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Cheat sheet

UKBI Cheat Sheet

Practice QuestionsStudy Guide

Mendengarkan (Listening)

25%of exam

DialogueMonologueSpeaker IntentInferenceAdaptive Units

Merespons Kaidah (Grammar)

25%of exam

PUEBIImbuhanKata BakuKalimat EfektifPunctuation

Membaca (Reading)

35%of exam

Main IdeaInferenceFakta vs OpiniVocab ContextAdaptive Texts

Menulis (Writing)

10%of exam

Standard RegisterCoherencePUEBIProduction

Berbicara (Speaking)

5%of exam

Standard RegisterFluencyPronunciationProduction

Quick Facts

Exam
UKBI Adaptif Merdeka
Body
Badan Bahasa
Sections
5 (Listen, Grammar, Read, Write, Speak)
Items
Adaptive, up to 8 units
Time
30,25,45,60,20 min per section
Bands
7 predikat (Terbatas-Istimewa)
Scale
251-800 (no CEFR)
Pass
Institution sets required band
Format
CBT adaptive (IRT)
Simulasi
simulasiukbi.kemendikdasmen.go.id

Listening Strategy Picker

  1. Dialogue, ask tone→Identify sikap(formal/casual)
  2. Monologue news→Capture facts(who/what/when)
  3. Lecture, ask main point→Find thesis(first/last line)
  4. Ask speaker intent→menginformasikan/meyakinkan/mengajak(inform/persuade/invite)
  5. Ask implied meaning→Inferensi(beyond literal)

Listening Strategies

Dialog
2+ speakers; tone, turn
Monolog
Single speaker; news/lecture
Intent
menginformasikan, meyakinkan
Sikap
Speaker attitude, tone
Implisit
Implied meaning
Fakta
Explicit, verifiable
Opini
Judgment, not verifiable
Kesimpulan
Logical conclusion

meN- Assimilation

meng (vowel/kg/h) | mem (bpfv) | men (dt) | meny (cjssz)

meng: vowel/k/g/hmem: b/p/f/vmen: d/tmeny: c/j/s/sy/zme: l,m,n,r,w

di (preposition) vs di- (prefix)

di (prep)

  • Location
  • Separate word
  • di rumah, di kamar

di- (prefix)

  • Passive verb
  • Attached
  • ditulis, dibaca

Place vs passive

Choosing meN- Allomorph

  1. Root starts with vowel→meng-(mengantar, mengajar)
  2. Root starts with k/g/h→meng-(mengupas)
  3. Root starts with b,p,f,v→mem-(membaca, memukul)
  4. Root starts with d/t→men-(mendengar, menulis)
  5. Root starts c,j,s,sy,z→meny-(menyapu, menyusun)
  6. Root starts l,m,n,r,w→me-(melihat, merasa)
  7. Need passive of meN- verb→di- + root(ditulis, dibaca)
  8. Need actor noun from meN-→peN-(penulis, pembaca)

7 Predikat Bands

Terbatas
251-325 (lowest)
Marginal
326-404
Semenjana
405-481
Madya
482-577
Unggul
578-640 (teacher min)
Sangat Unggul
641-724
Istimewa
725-800 (highest)

7 Predikat Bands

Terbatas-Marginal-Semenjana-Madya-Unggul-Sangat Unggul-Istimewa

Terbatas: 251-325Madya: 482-577Unggul: 578-640Istimewa: 725-800

ke (preposition) vs ke- (prefix)

ke (prep)

  • Direction
  • Separate word
  • ke pasar, ke sekolah

ke- (prefix)

  • Ordinal
  • Attached
  • ketiga, kelima

Direction vs ordinal

di/ke: Prefix vs Preposition

  1. Indicates location→di (separate)(di rumah)
  2. Indicates direction→ke (separate)(ke pasar)
  3. Passive verb marker→di- (attached)(ditulis)
  4. Ordinal number→ke- (attached)(ketiga, kelima)
  5. Sentence-initial location→Di + place(capital D)
  6. Negating with bukan→bukan di(separate)
  7. di + time/temporal→pada(use pada, not di)
  8. ke + abstract goal→kepada(formal recipient)

PUEBI Spelling

PUEBI
Pedoman Umum Ejaan Bahasa Indonesia
EYD
Ejaan Yang Disempurnakan (older)
KBBI
Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia
Loanwords
Adapt to Indonesian phonology
k, p, t
Aspirated stops, no -h
Reduplication
Hyphen: anak-anak
Capitalization
Proper nouns, titles
Numbers
Use digits with units

KBBI = Dictionary

KBBI is the standard Indonesian dictionary (Badan Bahasa)

Baku = KBBI formApotek not apotikIzin not ijinPraktik not praktek

Kata Baku vs Tidak Baku

Baku

  • KBBI standard
  • apotek, izin
  • Formal writing

Tidak baku

  • Common variant
  • apotik, ijin
  • Informal speech

Standard vs non-standard

Active vs Passive Transform

  1. Active: S does V to O→meN- + root(Siswa membaca buku)
  2. Passive: O receives V→di- + root(Buku dibaca siswa)
  3. Passive with ter-→ter- (accidental)(tertulis, terbawa)
  4. Need actor noun→peN- + root(penulis, pembaca)
  5. Sentence has para + redup→para + noun (one)(para siswa)
  6. Kalimat not effective→trim redundancy(remove siswa-siswa)

meN- Assimilation

me- + vowel/k/g/h
meng- (mengantar, mengajar)
me- + b/p/f/v
mem- (membaca, memukul)
me- + d/t
men- (mendengar, menulis)
me- + c/j/s/sy/z
meny- (menyapu, menjuang)
me- + sonorants
me- (melihat, merasa)
me- + a/e/i/o/u
meng- (mengingat)
Passive meN-
di- + root

