"Dia menghilang selamanya."

Translation: He disappears forever.

[UpzahwvW]

I find myself skeptical whether "Dia menghilang selamanya" is really the best or most common way to communicate this because of the verbal morphology being used. Maybe.

When I first saw it, my initial thought was "Oh, what did he lose? Where's the object?"

[Ms.Fixer]

I believe using "menghilang" without an object is very natural. The prefix "Me-" followed by a root word is called "transitive verbs". However, transitive verbs in Bahasa Indonesia are a bit different from those in English. English transitive verbs always require an object, but BI doesn't always.

Here is a sample sentence quoted from my dictionary:

"Jangan khawatir, aku tidak akan menghilang." = "Don't worry. I won't disappear."

According to a BI grammar textbook, the definition of transitive and intransitive verbs is based on which part the speaker wants to highlight the most. Transitive verbs imply that the RESULT of the action is the most important whereas intransitive verbs (the prefix "Ber-") highlight the action itself.

The alternative way of understanding for English speakers: "He disappears" can be rephrased as "He hides himself". And "menhilang" is similar to "to hide oneself" with the object. Hope this helps!

[Nancy757351]

Can you use "menghilang" when wanting to say a "missing" person?
So it would be "Anak yang menghilang, itu kecil" or "The missing child was small"

[UpzahwvW]

One would probably just say "anak yang hilang" or "anak hilang" instead for a missing child.

[kuyaC]

When must you say "buat selamanya"?

[Mam1mi]

Meninggal dunia ;-;

[Frances444691]

I spelled dissappear incorrectly and was counted wrong. Umumnya incorrect spelling is not held against us.
Why this time???

[QnB6qmoi]

And when the world needed him the most he vanished...

[Jam828231]

How do you say "she is always lost"? That's what I put first