Dusun Lesson 5 — Affixes

Lesson 5: Dusun Affixes for Verb & Adjective (Imbuhan)

One of the most fascinating — and also most challenging — aspects of learning Dusun is mastering its system of affixes (imbuhan). These include prefixes, suffixes, and infixes that attach to verbs and adjectives to express things like tense, mood, voice, direction, and even emphasis.

Dusun has over 50 unique affix forms used with verbs and adjectives. Some words can change completely in meaning depending on which affix is applied. Understanding these forms is essential for fluency — without them, your sentence can sound awkward, incomplete, or even completely wrong.

Let's take the root verb tandang (to kick) as an example. Below is a list of its various affixed forms. You might be surprised — but yes, Dusun speakers use these regularly in daily conversation:

📌 Present Tense Variants:
tandang, angatandang, atandang, guntandang, ingkatandang, katandang, manandang, mananandang, mintandang, mogitandang-tandang, mokitandang, obintandang, panandang, panandangan, papatandang, patandango, patandangon, pointandang, pokitandang, pokitandangan, popintandang, sangkatandangan, sangkatandang-tandang, sitandang, sipanandang

📌 Past Tense Variants:
kinatandangan, minintandang, mintandang, minokitandang, minanandang, minogitandang-tandang, nangatandang, natandang, nakatandang, nakatandangan, pinanandang, pinanandangan, pinapatandang, pinatandang, pinopitandang, pinitandang, pinintandangan, pinokitandangan, pinopintandang, sinangkatandangan, sinangkatandang-tandang, sinitandang, sinipanandang, tinandang

It may seem overwhelming, but yes — these forms are truly used by native speakers in real conversations. Each affix has its own nuance and function, and with time, you'll begin to recognize their patterns and meanings naturally.

🔍 Why are there so many affixes?

Dusun is an agglutinative language, meaning it builds meaning by "gluing" parts together — much like LEGO blocks. Instead of using extra words like English does ("I want to go" or "You can run?"), Dusun encodes those ideas directly into the verb form using affixes. (siongoi oku, katangkus ko?)

🌏 Comparison to Tagalog

Tagalog (Filipino) works in a similar way — both languages come from the Austronesian family. If you've learned Tagalog verbs like kumain, kinakain, kainin, kakain, you'll feel right at home in Dusun. Just like in Tagalog, each affix combination has a specific role — whether showing tense, focus, voice, or direction. BTW, they claim that a Tagalog verb has 100+ possible affixes and combinations.

⏳ Dusun Focuses Heavily on the Past

Interestingly tapi tidak semestinya betul ya, Dusun appears to have more verb forms for the past tense than for the present or future. From my observation, this may reflect a cultural tendency to tell stories, explain past actions, or even debate what has happened — though that's just a fun theory. What's clear is: past tense is rich and detailed in this language.

⚠️ Mistakes Can Change Everything

In Dusun, using the wrong affix can totally flip the meaning of your sentence:

Change the voice (active ↔ passive)
Change the focus (who did what)
Change the time frame
Or worse — make your sentence nonsense or rude!

That's why it's important to study affixes carefully. We'll go slowly and cover each one step by step.

📘 What We'll Cover

In this lesson, we will:

Introduce the most common affixes: papa/popo, ma/mo, si, ka/ko, and their past tenses
Explain their meanings, examples, and when to use them
Compare similar affixes and show when each is used

Dusun verbs are modified using various types of affixes:

Prefixes – added at the beginning of the root verb (e.g., si-, ka-, ko-, minan-, mongoi)
Suffixes – added at the end of the root verb (e.g., -an, -on, -o)
Infixes – inserted into the middle of the root verb (e.g., in, as in tinandang from tandang)
Reduplication – repeating part or all of the root to express scattered or repeated action (e.g., sangtangkus-tangkus)

