Penderita

Penderita is an Indonesian noun meaning the person who suffers from illness, hardship, or misfortune. It is formed from the root derita, meaning suffering, with the affixes pe- and -an to denote a person characterized by that state. The term is commonly found in formal or official language, including medical, legal, and media contexts.

In everyday usage, penderita often refers to someone who endures a disease or difficult situation, such as penderita kanker (a cancer patient) or penderita bencana (a disaster victim). While widely understood, the word can carry a stigmatizing nuance by labeling a person primarily by their suffering. As a result, many text editors and policy guidelines favor person-first or more neutral formulations, such as orang yang menderita penyakit X or orang dengan penyakit X, to emphasize the individual rather than the condition.

Penderita is different from related terms. Derita or deritaan refers to suffering itself, while penderitaan is a noun for suffering or hardship as a concept. Penderita functions as a noun identifying the actor of suffering, whereas pasien is the more common clinical term for a patient under medical care.

In summary, penderita is a standard Indonesian term for “the sufferer” used across contexts to designate individuals experiencing illness or hardship, though contemporary usage often seeks alternatives that minimize labeling and preserve person-centered language.