menang

Menang is a verb in Indonesian and Malay that means to win, to achieve victory, or to prevail in a contest, game, election, or any competition. It describes the outcome in which one party emerges with the victory. The related noun is kemenangan, meaning victory or the act of winning.

In everyday Indonesian usage, menang is typically intransitive, as in a team or person who wins: "Tim itu menang". It can be followed by a noun indicating what was won, such as "menang pertandingan" or "menang lomba." The verb can be made causative with forms like television or media usage: "memenangkan" means to win something for someone, or to win over public opinion, depending on context.

Common expressions include kemenangan telak (a landslide victory) and kemenangan tipis (a narrow or slim victory). The term is contrasted with kalah, which means to lose. In political, sports, and competitive contexts, menang is used across formal and informal registers.

Derivationally related terms include kemenangan (the victory) and, in broader use, meraih kemenangan or mencapai kemenangan to emphasize the achievement rather than the process. While synonyms such as berhasil or menangkap peluang convey related ideas of success, they differ in nuance and grammatical use. Overall, menang denotes the act of achieving victory or prevailing in a contest.