In Indonesian, what is the difference between "berpelukan" and "memeluk"?

Question

Also, whats the difference between "berciuman" and "mencium"? I think the first means to kiss eachother, and the latter is just to kiss, but im not sure.

Any good ideas for leaning Bahasa Indonesia quickly???

Answer 1

Tingpa got it right.

Ber-...-an = almost always means reciprocal (to [verb] each other)

Me(n, ng, ny)... = one way from the subject point of view (to [verb] )

Answer 2

Well Saya belajar bhsa indonesia selama 3 bulan saja, tapi saya pasti saya dapat menolong anda.

Well berpelukan means 'to embrace each other' whereas memeluk means 'to embrace'.

In Indonesian ber- words and mem- words usually carry the same meaning so i would say that these words are the same. I think mencium is the most common one. These words also mean 'to smell', hah. So i think they rely on context also.

Well, like any language you gotta be in the environment and learn by 'context'. Im about to get a job at an indonesian restaurant where everyone speaks indonesian, so yeah i would recommend that.

makasih,

slmt belajar