Kemudian

Kemudian is a word used in Indonesian and Malay as both an adverb and a conjunction. It denotes sequence or progression in time, translating roughly as “then,” “after that,” or “subsequently.” The term is common in formal writing, journalism, and narrative prose, and it functions to link actions or events in a chain.

In usage, kemudian can connect two independent clauses or appear at the start of a new clause within a sentence. It often signals that the second event follows the first in time. For example: “Dia menyelesaikan tugasnya. Kemudian dia mempresentasikannya.” or “Dia membaca buku, kemudian menulis ringkasan.” It can also introduce future events in a narrative. In spoken Indonesian, lebih casual synonyms such as “lalu” or “setelah itu” may be used, but kemudian preserves a more formal or literary tone.

The phrase di kemudian hari is a common idiom meaning “in the days to come” or “in the future.” Kemudian is versatile and can appear mid-sentence or at sentence boundaries, and it can denote immediate succession or a more general sequence depending on context.

Etymology is not always discussed in concise references, but the term is widely regarded as a native Indonesian/Malay lexeme with stable usage across standard varieties. It remains a useful marker for temporal order in both written and spoken Indonesian.