Advanced Passive Constructions in Indonesian

Overview

Beyond the basic di- passive, Indonesian has additional passive constructions that add nuance and are very common in everyday speech. The kena construction (colloquial passive for adverse events), terkena (affected by), and various agent-included passives with oleh expand your ability to express what happened to someone.

Indonesian is often described as a "passive-preferring" language, meaning passive voice is more natural and frequent than in English. Learning these advanced passive patterns will help you both understand and produce more natural Indonesian.

How It Works

Passive Types

Type	Formation	Example	Meaning
Basic di-	di- + verb	dibaca	is read
With agent	di- + verb + oleh + agent	dibaca oleh guru	read by the teacher
Agent without oleh	di- + verb + agent	dibaca guru	read by the teacher
Kena (adversative)	kena + verb/noun	kena tipu	got tricked
Terkena	ter- + verb	terkena dampak	affected by the impact

Kena (Adversative Passive)

Kena is used for negative or unfortunate events:

Indonesian	English
Kena tipu.	Got tricked.
Kena marah.	Got scolded.
Kena tilang.	Got a traffic ticket.
Kena hujan.	Got caught in rain.
Kena banjir.	Got hit by flooding.

Passive in Different Registers

Register	Pattern	Example
Formal writing	di- + verb + oleh	Keputusan diambil oleh presiden.
News	di- + verb	Pelaku ditangkap.
Casual speech	kena + noun/verb	Kena macet. (Got stuck in traffic.)
Colloquial	pronoun + root	Buku itu saya baca.

Examples in Context

Indonesian	English	Note
Saya ditipu oleh teman.	I was tricked by a friend.	With agent
Dia dicintai semua orang.	She is loved by everyone.	Without oleh
Dia ditangkap polisi.	He was arrested by the police.	Agent without oleh
Lagu itu dikenal banyak orang.	The song is known by many people.	Wide recognition
Kena tipu!	Got tricked!	Kena adversative
Dia terkena dampak banjir.	She was affected by the flood.	Terkena
Rumah itu dihancurkan badai.	The house was destroyed by the storm.	Natural disaster
Saya kena marah bos.	I got scolded by the boss.	Kena adversative
Makanan sudah disiapkan.	The food has been prepared.	Agent omitted
Dia kena tilang kemarin.	He got a traffic ticket yesterday.	Kena adversative

Common Mistakes

Using kena for positive events

• Wrong: Kena hadiah (got a prize — using kena for good things)
• Right: Dapat/mendapat hadiah
• Why: Kena is typically reserved for negative or unfortunate events.

Confusing di- passive with kena passive

• Wrong: Thinking they are interchangeable
• Right: di- is neutral/formal; kena is casual and implies negative experience
• Why: Dihukum (was punished — neutral) vs. Kena hukum (got punished — unfortunate, casual).

Always including oleh

• Wrong: Adding oleh in every passive sentence
• Right: Dia ditangkap polisi. — oleh is optional when the agent follows immediately
• Why: Oleh is often omitted in speech when the agent is clear.

Usage Notes

The kena passive is extremely common in colloquial Indonesian, especially in Jakarta. It always implies that the subject was adversely affected. In contrast, the di- passive is neutral and works for both positive and negative events. In formal writing (law, government, academic), di- + oleh is standard. In news writing, di- without oleh is typical. Understanding these register differences is key to natural Indonesian.

Practice Tips

1. Practice converting active to passive: Polisi menangkap pencuri → Pencuri ditangkap polisi. → Pencuri ditangkap. Try with various verbs.
2. Learn common kena expressions: kena tipu, kena marah, kena macet, kena hujan, kena tilang. These are high-frequency phrases in casual Indonesian.

Related Concepts

• Prefix di- (Passive) — the basic passive construction