The word for ‘illness’ and ‘disease’ is penyakit derived from the root word sakit.
Penyakit seperti malaria, dan demam berdarah sangat umum di daerah tropis.
Diseases such as malaria and dengue fever are very common in tropical regions.
Sakit
This multi-purpose word can be used in a variety of ways to talk about illness and pain. Putting aside some exceptions, basically sakit is used in three ways:
1. Sakit can be used to mean mean “ill” or “sick” in the general sense.
Saya sakit.
I’m ill.
Hari ini dia tidak masuk. Dia sakit.
She’s not coming in today. She’s sick.
Bapak Mahmud jatuh sakit.
Mr Mahmud has fallen ill.
2. Sakit can be used to express the English phrase “to have (a sore/painful …)” or “to be suffering from …”, or “to be ill with …”. In this guise sakit looks like an intransitive verb followed by a noun complement, the same as, say, bermain in phrases like bermain tenis or bermain piano.
Saya sakit kepala.
I have a headache.
Dia sakit perut.
She has a stomach ache / She has an upset stomach.
Jangan tertawa. Dia sakit gigi.
Don’t laugh. He’s got toothache.
Dia sakit mata.
She has got a sore eye / eye disease.
Anda sakit apa?
What illness are you suffering from?
Interestingly, sakit can refer not only to one’s physical condition, but also to emotional and mental states.
Dia sakit hati.
She is offended. (literally “She is sick in the liver.”)
Dia sakit jiwa.
He is mentally disturbed. (literally “He is sick in the soul.”)
3. Sakit often also renders the English “to hurt” (intransitive), or “to feel sore”.
Leher saya sakit. Tangannya sakit.
My neck is sore. Her arm hurts.
Aduh, kaki saya sakit sekali.
Ow, my feet are killing me.
Apa yang sakit?
What is hurting?
Mana yang sakit?
Where does it hurt?
Telinga kanan saya sakit sekali.
My right ear is hurting badly.
Important
Optionally (and quite often) the verb terasa precedes sakit in sentences like those under 3 above. Terasa can be somewhat clumsily translated “is felt to be…”. In English we say “My neck feels sore.” The Indonesian view seems to be that your neck can’t feel anything. It is the mind or heart that “feels”. So in Indonesian you say, in effect, “My neck is felt (by me) to be sore.” Terasa expresses the idea “is felt by me to be…”
So you can say, for example:
Leher saya terasa sakit. Tangannya terasa sakit.
My neck is sore. Her arm is hurting.
You can not use merasa to talk about what you are feeling in your limbs/organs. So you cannot say, for example, *Leher saya merasa sakit or *Tangannya merasa sakit
