How to Say 'Memberikan' in Casual Indonesian (Kasih, Ngasih)

Open any Indonesian textbook and you'll find memberikan. It means "to give." Grammatically perfect. Formally correct. And.. way too heavy for normal conversation.

That mem- prefix plus the -kan suffix? It screams written language. Nobody at a warung talks like that.

The Casual Version: Kasih

The word you actually hear is kasih. Short. Light. Everywhere.

Compare:

• "Saya akan memberikan ini kepada Anda" (formal)
• "Gue mau kasih ini ke kamu" (casual)

Both mean "I'm going to give this to you." But the first one sounds like a government letter. The second is just.. talking.

Fun fact. Kasih also means "love" in certain contexts. Like kasih sayang (love and affection). Same word, completely different vibe.

Ngasih: The Ng- Variant

You'll also hear ngasih. It's kasih with the ng- prefix attached. The meaning is the same.. "to give." Some speakers prefer it in certain sentence structures. Both are totally natural.

• "Gue mau ngasih dia hadiah" = I want to give her a gift

That ng- prefix is the casual cousin of the formal me- prefix. It sticks around where mem- would normally appear.

Kasih Combos You Need to Know

Here's where kasih gets really useful. It pairs with other words to create everyday phrases that memberikan could never handle.

Kasih tau = to tell, to inform. Literally "give + know." You hear this one constantly.

• "Kasih tau dong" = Tell me!
• "Jangan kasih tau siapa-siapa" = Don't tell anyone

Dikasih = was given (passive). Super common in conversation.

• "Dikasih siapa?" = Given by who?
• "Gue dikasih gratisan" = I was given a freebie

Then there are the more creative combos:

• "Kasih masuk" = put it in (literally "give enter")
• "Kasih jalan" = make way, let someone through

These phrases are second nature to Indonesian speakers. You can't build them with memberikan.. they only work with kasih.

The Takeaway

Memberikan belongs in essays and speeches. Kasih belongs in your mouth. It's shorter, more flexible, and unlocks a whole family of everyday expressions that formal Indonesian just can't touch.

So.. what phrase with kasih have you heard the most? 🤔