The prefix written meN- is a chameleon: it becomes me-, mem-, men-, meng-, meny- or menge- depending on the first letter of the base word. This is one of the most important patterns in Malay spelling.
What your child will learn
- Choose the right form of meN- for a base word
- Know which first letters disappear
- Work back from a meN- word to its base
Six shapes, one prefix
Mem- goes before b (membaca); men- before c, d and j (mencari, mendengar, menjahit); meng- before vowels, g and h (mengambil, menggali); me- before l, m, n, r, w and y (melukis, memasak, merasa). One-syllable words take menge-: mengecat, mengelap.
Four letters vanish: p, t, k and s. Pukul becomes memukul, tulis becomes menulis, kira becomes mengira and sapu becomes menyapu.
Example questions
Here are a few questions like the ones in the first quest. Can you solve them?
1. Tambahkan awalan “meN-” pada “dengar”.
- memdengar
- medengar
- mendengar
- mengdengar
Show answer
Answer: mendengar. Sebelum huruf d, awalannya men-.
2. Tambahkan awalan “meN-” pada “rasa”.
- mengrasa
- merasa
- menrasa
- memrasa
Show answer
Answer: merasa. Sebelum huruf r, awalannya me-.
3. Tambahkan awalan “meN-” pada “lukis”.
- memlukis
- melukis
- menglukis
- menlukis
Show answer
Answer: melukis. Sebelum huruf l, awalannya me-.
Tips for grown-ups
- Remember the vanishing letters with the made-up word “KePaTaS”: k, p, t, s.
- Give a base word and race to say its meN- form.