Dusun Lesson 8 — Prepositions & Conjunctions

Lesson 8: Prepositions & Conjunctions in Dusun

Part 1 — Prepositions (Kata Sendi Nama)

Prepositions in Dusun describe location, direction, and movement — just like in English or Malay. Many of them are formed using fixed phrases like id + [place word]. Others use particles such as mantad (from), miampai (with), or kumaa (toward).

🔹 Common Prepositions in Dusun

Dusun	English	Malay
id labus	Outside	Di luar
id suang	Inside / In	Di dalam
id sawat	Above	Di atas
id tampak	On	Di atas (permukaan)
id siriba	Under	Di bawah
id toning	Beside	Di sebelah
id somok	Near	Berhampiran
id posorili	Around	Di sekeliling
mantad	From	Dari / Daripada
gisom	Until	Sehingga / Hingga
kumaa	For / To (toward)	Untuk / Ke arah

🔹 Examples:

Ih nopo tungau nga id siriba doh mija → The cat is under the table
Pinoili dau ih book id tampak doh mija → He put the book on the table
Yau nopo nga id suang doh walai → She is inside the room
John nopo nga mantad Ranau → John is from Ranau
Minihad ih Mary gisom nokorikot hilo id walai → Mary cried until she reached home

These examples show how prepositional phrases in Dusun follow a consistent structure — usually with id (similar to di in Malay) marking location, optionally followed by doh to clarify the relation to the object.

Part 2 — Conjunctions (Kata Hubung)

Conjunctions are words that connect clauses, phrases, or ideas. Dusun has a rich set of conjunctions — some borrowed from Malay, some uniquely Dusun. Below are the most common ones every learner should know.

⚠️ Note on om and nga Two conjunctions below — om and nga — have additional meanings beyond their basic conjunction use. Both are covered in dedicated special sections further below.

om AND / dan

The most basic use of om — joining two nouns, verbs, or clauses of equal weight.

Dusun	English	Malay
Asanangan oku mangakan doh manuk om sada	I love eating chicken and fish	Saya suka makan ayam dan ikan
Antara yoho om yau, isai kolisihan nu?	Between me and him, which one do you love?	Antara saya dan dia, siapa yang kamu sayang?

💡 om has several other important uses beyond AND. See the special section below for the full picture.

ko' OR / atau

Used to present alternatives or choices. The apostrophe in ko' is important — it distinguishes this word from the pronoun ko (you).

Dusun	English	Malay
Nunu kasanangan nu, urin ko' ipol?	Which do you prefer, orange or apple?	Mana kau suka, oren atau epal?
Ih John ko' ih Mary tonudon nu?	Are you following John or Mary?	Kamu ikut John atau Mary?

nga BUT / tapi / tetapi

Shows contrast — something unexpected or contradictory follows the first clause.

Dusun	English	Malay
Akaya yau nga osumbung	He is rich but arrogant	Dia kaya tapi sombong
Nakaakan oku noh nga louson oku koimbagu	I have already eaten but I am hungry again	Saya sudah makan tapi lapar lagi

💡 nga also behaves as a copula (is/are/am) and as a particle meaning "also/too" — quite unique! See the special section below.

tu' / sabab BECAUSE / sebab / kerana

Both tu' and sabab mean "because" and are interchangeable as conjunctions. However, sabab can also be used as a noun meaning "reason" — nunu sabab? (what is the reason?). The word tu' cannot replace this noun use.

Dusun	English	Malay
Mihad yau tu' natagak ih tusin dau	He is crying because he lost his money	Dia menangis sebab duit dia hilang
Ounsikou oku tu' nokorikot ko	I am happy because you came	Saya gembira sebab kamu datang

nung IF / kalau / jika

Introduces a conditional clause — what happens depends on whether the condition is met.

Dusun	English	Malay
Nung rumasam suab, amu oku mongoi sikul	If it rains tomorrow, I will not go to school	Kalau hujan esok, saya tidak pergi sekolah
Kada ihad nung aiso noh sabab	Don't cry if you don't have a reason	Jangan menangis kalau tiada sebab

ali pia ALTHOUGH / EVEN THOUGH / walaupun / meskipun

Introduces a concessive clause — the second clause happens despite the condition in the first.

Dusun	English	Malay
Ali pia osiriba oku, lobi alaju oku manangkus ko' iya	Although I am short, I run faster than you	Walaupun saya pendek, saya lebih laju berlari daripada kamu
Ali pia osibuk yau, minuli kasari yau hilo'd kampung	Although he is busy, he still went back to the village	Walaupun dia sibuk, dia tetap balik ke kampung

gisom UNTIL / sehingga / hingga

Marks the endpoint of an action or state — how long something continues.

Dusun	English	Malay
Kuminaraja yahai gisom tangatuong	We worked until midnight	Kami bekerja sehingga tengah malam
Olisi oku diya gisom kapataion	I will love you until the end of my life	Saya cinta kamu sehingga akhir hayat

🔍 Special Focus: The Many Faces of om

Beyond its basic meaning of AND, the word om is one of the most versatile words in Dusun. It adapts to many roles depending on context — the words around it tell you which meaning applies.

