Bersamasama

Bersama-sama is an Indonesian term typically written as bersama-sama, meaning “together” or “in the company of.” It is a reduplicated form of the base word bersama and illustrates a common Indonesian mechanism known as kata ulang (reduplication). The repetition strengthens the sense of joint action, unity, or mutual effort rather than changing the core meaning.

Usage: The phrase is used to describe collaborative activity or collective responsibility. It appears in both formal and informal contexts to emphasize cooperation. For example, phrases like “Kita bekerja bersama-sama untuk mencapai tujuan” convey coordinated effort, while “masyarakat beraksi bersama-sama dalam program kemanusiaan” signals solidarity across groups.

Orthography: In modern Indonesian, the standard spelling is bersama-sama with a hyphen. Some older texts or stylistic variants may present the phrase without a hyphen or with spaced words, but the hyphenated form is generally preferred in formal writing.

See also: Reduplication; Indonesian language; Community organizing; Cooperative movements.