The Passive Prefix di- in Indonesian

In Brief

Indonesian commonly makes a passive verb by attaching di- to a verb base: membaca “to read” becomes dibaca “to be read.” The person or thing affected by the action becomes the subject, while the agent (the person doing it) can be omitted or introduced with oleh “by.” The prefix is written as one word—dibaca—unlike the place preposition di, which is written separately: di rumah “at home.”

Overview

A passive sentence presents an action from the viewpoint of the person or thing affected by it. In Rina membaca buku itu (“Rina reads that book”), the sentence focuses on Rina, the agent who performs the action. In Buku itu dibaca oleh Rina (“That book is read by Rina”), buku itu moves into focus and the verb takes di-.

This di- passive, often called the type 1 passive, is extremely common in Indonesian conversation, news, instructions, signs, and formal writing. It is introduced around A2 because its basic pattern is regular and useful. Unlike English, Indonesian does not need an equivalent of be before the passive verb: dibaca can mean “is read,” “was read,” or “will be read,” depending on context.

The subject is the main person or thing the sentence is about. The agent is whoever performs the action. English usually marks a passive with be + past participle (“was written”), but Indonesian normally marks it directly on the verb with di-. This makes the form easy to recognize once you know where the word boundaries are.

How It Works

The beginner pattern

The core pattern is:

affected person or thing + di-verb + (oleh + agent)

Active sentence	Passive sentence	What changes
Rina membaca buku itu.	Buku itu dibaca oleh Rina.	buku itu becomes the subject; membaca becomes dibaca
Petugas membuka pintu.	Pintu dibuka oleh petugas.	pintu is placed first; the agent follows oleh
Mereka menjual rumah itu.	Rumah itu dijual oleh mereka.	rumah itu becomes the focus

For a first practical rule, take the verb base and attach di-:

Base	Active me(N)- form	Passive di- form	Meaning of passive form
baca	membaca	dibaca	to be read
tulis	menulis	ditulis	to be written
jual	menjual	dijual	to be sold
pakai	memakai	dipakai	to be used/worn
buka	membuka	dibuka	to be opened
ambil	mengambil	diambil	to be taken
lihat	melihat	dilihat	to be seen

The me(N)- prefix changes shape and can alter the beginning of a base: tulis becomes menulis, for example. di- is simpler. It is normally added without those sound changes: tulis → ditulis, kirim → dikirim, ambil → diambil. Learning the base form therefore helps you connect active and passive verbs.

No separate word for “be”

Do not insert adalah or another linking word before a di-verb. Indonesian uses the prefixed verb itself:

• Surat itu ditulis kemarin. — “The letter was written yesterday.”
• Surat itu sedang ditulis. — “The letter is being written.”
• Surat itu akan ditulis besok. — “The letter will be written tomorrow.”

Indonesian verbs do not change form for grammatical tense. Time comes from context or words such as kemarin “yesterday,” sedang “in progress,” sudah “already,” and akan “will/going to.” Consequently, ditulis by itself may be translated in several ways.

Mentioning the agent with oleh

Use oleh when you need to say who performs the action:

• Novel itu ditulis oleh Andrea Hirata. — “The novel was written by Andrea Hirata.”
• Paket akan dikirim oleh toko besok. — “The package will be sent by the shop tomorrow.”

The agent is often left out because it is unknown, obvious, unimportant, or deliberately not emphasized:

• Pintu sudah dikunci. — “The door has been locked.”
• Dilarang merokok. — “Smoking is prohibited.”

When an agent noun comes immediately after the passive verb, oleh can sometimes be omitted, especially in concise prose: Keputusan itu disetujui semua anggota (“The decision was approved by all members”). Including oleh is the clearest beginner choice. If other material separates the verb from the agent, keep oleh: Keputusan itu disetujui kemarin oleh semua anggota.

di- is attached; di is separated

Indonesian has two different items pronounced di:

Form	Job	Spelling	Example
di-	passive verb prefix	attached to the verb	ditulis “written”
di	preposition showing location	separate from the following word	di kantor “at the office”

A useful test is meaning. If di introduces where something is, write it separately: di meja, di Jakarta, di dalam. If it marks what is done to something, attach it: dibeli, dikirim, diperiksa. Both can occur together: Buku itu dibaca di perpustakaan means “That book is read in the library.”

Longer verbs keep their suffixes

Some verbs contain the suffix -kan or -i. A suffix is an ending attached to a base. It remains present when di- is added:

Active	Passive	Example meaning
membersihkan	dibersihkan	to be cleaned
menggunakan	digunakan	to be used
mengirimkan	dikirimkan	to be sent
mengisi	diisi	to be filled in
mengirimi	dikirimi	to be sent something

These endings can affect meaning and sentence structure, so do not remove them automatically. Compare Surat itu dikirim kepada Maya (“The letter was sent to Maya”) with Maya dikirimi surat (“Maya was sent a letter”).

Examples in Context

Indonesian	English	Note
Buku itu dibaca oleh saya.	The book is read by me.	Grammatically possible; the agent is explicit and contrastive.
Surat ditulis kemarin.	The letter was written yesterday.	kemarin supplies past time.
Rumah itu dijual.	The house was sold / is for sale.	The agent is not important.
Bahasa Indonesia digunakan di kantor ini.	Indonesian is used in this office.	Attached digunakan contrasts with separate di kantor.
Pintu sudah dikunci.	The door has already been locked.	sudah presents the action as completed.
Makanan sedang disiapkan.	The food is being prepared.	sedang marks an action in progress.
Hasilnya akan diumumkan besok.	The result will be announced tomorrow.	akan and besok make the future meaning clear.
Formulir ini harus diisi dengan lengkap.	This form must be filled in completely.	A common instruction with harus.
Mobil kami diperbaiki oleh mekanik itu.	Our car was repaired by that mechanic.	oleh identifies the agent.
Pertanyaan itu belum dijawab.	That question has not been answered yet.	belum means “not yet.”
Tiket dapat dibeli secara daring.	Tickets can be purchased online.	dapat expresses possibility or availability.
Saya diberi waktu dua hari.	I was given two days.	A person affected by “giving” is the subject.
Buku itu dibaca di perpustakaan.	That book is read in the library.	Passive prefix and location preposition appear together.
Keputusan itu dibuat setelah rapat.	The decision was made after the meeting.	No agent is needed.

