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Prefix “se-” Posted by on Feb 28, 2018 in Uncategorized

1. One function of se- with nouns is to form adjectives that mean “sharing (base), having the same (base)”, where the base is a noun.
Examples:
Dia teman sekelas saya. He is a classmate of mine.
Maya rekan sekamarnya. Maya is his/her roommate.

Alternatively, the se- (base) form may occur as a predicate and be followed by an accompaniment phrase beginning with dengan “with”.
Examples:
Wanda sekelas dengan Yolanda. Wanda is in the same class as Yolanda.
Anaknya seumur dengan anak saya. His/her child is the same age as my child.

Other words in this group include:
searah (dengan) having the same direction/purpose (as)
seimbang (dengan) in balance (with)
sekantor (dengan) sharing an office (with)
selaras (dengan) in harmony (with)
sependapat (dengan) of the same opinion (as)
seranjang (dengan) sharing a bed (with)
setara (dengan) equal (to), matching, on the same level (as)

The combination of prefix se- and a noun sometimes forms an adjective meaning “all, the whole (base)”
Examples:
– se-Indonesia
all – Indonesia
– sedunia
(whole) world
– (orang) sekampung
the whole village

2. Prefix se- means “one”. It occurs with group numbers to form cardinals:
sepuluh ten seribu one thousand
sebelas eleven sejuta a million
seratus one hundred

3. Prefix se- also form fractions, often in combination with per-:
seperempat one- quarter setengah one half
seperlima one – fifth separuh one half

While seperdua “half” is possible, setengah and separuh are commonly used.

Classifier “se-”
A classifier precedes a count noun. If the noun is singular, se- “one” precedes the classifier.
Only three classifiers are in frequent use:
orang used with humans seorang guru a teacher
ekor used with living creatures seekor ular/ikan/anjing a snake/fish/dog
buah used with inanimate things sebuah kursi/buku/mobil a chair/book/car

Other examples:
batang used with cylindrical objects such as a pipe, a cigarette sebatang pipa/rokok a pipe/a cigarette

bentuk used with round and curved objects such as a ring, a bangle sebentuk cincin/gelang a ring/a bangle

bidang used with flat, spread-out things such as a plot of land sebidang tanah a plot of land

biji used with round or elongated objects such as fruit or seed sebiji manga a mango

butir used with small round objects (biji and butir sometimes overlap) sebutir pasir a grain of sand

bilah used with sharp things such as knives sebilah pisau a knife

carik used with paper secarik kertas a piece of paper
helai used with flat things like leaves, textiles, paper (helai and carik sometimes overlap) sehelai daun/ kertas a leaf/ a sheet of paper

lembar used with flat things (lembar, helai, carik sometimes overlap) selembar foto a photograph

kuntum used with flowers sekuntum bunga a flower
patah used with words
sepatah dua patah kata a word or two/ one or two words
pucuk used with guns and letters sepucuk senjata/surat a weapon/ a letter
tangkai used with slender objects such as stems setangkai bunga mawar a rose
utas used with rope and thread seutas tali a piece of rope

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About the Author: asimonoff

I’m an Indonesian language instructor, instructional material developer, reading test developer, and interpreter. I have been teaching Indonesian to adult students for 15 years, and have been teaching students from many backgrounds, such as private, military and diplomatic service employees. I’m Indonesian, but am living in the US now; my exposure to different cultures in my home country and in the US has enriched my knowledge in teaching Indonesian as a second language. I approach the teaching of the Indonesian language by developing students’ critical cultural awareness and competence. This method of teaching has been proven to be a key to the success of my students. Students become conscious of the essential role culture plays in the language.