🔹 Common Dusun Verb Affixes

Affix	Use	Malay equiv	Dusun Example	English Translation
si-	Desire / Want	ingin, mahu, hendak	Siboli oku kurita Sianu yau doh tanak	I want to buy a car She wants a child
ka- / ko-	Ability	dapat, mampu	Kagampot ko? Kokito oku dau	Can you reach? I can see him
ki-	Ownership	mempunyai	Kikurita ko? Kisawo noh ih John?	Do you have a car? Does John have a wife?
ma-/mo-	Present action	me-, ber-	Momoli oku'd sada Manangkus oku sodopon	I am buying fish I will run this afternoon
moki-	Receiver asking for an action	minta ...	Mokikoruhang oku diya baino Mokitandang ko doho?	I need you to accompany me today You want me to kick you?
papa-/popo-	Causation, to make things happen	memberi ...	Papapanau oku ti kurita ku Mongoi oku popokirim ti surat	I am driving my car I am going to post this letter
-an / -on	Future intention / receiver-focused	—	Akanon ku ilo takano Igitan ku longon dau	I will eat that rice I will hold her hand
o- / a-	Passive / Potential form	boleh di...	Oinum ih ti waig boh Atakad di nuluhon?	The water is drinkable Is the hill climbable?
sang- / song- + reduplication	Scattered/random action by many	ber...an	Sangtangkus-tangkus Songihad-ihad	Running around Crying all over
mi-	Reciprocal by multiple doers	ber..an	Mitumbuk yolo Midamot kito mamanau	They are hitting each other We go together
poim- / poin- / poing-	Non-completive action	sedang ber...	Poingodop oku norikatan dih John Poimpasi poh ih manuk nu?	I was sleeping when John came Is your chicken still alive?
mim- / min- / ming-	Repetitive action	ber...2	Mintangkus nopo karaja nu Mingihad ih Mary nokokito dih John	All you ever do is running Mary keeps crying when she sees John
minan-	Past action (doer-focused)	telah mem...	Minanandang ih John dih buul Minanakau ih Mary dih kambing ku	John kicked the ball Mary stole my goat
kaka- / koko-	Recent past (just happened)	baru sahaja	Kokorikot ku Amu oku louson, kakaakan ku	I just arrived I'm not hungry, I just ate
in (infix)	Simple Past (receiver-focused)	telah di...	Tinandang dih John ih buul Binoli ku ih manuk	The ball was kicked by John I bought the chicken
naka- / noko-	Past perfect (doer focused)	telah me...	Nakatandang oku noh do buul Nokoinum oku do waig	I have kicked a ball I had drunk water
na- / no-	Past perfect (receiver focused)	telah di...	Naakan ku ih takano Noinum oku ih waig	I have eaten the rice I had drunk the water
pina- / pino-	Past action (intentional) done to other	telah di...	Pinatahak ku dih John ih tusin Pinoinum ku ih tungau	I gave the money to John I gave drink to the cat
tongo- / tanga-	Plurality	menandakan banyak/ramai	tongo tanak tongo tombolog	children birds

📖 How to Apply the Prefixes

✅ The Master Vowel Rule

Most prefixes in Dusun follow one simple rule. You only need to look at one thing to know which variant to use.

For roots that start with a consonant — look at the 2nd letter:

2nd letter = a → use -a variant (mama-, papa-, naka-, na-, pina-, ka-...) e.g. babak → mamababak, papababak, nakababak, nababak
2nd letter = other → use -o variant (momo-, popo-, noko-, no-, pino-, ko-...) e.g. bobog → momobog, popobobog, nokobobog, nobobog

For roots that start with a vowel — the starting vowel decides:

Starts with a → use -a variant. e.g. ada' → mangada', papaada', nakaada', naada'
Starts with i or u → use -o variant. e.g. irak → mongirak, popoirak, nokoinak, noirak
Starts with o → just add m in front. Other prefixes follow -o variant. e.g. ongoi → mongoi, popoongoi, nokoongoi, nongoi

ma-/mo- Prefix — How It Works

The ma-/mo- prefix is the most complex because the form depends on two things: the first letter of the root, and the first vowel of the root.

