Suffix “–an” derives nouns from verbs and to a lesser extent, from nouns, adjectives and other classes. It also co-occurs with full and partial reduplication. It has a number of different functions. Suffix “–an” most commonly attaches to verb bases, several different meanings being distinguishable. With many verb bases, it produces a noun which stands as object of the action indicated by the verb. There is, therefore, always an associated transitive verb. The meaning is often expressed in Indonesian as apa yang di- (base) “what is (base)-ed”, where (base) is the meaning of the verb base. Thus, makanan “food” is apa yang dimakan “what is eaten”, pakaian “clothes” is apa yang dipakai “what is worn”.
Read the following examples of the suffix “–an”.

Tulisan tentang perkembangan ekonomi negara-negara berkembang di koran Tempo pagi ini sangat meresahkan banyak pelaku ekonomi. *tulis: write; tulisan: an article.

Sumbangan pemikiran dari ahli ekonomi dalam pembuatan rencana pembangunan nasional sangat bermanfaat. *sumbang: donate; sumbangan: contribution

Pimpinan Bappenas (Badan Perencanaan Pembangunan Nasional) yang baru akan melakukan rapat koordinasi dengan seluruh jajaran kepemimpinan departemennya. *pimpin: lead; pimpinan: chairman.

One subset of nouns in this group typically acts as modifiers to another noun, although some can occur alone with the same meaning. They tend to be translated by adjectives in English:

(barang) curian
(binatang) buruan
(rumah) sewaan
(sapi) perahan stolen (goods)
hunted (animal)
rented (house)
milking (cow)

The second important group of “–an” nouns with verbs bases are action nouns. These describe the action of the verb and can occur as head of phrase containing prepositions such as terhadap. Thus serangan “attack”, as in the noun phrase serangan terhadap musuh “an attack on the enemy”, expresses the same action as the verb menyerang “attack”, as in the construction Mereka menyerang musuh = “They attacked the enemy”. This is also a large productive set of nouns and includes:

ancaman
balasan
bantuan
keluhan
larangan
tantangan
kecaman
tuntutan
tekanan
tembakan threat
response
help, assistance
complaint
prohibition
challenge
criticism
demand
pressure
shooting

With some verb bases “–an” derives nouns indicating the instrument with which the action is performed or the place where the action occurs. With some nouns the instrumental or locative meaning is clear while for others interpretation is possible. Thus timbangan “scales” can be interpreted as either the instrument with which one weighs (menimbang “to weigh”) or the place where weighing takes place:
saluran channel
kendaraan vehicle
angkutan transport
gantungan hanger (for clothes)
bendungan dam
parkiran parking place
“–an” can also occur with noun bases. Sometimes it has the same meaning as the base, or a meaning which varies only slightly from that of the base, such as peran, peranan “role”, and while with other words there is a clear difference in meaning. It may indicate a magnification of the base, thus laut ‘Sea”, lautan “ocean”. It may have the same meaning as the base but with an additional extension of that meaning, thus pinggir “edge”, pinggiran “edge, outskirts”. In some cases the difference in meaning is unpredicatable, such as akhir “end”, akhiran “suffix”.

darat (dry) land daratan mainland
pasar market pasaran (international) market
keluh sigh, groan keluhan complaint
ruang space, room ruangan space, room
gambar picture gambaran description
landas base, substratum landasan base,substratum

One group of “–an” nouns based on nouns derive words which do not differ in meaning from the base, but have a different distribution. The base alone typically occurs as a partitive indicating natural or artificial clusterings, groupings and pieces of things, and is always preceded by a number, mostly se- “one”. The “–an” form occurs as the head of a non phrase and can have a noun modifier. Typically both constructions have the same translation in English:
sederet rumah, deretan rumah a row of houses
Dia membawa seikat jerami He was carrying a bundle of hay.
Dia membawa ikatan jerami. He was carrying a bundle of hay.
While the base usually occurs in a partitive construction with a preceding number, and is thus always indefinite, the “–an” form can be specific, occurring without a number, either alone or with a determiner:
deretan itu that row
ikatan ini this bundle

The following examples give only the “–an” form, but the base also has the same translation:

kawanan herd, flock
kepingan chip, fragment
lembaran sheet, page
pasangan pair
rangkaian series
timbunan heap, pile

Suffix “–an” can occur with a reduplicated noun base. There are two major functions. The word can indicate a variety of what is indicated by the base. The formation is especially common with words for plants:

obat-obatan medicine
pohon-pohonan (all kind of) trees or pepohonan
padi-padian (all kind of) grains
bunga-bungaan (all kind of) flowers
daun-daunan foliage or dedaunan
rumput-rumputan grasses , weeds or rerumputan
sayur-sayuran vegetables
umbi-umbian (various) edible tubers
buah-buahan fruits
tari-tarian (various kind of) dances