⚠️ How to tell which meaning? The meaning of om is determined entirely by context — the surrounding words and sentence structure. There is no change in the word itself. With practice, the right interpretation becomes natural.

1 om = YET / BUT / tapi / namun

Shows contrast — something unexpected or contradictory follows the first clause.

Dusun	English	Malay
Okoro ko poh om alaju noh manangkus	You are still small yet you already run fast	Kamu masih kecil tapi sudah laju berlari
Aawal oku nokorikot om amu oku nakasampat kasari	I arrived early yet I still didn't make it in time	Saya sampai awal tapi tidak sempat juga

2 om = SO THAT / IN ORDER TO / supaya

Expresses purpose — the second clause is the intended result of the first.

Dusun	English	Malay
Akan noh om kaanu tenaga	Eat so that you can have energy	Makan supaya dapat tenaga
Monotos noh balajar om osonong koputusan nu	Study hard so that your results will be good	Belajarlah kuat-kuat supaya bagus keputusan kamu

3 om = THEN / THEN ONLY / baru / barulah

The second action only happened after a condition or period of time was completed.

Dusun	English	Malay
Apat jam dahai mintana om nokorikot nogi	We walked for four hours then only we arrived	Kami berjalan empat jam barulah sampai
Minonolon oku poh doh panadol om kotungag oku nogi	I took panadol then only I could get up	Saya makan panadol barulah boleh bangun

4 om = THAT / bahawa

Used after verbs of saying, thinking, or reporting to introduce the reported content.

Dusun	English	Malay
Boros dih John om apanat yau	John said that he was tired	John berkata bahawa dia penat
Ka'd Mary om bujang poh yau	According to Mary, she is still single	Menurut Mary bahawa dia masih bujang

5 om = NOR / mahupun

Used together with amu (not) to express "neither... nor..." — both parties are excluded.

Dusun	English	Malay
Amu oku om ih Mary nokoilo	Neither I nor Mary knew	Aku mahupun Mary tidak tahu
Amu ih John om ih Mary nokorikot	Neither John nor Mary arrived	John mahupun Mary tidak sampai

💡 om — Quick Reference

om means	Malay	Clue in context
and	dan	joining two equal things or actions
yet / but	tapi	contrast — unexpected result follows
so that	supaya	purpose — intended outcome
then only	barulah	after a time or condition is met
that	bahawa	after saying / thinking / reporting
nor	mahupun	paired with amu (not)

🔍 Special Focus: The Many Faces of nga

Like om, the word nga is deceptively simple but carries multiple meanings. What makes nga especially interesting is that it goes beyond being a conjunction — it can also function as a linking verb (copula) and even as a particle expressing "also" or "too". Understanding all its uses is key to reading and speaking natural Dusun.

⚠️ nga is not always a conjunction! Uses #3 and #4 below are not conjunctions — they work differently from BUT. Context is everything.

1 nga = BUT / HOWEVER / NEVERTHELESS / tapi / namun begitu

The most common conjunction use — showing contrast or an unexpected outcome. When used after a semicolon it carries the sense of "nevertheless" or "however".

Dusun	English	Malay
Akaya yau nga osumbung	He is rich but arrogant	Dia kaya tapi sombong
Siboli oku daa kurita nga amu osukup tusin ku	I want to buy a car but I don't have enough money	Saya ingin beli kereta tapi duit saya tidak mencukupi
Amu oku nokosodia; nga binarabis oku ii	I was not ready; nevertheless, I tried my best	Saya belum bersedia; namun begitu, saya cuba yang terbaik
Napanat yau; nga tuminilombus yau kumaraja	He was tired; nevertheless, he continued working	Dia letih; namun begitu, dia tetap terus bekerja

2 nga = IS / ARE / AM / adalah / ialah

Here nga acts as a linking verb (copula) — equivalent to "is", "are", or "am" in English, or adalah / ialah in Malay. It typically appears in the pattern nopo nga (is/are/am) or as a standalone connector between subject and description.

Dusun	English	Malay
Ngaran ku nopo nga ih John	My name is John	Nama saya ialah John
Yoho nopo nga tina ku	She is my mom	Dia adalah ibu saya
John nopo nga tambalud laid ku	John is my old friend	John ialah kawan lama saya
Iti nopo nga suntu tosonong	This is a good example	Ini adalah contoh yang baik

3 nga = ALSO / TOO / juga / pun

This is a uniquely special use of nga — it acts as a particle meaning "also" or "too", placed after the subject. It is not a conjunction here — it simply adds the sense of inclusion or agreement with a previous statement.

Dusun	English	Malay
Yahai nga mongoi ii	We are also going	Kami pun pergi juga
Yau nga amu minongoi	He also didn't go	Dia pun tidak pergi
Ih John nga louson ii	John is hungry too	John pun lapar juga
Ih Mary nga hilo ii	Mary was also there	Mary pun di sana juga

💡 Notice how nga here sits right after the subject — this position is the key clue that it means "also/too" rather than "but" or "is".

💡 nga — Quick Reference

nga means	Malay	Type	Clue in context
but / nevertheless	tapi / namun	conjunction	contrast between two clauses
is / are / am	adalah / ialah	linking verb	usually with nopo: nopo nga
also / too	juga / pun	particle	appears right after subject

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