First letter	Prefix	Consonant	Example
B, P	mam-/mom-	replaced	babak→mamabak, panau→mamanau
D, G, J, L, R, H	mama-/momo-	stays	dagang→mamadagang, guring→momoguring
S, T	man-/mon-	replaced	salin→manalin, tobok→monobok
K	mang-/mong-	replaced	kakap→mangakap, kotol→mongotol
Vowel A	mang-	stays	ahid→mangahid
Vowel I, U	mong-	stays	irak→mongirak
Vowel O	m-	stays	ongoi→mongoi

💡 The a/o decision For B, P, D, G, J, L, R, H, S, T, K — the choice between the -a or -o variant depends on the first vowel of the root (2nd letter if consonant-initial): first vowel = a → use -a variant (mama-, mana-, manga-, mama-) · first vowel = anything else → use -o variant (mom-, mon-, mong-, momo-)

Root Reference

All root verbs used in the examples below, with their Malay meanings:

Root	Malay	Root	Malay
ada'	wujud/ada	ahid	kikis tanah/pasir
babak	pecah	babo	bawa
birud	putar/pusing	bobog	pukul
boros	cakap	dagang	niaga
darap	darab	dumpou	banting ke lantai
duntung	pukul	gaam	lekat
gambar	lukis	giak	jerit
giling	giling	guring	goreng
haor	cari dalam gelap	hapal	hafal
hobo	nafas	hondom	ingat
hukum	hukum	iad	tanggal ikatan
ias	bongkar	ilo	tahu
irak	ketawa	jaga	jaga
jawap	jawab	jiil	penjara
jual	jual	kakai	garuk
kakap	lawat	kakat	angkat
kilat	gilap	kotol	cekik
kurung	kurung	labas	tanggal pakaian
lawat	lawat	ligot	potong sekeliling pokok
lokud	bengkok dahan	olos	pinjam
ongoi	pergi	pagung	pukul
panau	jalan	posu	buat lubang
putul	potong	raag	rosak
rambit	terima	rambot	tangkap dengan jaring
rilik	tebas pokok/semak	rongou	dengar
saan	bawa (atas bahu)	saat	cat
salin	salin	sompon	tutup penutup
susuk	tusuk/masuk ke lubang	tahak	beri
tangkus	lari	tibas	tebas dengan parang
tobok	tikam	ubas	jinak
ukab	buka	ulang	ulang

Present Tense Prefixes

📌 Prefix Rules for this table

ma/mo — see architecture table above. First consonant is replaced by a nasal (mam/mom, man/mon, mang/mong) or mama/momo is added in front. Choice of a/o variant depends on first vowel of root.

papa/popo — vowel rule only. Root intact.

mim/min/ming — consonant rule: B/P → mim, D/J/S/T → min, everything else → ming. Root intact.

moki — just add moki in front. No rule. Root intact.