The word can indicate a diminutive or something which resembles or imitates what the base specifies. With this function the construction is quite productive and people often create a new form to refer to toys:
mobil-mobilan toy car
rumah-rumahan doll house
bulan-bulanan target
kuda-kudaan toy horse
kapal-kapalan toy boat
perang-perangan warfare game
burung-burungan toy bird
orang-orangan puppet, scarecrow

A few forms, with either full or partial reduplication, have verbal bases:
reruntuhan ruins runtuh to collapse
tumbuh-tumbuhan/ tetumbuhan plants tumbuh to grow
goreng-gorengan fried foods goreng to fry
sesajian temple offering saji to offer

With adjective bases, suffix “–an” derives nouns which refer to something having the characteristics specified by the base;

kotor dirty kotoran excrement,garbage,dirt
lanjut advanced lanjutan continuation
manis sweet manisan sweets
samar vague samaran camouflage, disguise

Grammar Practice
Change the word in the bracket using the suffix “–an” and translate each sentence into English.
Examples:
TULIS (to write)  TULISAN (written material, article)
1. Dia harus sering pulang malam, karena (work) dia selalu banyak.
2. (Report) yang Anda kerjakan ini, harus selesai permulaan bulan depan, ya.
3. Kami mau mengucapkan terima kasih atas semua (help) bapak dan ibu selama kami (moving).
4. Dia (graduate) Universitas Virginia dan akan mengambil S2 nya di Universitas Virginia semester ini.
5. Kami sudah menerima (invite) resepsi pernikahan putri Ibu, tentu dengan senang hati, kami akan menghadirinya.
6. Kalau saya tidak mencuci (wear) tiap minggu, tentu (wash) saya akan bertumpuk.
7. Toko ini menjual banyak (play) anak-anak, dari yang murah sampai yang mahal.
8. Saya baru melihat (collide) mobil di depan kantor., tapi syukurlah tidak ada orang yang tewas.
9. Tiap hari murid-murid kelas kelas bahasa Indonesia membaca (tulis) dalam surat kabar bahasa Inggris supaya mereka terbiasa menerjemahkannya ke dalam bahasa Indonesia.
10. Apa (part) pemasaran ada di lantai yang sama dengan (part) penjualan?
11. Salah seorang guru bahasa Indonesia mengumpulkan (donate) untuk para korban Badai Maria.
12. Kebanyakan pemain bola basket di Amerika, pemain (pay).
13. Ide membantu rakyat miskin mendapat banyak (support) dari penduduk setempat.
14. Bagaimana (relate) antara kedua negara itu menurut pendapat Anda?
15. Bu Jenny mesti pergi ke Kedubes Indonesia siang ini, sebab ada (arrange) penting yang mesti diselesaikan.
16. Di tiap kelas ada (date) yang digantung di dinding, sebab ini penting sekali untuk jadwal kami.
17. Pada waktu “Hari Ibu” di Amerika, banyak para ibu yang mendapat (wrap) dari anak-anak mereka.
18. Para pedagang di pinggir jalan menunjukkan (sell) mereka kepada orang yang lewat.
19. Tiap tahun selalu ada (exhibit) mobil atau bunga di gedung pusat Konperensi di kota Washington DC.
20. Sebelum pensiun, dia mengatakan bahwa dia mesti melunasi semua (borrow) dari bank.
21. Anak-anak harus punya (save) uang, supaya hidup mereka enak dan nyaman.
22. Mahasiswa yang berbelanja di toko kampus akan mendapat (cut) harga yang cukup besar.
23. Untuk (vacation) tahun depan, kami akan berkunjung ke Hawai dengan keluarga selama seminggu.
24. Karena dia sering bepergian ke luar negeri, jadi (collect) lukisannya sangat banyak dan bagus.
25. Tiap minggu, para pelajar bahasa Indonesia mendapat (practice) (week)
Answer
1. kerjaan 6. pakaian, cucian 11. sumbangan 16. tanggalan 21. simpanan
2. laporan 7. mainan 12. bayaran 17. 22. potongan
3. bantuan, pindahan 8. tabrakan 13. dukungan 18. 23. liburan
4. lulusan 9. tulisan 14. hubungan 19. 24. kumpulan
5. undangan 10. bagian, bagian 15. urusan 20. 25. Lathan, mingguan