In a kata ganda berentak the word is doubled but the second half changes a sound, giving the pair a beat: sayur-mayur (all sorts of vegetables), gunung-ganang (mountain ranges), kuih-muih (assorted cakes), bolak-balik (back and forth).
What your child will learn
- Complete common rhyming pairs
- Know what each pair means
- Use them to make descriptions vivid
Three ways the sound changes
The first consonant may change (sayur-mayur, kuih-muih, lauk-pauk), the vowels may change (bolak-balik, mundar-mandir, compang-camping), or the second half may be a different word that only exists in the pair (gelap-gelita, terang-benderang, lintang-pukang).
Pairs made from nouns usually mean “many kinds of”. Pairs made from other words describe a state: huru-hara (chaos), hingar-bingar (noisy), bengkang-bengkok (crooked).
Example questions
Here are a few questions like the ones in the first quest. Can you solve them?
1. Lengkapkan kata ganda berentak: “kuih-___”
🍡- mueh
- muhi
- kuih
- muih
Show answer
Answer: muih. Kata ganda berentaknya ialah “kuih-muih”.
2. Lengkapkan kata ganda berentak: “saudara-___”
- mari
- saudari
- mora
- mara
Show answer
Answer: mara. Kata ganda berentaknya ialah “saudara-mara”.
3. Lengkapkan kata ganda berentak: “gunung-___”
⛰️- genang
- ganung
- gunung
- ganang
Show answer
Answer: ganang. Kata ganda berentaknya ialah “gunung-ganang”.
Tips for grown-ups
- At the market, name the stalls: sayur-mayur, kuih-muih, lauk-pauk.
- Describe a messy room with three berentak words.