Root	ma/mo	papa/popo	mim/min/ming	moki
ada'	mangada'	papaada'	mingada'	mokiada'
ahid	mangahid	papaahid	mingahid	mokiahid
babak	mamabak	papababak	mimbabak	mokibabak
babo	mamabo	papababo	mimbabo	mokibabo
birud	momirud	popobirud	mimbirud	mokibirud
bobog	momobog	popobobog	mimbobog	mokibobog
boros	momoros	popoboros	mimboros	mokiboros
dagang	mamadagang	papadagang	mindagang	mokidagang
darap	mamadarap	papadarap	mindarap	mokidarap
dumpou	momodumpou	popodumpou	mindumpou	mokidumpou
duntung	momoduntung	popoduntung	minduntung	mokiduntung
gaam	mamagaam	papagaam	minggaam	mokigaam
gambar	mamagambar	papagambar	minggambar	mokigambar
giak	momogiak	popogiak	minggiak	mokigiak
giling	momogiling	popogiling	minggiling	mokigiling
guring	momoguring	popoguring	mingguring	mokiguring
haor	mamahaor	papahaor	minghaor	mokihaor
hapal	mamahapal	papahapal	minghapal	mokihapal
hobo	momohobo	popohobo	minghobo	mokihobo
hondom	momohondom	popohondom	minghondom	mokihondom
hukum	momohukum	popohukum	minghukum	mokihukum
iad	mongiad	popoiad	mingiad	mokiiad
ias	mongias	popoias	mingias	mokiias
ilo	mongilo	popoilo	mingilo	mokiilo
irak	mongirak	popoirak	mingirak	mokiirak
jaga	mamajaga	papajaga	minjaga	mokijaga
jawap	mamajawap	papajawap	minjawap	mokijawap
jiil	momojiil	popojiil	minjiil	mokijiil
jual	momojual	popojual	minjual	mokijual
kakai	mangakai	papakakai	mingkakai	mokikakai
kakap	mangakap	papakakap	mingkakap	mokikakap
kakat	mangakat	papakakat	mingkakat	mokikakat
kilat	mongilat	popokilat	mingkilat	mokikilat
kotol	mongotol	popokotol	mingkotol	mokikotol
kurung	mongurung	popokurung	mingkurung	mokikurung
labas	mamalabas	papalabas	minglabas	mokilabas
lawat	mamalawat	papalawat	minglawat	mokilawat
ligot	momoligot	popoligot	mingligot	mokiligot
lokud	momolokud	popolokud	minglokud	mokilokud
olos	molos	popoolos	mingolos	mokiolos
ongoi	mongoi	popoongoi	mingongoi	mokiongoi
pagung	mamagung	papapagung	mimpagung	mokipagung
panau	mamanau	papapanau	mimpanau	mokipanau
posu	momosu	popoposu	mimposu	mokiposu
putul	momutul	popoputul	mimputul	mokiputul
raag	mamaraag	paparaag	mingraag	mokiraag
rambit	mamarambit	paparambit	mingrambit	mokirambit
rambot	mamarambot	paparambot	mingrambot	mokirambot
rilik	momorilik	poporilik	mingrilik	mokirilik
rongou	momorongou	poporongou	mingrongou	mokirongou
saan	manaan	papasaan	minsaan	mokisaan
saat	manaat	papasaat	minsaat	mokisaat
salin	manalin	papasalin	minsalin	mokisalin
sompon	monompon	poposompon	minsompon	mokisompon
susuk	monusuk	poposusuk	minsusuk	mokisusuk
tahak	manahak	papatahak	mintahak	mokitahak
tangkus	manangkus	papatangkus	mintangkus	mokitangkus
tibas	monibas	popotibs	mintibas	mokitibas
tobok	monobok	popotobok	mintobok	mokitobok
ubas	mongubas	popoubas	mingubas	mokiubas
ukab	mongukab	popoukab	mingukab	mokiukab
ulang	mongulang	popoulang	mingulang	mokilang

Past Tense Prefixes

📌 Prefix Rules for this table

na/no — vowel rule for consonants; vowel roots just add n in front.

naka/noko — vowel rule. Root intact.

mina/mino — built on the ma/mo form. Replace first ma→mina or mo→mino.

pina/pino — vowel rule. Root intact.

