja Intransitif (Me- + Intransitive Verbs)
Unlike transitive verbs, only a few of intransitive verbs can be conjugated with me-. Example:
 * Dia menangis (= He/she cries)

Most intransitive verbs must be used in their infinitive forms (e.g. tidur (= to sleep)) or use other affixes.

Note that, the sense of transitivity is not the same with other languages like Spanish. Here the word tari (= to dance) is considered intransitive.
 * Wati menari (= Wati dances)

Me- + Kata Benda (Me- + Noun)
When me- prefix is combined with a noun, the new word could mean one of the following:

 To put the noun on some other noun cat (= paint) &rarr; mengecat (= to paint) e.g. Bapak mengecat tembok (= Father paint the wall). To indicate that the subject turns into the noun (most of the times, figuratively) batu (= stone) &rarr; membatu (= to turn to stone) e.g. Dia membatu (= He/she turns to stone [figuratively, to indicate that he/she doesn't move for hours]) kuping (= ear) &rarr; menguping (= to turn to ear [i.e. to eavesdrop])  To produce the noun sambal (= chili) &rarr; menyambal (= to make chili) Comment: Indonesian rarely use this notion, but Malay do. Indonesian people usually prefer the phrase "membuat sambal" instead. To do work with the noun bajak (= plow) &rarr; membajak (= to plow) Note: Membajak can also mean to hijack. 

Note: The trickiest part of me- is when it is being combined with noun. Not all nouns can be combined with me- and the meaning is highly dependent on the culture.

Me- + Kata Sifat (Me- + Adjective)
When combined with adjective, the me- prefix indicates the subject changes more into or to turn to the indicated adjective. For example:


 * Besar (= big) &rarr; membesar (= to become bigger)
 * Kecil (= small) &rarr; mengecil (= to become smaller)
 * Panas (= hot) &rarr; memanas (= to become hotter)
 * Panjang (= long) &rarr; memanjang (= to become longer)
 * Putih (= white) &rarr; memutih (= to turn white)
 * Kuning (= yellow) &rarr; menguning (= to turn yellow)

Note: Adjective that describes emotions cannot be combined with me-.

Me- + Kata Bilangan (Me- + Numbers)
The only numbers that can be conjugated with me- are satu (= one) and dua (= two).


 * Satu &rarr; menyatu (= to unite)
 * Dua &rarr; mendua (= to split into two) Perhatiannya mendua (= His attention is split into two [i.e. not focused]) Hatinya mendua (= His heart is split into two [i.e. not loyal])

Me- + Kata Tempat (Me- + Places)
When combined with places, me- would indicate that the subject is going to the said place.


 * Udara (= air) &rarr; mengudara (= to go to the air [for radio/tv program or airplane])
 * Laut (= sea) &rarr; melaut (= to go to the sea [for ships/sailors])
 * Darat (= ground/land) &rarr; mendarat (= to land [for ships/airplane])
 * Seberang (= across) &rarr; menyeberang (= to cross [the street, sea, river])

Me- + Kata Seru (Me- + Expletive)
Note that the expletives doesn't mean swear words here, but rather the words that mimic sounds. For example: "Moo", "Baa", "Quack", etc.

When expletives are combined with me-, it indicates that the subject produces the indicated sound.


 * Aum (= tiger roar) &rarr; mengaum (= to roar like tigers)
 * Lenguh (= moo) &rarr; melenguh (= to moo like cows)