berasarkan

Berasarkan is an Indonesian verb that means “to base” or “to ground one’s argument or action on a particular foundation.” The word is formed with the prefix ber‑, which creates a verb meaning “to have” or “to be doing” an action, attached to the root asak, derived from the noun basis in English and Indonesian. Hence, berasarkan literally conveys the sense of “having a basis.”

In contemporary Indonesian, berasarkan is less common than the related verbs berbasis and berdasarkan, which serve similar functions. Berbasis refers to something that is based on or built upon a foundation, while berdasarkan usually introduces the basis of a claim or decision, as in “berdasarkan data statistik.” Nevertheless, berasarkan appears in more formal or literary contexts where a stronger, more distinctive emphasis on “having a basis” is desired.

The form is used transitively: “Kita berasarkan perencanaan ini pada evaluasi risiko.” (We base this plan on risk assessment.) In passive construction, the prefix berubah to menjadi menjadi beras/(??) but the active form is preferred. It may also appear in compound expressions such as berasarkan pada, which sets up the basis explicitly.

Ethnomorphologically, berasarkan reflects Indonesia’s tendency to import scientific and administrative terminology from European languages, especially in the post‑colonial era. The root asak comes from the Latin basis and was later adapted into the Malay/Indonesian lexicon, where it retains its conceptual meaning of “foundation” or “ground.”

Because its use is relatively rare, dictionaries often list beraskan as a synonym for berbasis and berdasarkan, acknowledging the overlap but noting the stylistic differences. This subtle nuance makes berasarkan a useful but specialized term for scholars, bureaucrats, and writers who wish to emphasize the foundational premise underlying a proposal or assertion.