Root	na/no	naka/noko	mina/mino (from ma/mo)	pina/pino
ada'	naada'	nakaada'	minangada'	pinaada'
ahid	naahid	nakaahid	minangahid	pinaahid
babak	nababak	nakababak	minamabak	pinababak
babo	nababo	nakababo	minamabo	pinababo
birud	nobirud	nokobirud	minomirud	pinobirud
bobog	nobobog	nokobobog	minomobog	pinobobog
boros	noboros	nokoboros	minomoros	pinoboros
dagang	nadagang	nakadagang	minamadagang	pinadagang
darap	nadarap	nakadarap	minamadarap	pinadarap
dumpou	nodumpou	nokodumpou	minomodumpou	pinodumpou
duntung	noduntung	nokoduntung	minomoduntung	pinoduntung
gaam	nagaam	nakagaam	minamagaam	pinagaam
gambar	nagambar	nakagambar	minamagambar	pinagambar
giak	nogiak	nokogiak	minomogiak	pinogiak
giling	nogiling	nokogiling	minomogiling	pinogiling
guring	noguring	nokoguring	monomoguring	pinoguring
haor	nahaor	nakahaor	minamahaor	pinahaor
hobo	nohobo	nokohobo	minomohobo	pinohobo
hondom	nohondom	nokohondom	minomohondom	pinohondom
hukum	nohukum	nokohukum	minomohukum	pinohukum
iad	niad	nokoiad	minongiad	pinoiad
ias	nias	nokoias	minongias	pinoias
ilo	nilo	nokoilo	minongilo	pinoilo
irak	nirak	nokoinak	minongirak	pinoirak
jaga	najaga	nakajaga	minamajaga	pinajaga
jawap	najawap	nakajawap	minamajawap	pinajawap
jiil	nojiil	nokojiil	minomojiil	pinojiil
jual	nojual	nokojual	minomojual	pinojual
kakai	nakakai	nakakakai	minangakai	pinakakai
kakap	nakakap	nakakakap	minangakap	pinakakap
kakat	nakakat	nakakakat	minangakat	pinakakat
kilat	nokilat	nokokilat	minongilat	pinokilat
kotol	nokotol	nokokotol	minongotol	pinokotol
kurung	nokurung	nokokurung	minongurung	pinokurung
labas	nalabas	nakalabas	minamalabas	pinalabas
lawat	nalawat	nakalawat	minamalawat	pinalawat
ligot	noligot	nokoligot	minomoligot	pinoligot
lokud	nolokud	nokolokud	minomolokud	pinolokud
olos	nolos	nokoolos	minolos	pinolos
ongoi	nongoi	nakaongoi	minongoi	pinaongoi
pagung	napagung	nakapagung	minamagung	pinapagung
panau	napanau	nakapanau	minamanau	pinapanau
posu	noposu	nokoposu	minomosu	pinoposu
putul	noputul	nokoputul	minomutul	pinoputul
raag	naraag	nakaraag	minamaraag	pinaraag
rambit	narambit	nakarambit	minamarambit	pinarambit
rilik	norilik	nokorilik	minomorilik	pinorilik
rongou	norongou	nokorongou	minomorongou	pinorongou
saan	nasaan	nakasaan	minanaan	pinasaan
saat	nasaat	nakasaat	minanaat	pinasaat
salin	nasalin	nakasalin	minanalin	pinasalin
sompon	nosompon	nokosompon	minomonompon	pinosompon
susuk	nosusuk	nokosusuk	minonusuk	pinosusuk
tahak	natahak	nakatahak	minanahak	pinatahak
tangkus	natangkus	nakatangkus	minanangkus	pinatangkus
tibas	notibas	nokotibas	minonibas	pinotibas
tobok	notobok	nokotobok	minonobok	pinotobok
ubas	nubas	nokobas	minongubas	pinobas
ukab	nukab	nokaukab	minongukab	pinoukab
ulang	nulang	nokoulang	minongulang	pinoulang

Other Prefixes

📌 Prefix Rules for this table

poing/poin — consonant rule: B/P → poim, D/J/S/T → poin, everything else → poing. Root intact.

si — just add si in front. No rule. Root intact.

ka/ko — vowel rule. Root intact.

kaka/koko — vowel rule. Root intact.

