A sisipan is an infix: an affix slipped into the middle of a base word, just after its first consonant. Malay has four — -el-, -em-, -er- and -in- — and they survive in a small, fixed set of words: tunjuk becomes telunjuk, guruh becomes gemuruh, gigi becomes gerigi.
What your child will learn
- Recognise the four infixes
- Find the base word inside an infixed word
- Know the meanings of common infixed words
After the first consonant
Take tapak: put -el- after the t and you get telapak (the palm or sole). Take tali: put -em- after the t and you get temali (cordage, as in tali-temali).
Infixes are no longer used to make new words, so the list is short and can simply be learned: telunjuk, telapak, jelajah, gelembung, kelupas, selidik; gemuruh, gemilang, kemuning, temurun; gerigi, seruling, serabut; sinambung.
Example questions
Here are a few questions like the ones in the first quest. Can you solve them?
1. Apakah kata dasar bagi “seruling”?
- sulang
- ruling
- suling
- seru
Show answer
Answer: suling. s + -er- + uling.
2. Apakah kata dasar bagi “gemuruh”?
- gemur
- muruh
- guruh
- gurau
Show answer
Answer: guruh. g + -em- + uruh.
3. Apakah kata dasar bagi “telunjuk”?
- lunjuk
- telun
- tunjuk
- tunjukan
Show answer
Answer: tunjuk. t + -el- + unjuk.
Tips for grown-ups
- Cover the infix with a finger and read what is left.
- Draw a telunjuk, a seruling and a gerigi and label the base words.