Aktif vs Pasif

Aktif

  • Subject acts
  • meN- prefix
  • Siswa membaca buku

Pasif

  • Subject receives
  • di- prefix
  • Buku dibaca siswa

Doer vs receiver

Other Imbuhan

ber-
Have/possess (bersepeda)
di- (prefix)
Passive (ditulis)
di (prep)
Location (di rumah)
ke- (prefix)
Ordinal (ketiga)
ke (prep)
Direction (ke pasar)
peN-
Actor/tool (penulis, pemukul)
se-
One/whole (seorang, sedunia)
-kan
Causative/benefactive (ambilkan)
-i
Repetitive/locative (tiduri)
ke-an
Abstract/state (keindahan)
per-an
Process (perkembangan)
me-kan
Transitive verb (melakukan)

EYD vs PUEBI

EYD

  • Older spelling system
  • Pre-2015
  • Historical rules

PUEBI

  • Current standard
  • Post-2015
  • Modernized rules

Legacy vs current

Kata Baku (KBBI)

apotek
NOT apotik
aktivitas
NOT aktifitas
diagnosis
NOT diagnosa
analisis
NOT analisa
praktik
NOT praktek
izin
NOT ijin
khusus
NOT khusus/khusu
nasihat
NOT nasehat
buku
NOT buku (standard)
kelas
NOT kelaz

dari vs daripada

dari

  • Time/place origin
  • Comparison of place
  • dari Jakarta

daripada

  • Comparison of noun
  • lebih...daripada
  • prefer over

Origin vs comparison

Punctuation

Period (.)
End declarative sentence
Comma (,)
Separate list items
Semicolon (;)
Separate clauses
Colon (:)
Introduce list/quote
Hyphen (-)
Reduplication, compound
Dash (—)
Interruption, apposition
Quote (“”)
Direct speech
Apostrophe (')
Elided year ('26)

Kalimat Types

Aktif
Subject does action
Pasif
Subject receives (di-/ter-)
Efektif
Clear, concise, no waste
Kalimat utama
Topic sentence
Simpleks
Single clause
Majemuk
Compound (2+ clauses)
Kompleks
Complex (subordinate)
Negatif
tidak, bukan, jangan

Konjungsi & Majas

dan
Additive (and)
tetapi
Adversative (but)
atau
Alternative (or)
karena
Causal (because)
jika
Conditional (if)
meskipun
Concessive (although)
Metafora
Direct comparison
Personifikasi
Humanize non-human
Hiperbola
Exaggeration
Simile
Like/as comparison

Test Mechanics

Adaptive (IRT)
Difficulty adjusts to ability
Unit
5 items per unit
Max units
8 per Mendengarkan/Membaca
Kaidah items
Up to 32 MCQ
Early items
Weight more (placement)
CBT
Computer-based, online
Simulasi
Free official practice
No CEFR
7 predikat bands instead

Adaptive IRT

Right->harder; wrong->easier (early weights more)

5 items per unitUp to 8 unitsIRT-basedPersonalized

Reading Strategies

Ide pokok
Main idea; first/last sentence
Inferensi
Beyond literal text
Eksposisi
Expository; factual
Argumentasi
Argues a position
Narasi
Tells a story
Prosedur
Steps/instructions
Vocab context
Mean from surrounding text
Adaptive
Performance adjusts difficulty

Formal vs Cakapan

Formal

  • Standard baku
  • Official writing
  • No slang

Cakapan

  • Spoken style
  • Conversational
  • Slang allowed

Written vs spoken

Register & Usage

Formal
Standard, official, written
Cakapan
Spoken, conversational
Baku
Standard form (KBBI)
Tidak baku
Non-standard variant
Lugas
Direct, no ornament
Sinonim
Same meaning word
Antonim
Opposite meaning word
Homonim
Same sound, diff meaning

Common Traps

di place vs di- passive

di rumah (location) ≠ ditulis (passive verb)

ke direction vs ke- ordinal

ke pasar (direction) ≠ ketiga (ordinal)

Baku vs tidak baku

apotek, izin (KBBI) ≠ apotik, ijin (variant)

Aktif vs pasif

Siswa membaca (meN-) ≠ Buku dibaca (di-)

dari vs daripada

dari Jakarta (origin) ≠ lebih baik daripada (compare)

Fakta vs opini

Verifiable facts ≠ Subjective judgments

Para + reduplikasi

para siswa (correct) ≠ para siswa-siswa (redundant)

Formal vs cakapan register

Baku for writing ≠ Cakapan for speech

Last Minute

  1. 1.meN-: meng,mem,men,meny,me
  2. 2.di+place = preposition; di+verb = passive
  3. 3.ke+direction = preposition; ke+number = ordinal
  4. 4.KBBI = standard dictionary; baku over variant
  5. 5.Adaptive: early items weight more
  6. 6.7 bands: Terbatas to Istimewa
  7. 7.Kalimat efektif: trim para + reduplikasi
  8. 8.Ide pokok = first/last sentence
  9. 9.Fakta = verifiable; opini = judgment
  10. 10.dari = origin/place; daripada = comparison
  11. 11.Simulasi at simulasiukbi.kemendikdasmen.go.id

UKBI — Indonesian Language Proficiency Test

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