Root	poing/poin/poim	si	ka/ko	kaka/koko
ada'	poingada'	siada'	kaada'	kakaada'
ahid	poingahid	siahid	kaahid	kakaahid
babak	poimbabak	sibabak	kababak	kakababak
babo	poimbabo	sibabo	kababo	kakababo
birud	poimbirud	sibirud	kobirud	kokobirud
bobog	poimbobog	sibobog	kobobog	kokobobog
boros	poimboros	siboros	koboros	kokoboros
dagang	poindagang	sidagang	kadagang	kakadagang
darap	poindarap	sidarap	kadarap	kakadarap
dumpou	poindumpou	sidumpou	kodumpou	kokodumpou
duntung	poinduntung	siduntung	koduntung	kokoduntung
gaam	poinggaam	sigaam	kagaam	kakagaam
gambar	poinggambar	sigambar	kagambar	kakagambar
giak	poinggiak	sigiak	kogiak	kokogiak
giling	poinggiling	sigiling	kogiling	kokogiling
guring	poingguring	siguring	koguring	kokoguring
haor	poinghaor	sihaor	kahaor	kakahaor
hobo	poinghobo	sihobo	kohobo	kokohobo
hondom	poinghondom	sihondom	kohondom	kokohondom
hukum	poinghukum	sihukum	kohukum	kokohukum
iad	poingiad	siiad	koiad	kokoiad
ias	poingias	siias	koias	kokoias
ilo	poingilo	siilo	koilo	kokoilo
irak	poingirak	siirak	koirak	kokoirak
jaga	poinjaga	sijaga	kajaga	kakajaga
jawap	poinjawap	sijawap	kajawap	kakajawap
jiil	poinjiil	sijiil	kojiil	kokojiil
jual	poinjual	sijual	kojual	kokojual
kakai	poingkakai	sikakai	kakakai	kakakakao
kakap	poingkakap	sikakap	kakakap	kakakakap
kakat	poingkakat	sikakat	kakakat	kakakakat
kilat	poingkilat	sikilat	kokilat	kokokilat
kotol	poingkotol	sikotol	kokotol	kokokotol
kurung	poingkurung	sikurung	kokurung	kokokurung
labas	poinglabas	silabas	kalabas	kakalabas
lawat	poinglawat	silawat	kalawat	kakalawat
ligot	poingligot	siligot	koligot	kokoligot
lokud	poinglokud	silokud	kolokud	kokolokud
olos	poingolos	siolos	koolos	kokoolos
ongoi	poingongoi	siongoi	koongoi	kokoongoi
pagung	poimpagung	sipagung	kapagung	kakapagung
panau	poimpanau	sipanau	kapanau	kakapanau
posu	poimposu	siposu	koposu	kokoposu
putul	poimputul	siputul	koputul	kokoputul
raag	poingraag	siraag	karaag	kakaraag
rambit	poingrambit	sirambit	karambit	kakarambit
rilik	poingrilik	sirilik	korilik	kokorilik
rongou	poingrongou	sirongou	korongou	kokorongou
saan	poinsaan	sisaan	kasaan	kakasaan
saat	poinsaat	sisaat	kasaat	kakasaat
salin	poinsalin	sisalin	kasalin	kakasalin
sompon	poinsompon	sisompon	kosompon	kokosompon
susuk	poinsusuk	sisusuk	kosusuk	kokosusuk
tahak	pointahak	sitahak	katahak	kakatahak
tangkus	pointangkus	sitangkus	katangkus	kakatangkus
tibas	pointibas	sitibas	kotibas	kokotibas
tobok	pointobok	sitobok	kotobok	kokotobok
ubas	poingubas	siubas	koubas	kokoubas
ukab	poingukab	siukab	koukab	kokoukab
ulang	poingulang	siulang	koulang	kokoulang

✅ The Big Takeaway Almost every prefix follows the same vowel rule — first vowel a → use the -a variant, anything else → use the -o variant. The only exceptions are mim/min/ming and poim/poin/poing which use the first consonant instead, and mina/mino which builds on the ma/mo form rather than the root directly. Learn the vowel rule once — and most of Dusun's prefix system falls into place! 😊

.. more prefixes coming soon. nanti sambung lagi 🙂

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