bersalah

Bersalah is a Malay and Indonesian adjective that denotes being at fault or guilty. It describes a person who has committed a wrongdoing or who bears responsibility for a fault, whether in a legal sense or a moral sense. The word derives from the root salah meaning wrong, with the prefix ber- indicating a state or condition; literally, it conveys “to be in a state of wrong.”

In usage, bersalah is common in both formal and everyday language. It can appear in sentences such as "dia bersalah," "dia dinyatakan bersalah," or "terbukti bersalah," often in legal or news contexts to indicate guilt. The phrase “bersalah terhadap” may be used to express fault toward another party, though more direct statements of guilt or responsibility are typical. Bersalah is contrasted with "tidak bersalah" (not guilty) and with "salah" (wrong or mistaken) when referring to actions rather than the person.

Related terms and nuances include salah, which also means wrong or mistaken but can describe actions or ideas rather than a person’s culpability; berdosa, used in religious contexts to denote sin or moral fault; dan bertanggung jawab, which emphasizes accountability; and tidak bersalah, used in declarations of innocence. The term is common across Malay-speaking regions and appears in legal, media, and everyday discourse, maintaining a neutral to formal tone depending on context.