The little words di and ke are spelled in two ways. As prepositions before a place, direction or time they stand alone: di rumah, ke pasar, di atas. As prefixes they are joined to the word: dimakan, ditulis, kedua, ketua.
What your child will learn
- Write di and ke separately before places and directions
- Join di- to verbs
- Join ke- in words such as kedua and ketua
- Spot both kinds in one sentence
A quick test
Ask: is the next word a place or direction? Then leave a space — di sekolah, ke dalam, di sana, di mana. Is it an action? Then join it — dibaca, dijual, dihantar.
Ke- is joined in ordinal numbers and some nouns: kedua, ketiga, ketua, kekasih. With a numeral it takes a hyphen: ke-5. Daripada and kepada are always one word.
Example questions
Here are a few questions like the ones in the first quest. Can you solve them?
1. Isi tempat kosong: “Buku itu ___ oleh kakak di perpustakaan.”
📖- di baca
- dibaca
- dibacca
- di-baca
Show answer
Answer: dibaca. “Dibaca” ialah kata kerja pasif dan dieja rapat.
2. Yang manakah dieja dengan betul?
- kepasarr
- kepasar
- ke pasar
- ke-pasar
Show answer
Answer: ke pasar. Pasar ialah tempat, jadi “ke” dieja terpisah.
3. Betul atau salah? “Di rumah” dieja sebagai dua perkataan.
🏠- Betul
- Salah
Show answer
Answer: Betul. Rumah ialah tempat.
Tips for grown-ups
- Proofread a paragraph together, circling every di and ke.
- Write one sentence that uses both kinds: “Surat itu dihantar ke pejabat.”