Cheat sheet

UKBI Cheat Sheet

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 toneIdentify sikap(formal/casual)
  2. Monologue newsCapture facts(who/what/when)
  3. Lecture, ask main pointFind thesis(first/last line)
  4. Ask speaker intentmenginformasikan/meyakinkan/mengajak(inform/persuade/invite)
  5. Ask implied meaningInferensi(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 vowelmeng-(mengantar, mengajar)
  2. Root starts with k/g/hmeng-(mengupas)
  3. Root starts with b,p,f,vmem-(membaca, memukul)
  4. Root starts with d/tmen-(mendengar, menulis)
  5. Root starts c,j,s,sy,zmeny-(menyapu, menyusun)
  6. Root starts l,m,n,r,wme-(melihat, merasa)
  7. Need passive of meN- verbdi- + 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 locationdi (separate)(di rumah)
  2. Indicates directionke (separate)(ke pasar)
  3. Passive verb markerdi- (attached)(ditulis)
  4. Ordinal numberke- (attached)(ketiga, kelima)
  5. Sentence-initial locationDi + place(capital D)
  6. Negating with bukanbukan di(separate)
  7. di + time/temporalpada(use pada, not di)
  8. ke + abstract goalkepada(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 OmeN- + root(Siswa membaca buku)
  2. Passive: O receives Vdi- + root(Buku dibaca siswa)
  3. Passive with ter-ter- (accidental)(tertulis, terbawa)
  4. Need actor nounpeN- + root(penulis, pembaca)
  5. Sentence has para + reduppara + noun (one)(para siswa)
  6. Kalimat not effectivetrim 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
Same family resources

Explore More Indonesian Language Proficiency Test (UKBI)

Continue into nearby exams from the same family. Each card keeps practice questions, study guides, flashcards, videos, and articles in one place.