Common Mistakes

Writing the passive prefix as a separate word

• Wrong: Surat itu di tulis kemarin.
• Right: Surat itu ditulis kemarin.
• Why: The passive di- is a prefix and must be attached to the verb.

Attaching the location preposition

• Wrong: Mereka bekerja dikantor.
• Right: Mereka bekerja di kantor.
• Why: Location di is a separate preposition, not a passive prefix. Ask whether the phrase answers “where?”

Adding an English-style form of “be”

• Wrong: Surat itu adalah ditulis kemarin.
• Right: Surat itu ditulis kemarin.
• Why: Indonesian does not form this passive with “be + participle.” The di-verb already carries the passive meaning.

Expecting the verb to show past time

• Misleading: assuming Rumah itu dijual can only mean “The house was sold.”
• Better: use context: Rumah itu sudah dijual (“has been sold”) or Rumah itu akan dijual (“will be sold”).
• Why: di- marks passive voice, not tense. Voice shows how participants are presented; tense shows time.

Using di- with a verb that has no affected object

• Wrong: Dia ditidur.
• Right: Dia tidur. — “He/she sleeps.”
• Why: The ordinary di- passive is built from a transitive verb—a verb whose action can affect an object. Tidur does not take such an object in its basic meaning.

Using oleh saya as the default for every “by me” idea

• Awkward in many everyday contexts: Buku itu dibaca oleh saya.
• Usually more natural: Buku itu saya baca.
• Why: Indonesian commonly uses a different passive pattern with first- and second-person agents. The oleh saya version is grammatical and can emphasize “by me,” but it should not be your only pattern.

Usage Notes

The di- passive is not limited to formal Indonesian. It is productive and frequent across registers, although formal documents, news reports, notices, and instructions use agentless passives especially often. They let a writer focus on a procedure or result: Data harus diperiksa (“The data must be checked”).

English speakers may overuse an explicit “by” phrase because English lessons often present passives as transformations with by. Indonesian usually omits the agent when listeners can infer it. Pesanan Anda sudah dikirim is complete and natural without stating that the shop or courier sent the order.

Some di- forms have conventional translations that depend on context. Rumah itu dijual can describe an action (“The house was sold”) or advertise a current status (“The house is for sale”). Dilarang masuk is naturally translated as “No entry” or “Entry is prohibited,” not word for word.

Beyond the Basics: Passive Choices

You do not need to master all of these contrasts at A2, but you will encounter them often.

Type 1 and type 2 passive

The di- construction is usually called type 1 passive. Indonesian has another major pattern, commonly called type 2 passive, especially with a definite first- or second-person agent:

Active	Type 1 passive	Type 2 passive
Saya membaca buku itu.	Buku itu dibaca oleh saya.	Buku itu saya baca.
Kamu harus mengisi formulir ini.	Formulir ini harus diisi oleh kamu.	Formulir ini harus kamu isi.

Type 2 places the agent before the unprefixed verb. In neutral everyday Indonesian, Buku itu saya baca is generally more idiomatic than Buku itu dibaca oleh saya. With a third-person noun agent, the di- passive is a straightforward and widely useful choice: Buku itu dibaca oleh Rina.

Do not combine the patterns. Forms such as Buku itu saya dibaca incorrectly put a type 2 agent before a di-verb.

Accidental and result-oriented meanings

Indonesian can add words that shape how a passive event is understood. tidak sengaja explicitly means “accidentally”: Gelas itu tidak sengaja dijatuhkan (“The glass was accidentally dropped”). The form ter- can also express an accidental event or a resulting state in some verbs, but it is not freely interchangeable with di-. Learn common ter- forms separately rather than replacing every di-verb.

Why writers choose the passive

Passive voice is useful when the affected participant connects to the previous sentence, when the agent is unknown, or when mentioning responsibility is unnecessary. Compare:

• Polisi menemukan tas itu. Petugas kemudian memeriksa tas itu. — both clauses foreground agents.
• Polisi menemukan tas itu. Tas itu kemudian diperiksa. — the second sentence continues smoothly with tas itu as its topic.

This is more than a mechanical active-to-passive exercise: it is a way to organize information. Formal and impersonal uses develop this principle further, while advanced study also covers interactions with suffixes, aspect words, and different kinds of agents.

Practice Tips

1. Build active–passive pairs. Choose five common transitive verbs and make pairs such as Ibu memasak nasi → Nasi dimasak oleh Ibu. Underline the affected item that moves to the front.
2. Run the spacing test. When you see or write di, ask: “Is this a place, or an action done to something?” Keep locations separate (di sekolah) and passive verbs attached (dipelajari).
3. Add time and aspect words. Reuse one sentence with sudah, sedang, belum, and akan: Paket sudah/sedang/belum/akan dikirim. Translate each version aloud so that you stop expecting di- itself to show time.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Prefix me(N)- — helps you connect active verbs with their bases and passive counterparts.
• Next step: Type 2 Passive — the important pattern used especially with first- and second-person agents.
• Next step: Advanced Passive Constructions — develops passive choice, word order, and more complex predicates.
• Advanced reference: Formal Passive and Impersonal — explores formal, institutional, and agent-backgrounding styles.