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- "Tidak, kamu suka jeruk."
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I really like this one, for some reason. "Hey, I hate oranges, right?" "No, you like oranges. Pears are what you hate."
Useful for when you decide another's opinion is invalid and you're forced to correct them.
It's useful when you're watching Indonesian soap operas (telenovelas) where, at one point in time, every single one of them had the same plot:
A boy meets a girl. One of them has amnesia. They fall in love.
As a native Indonesian speaker, here is my explanation.
"Tidak, saya suka jeruk" can be translated into "No, i like an orange" or "No, i like oranges"
It would be correct literally to say "Tidak, saya suka sebuah jeruk" or "Tidak, saya suka jeruk-jeruk"
But it will become so weird if you say that in informal conversation. And many Indonesians will stare at you shockingly while holding their laughs .
I'm not sure what the linguistic term is, but "sebuah" functions as a counter for how many items something is.
It works in a similar way to how in English you would say "a piece" of paper.
A bicycle --> Sebuah sepeda
Literally, "sebuah" means "a fruit of" (which doesn't really translate so well into English), and is a counter for generally most items. Some counters only work for counting certain things, and won't make sense when counting anything else.
- Sebuah benda = a thing
- Sebuah lemari = a wardrobe
- Sebuah cerita = a story
- "Selembar" kertas = a piece of paper (literally: a page of). Selembar is for counting paper, plastic, or cloth items
- "Sebutir" beras = a grain of rice. Sebutir is used exactly how "a grain of" is used in English
- "Seekor" anjing = a dog (literally: a tail of). Seekor is for counting animals
- "Seorang" anak = a child (literally: a person). Seorang is for counting people
- "Sehelai" rambut = a thread of hair
You can also use these counters in its long form:
- Sebuah = satu buah --> Satu buah sepeda
- Selembar = satu lembar --> Satu lembar kertas
- Sebutir = satu butir --> Satu butir beras
- Seekor = satu ekor --> Satu ekor anjing etc...
Hope it helps
When we're talking about something in general (a noun), in English we'd pluralize it ( I like apples, you like women, he likes children, etc), with some exceptions.
But in Indonesian we use singular, with some exceptions as well.
- I like apples --> Saya suka apel
- you like women --> Kamu suka perempuan
- they like animals --> Mereka suka binatang
- we like sports --> Kami suka olahraga
- (exception!) he likes children --> Dia suka anak-anak (becomes pluralized)
- (English exception!) Tom likes food (stays singular) --> Tom suka makanan
That means you should make a report. So they can give "orange" as part of the option
"No, you like an orange." is also correct, as there is no context so you can't distinguish between singular and plural.
Perhaps what makes this confusing is that in English the color orange can be referred to as "orange" or "oranges". The fruit is also referred to as an "orange" or "oranges". However most people would say "I like oranges" and rarely say "I like orange" when talking about fruit. Saying "I like orange" sounds like you are saying you like the color orange, while "I like oranges" is what people usually say when talking about the fruit. In an art context "I like oranges" will be interpreted easily as meaning that one likes different colors of orange. This leads me to ask: Is there a different word for the color orange in bahasa Indonesian? or is it also jeruk.
An orange = sebuah jeruk or jeruk Oranges = jeruk-jeruk or jeruk
Color -> orange = oranye or jingga
It doesn't really make sense that way in english without some fairly bizarre context. To my mind that would imply that the subject has a romantic interest in a specific orange.
Yes, but for most cases, we drop the repetition word, so "jeruk-jeruk" can be just "jeruk"
When we're talking about something generally (a noun), in English we'd pluralize it ( I like apples, you like women, he likes children, etc), with some exceptions. But in Indonesian we use singular, with some exceptions as well.
- I like apples --> Saya suka apel
- you like women --> Kamu suka perempuan
- (exception!) he likes children --> Dia suka anak-anak (stays plural)
So why is the first bukan in "Bukan, bukan itu" no but tidak here is no. I learnt basic Indonesian years ago and we only ever learnt tidak not bukan.
"Bukan, bukan itu" would be incorrect. Instead, the first bukan should be replaced by tidak.
Tidak = no
Bukan = not
"Bukan" means "not". It can also mean "It's not". So it can stand alone in a single-word clause, or sentence.
But a direct English translation would not make sense: Not, not that.
So Duo is I guess asking for a more natural translation: No, not that.
"Bukan" means "not". It can also mean "It's not". So it can stand alone in a single-word clause, or sentence.
But a direct English translation would not make sense: Not, not that.
So Duo is I guess asking for a more natural translation: No, not that.
There are some Indonesian accents that don't pronounce the K, like some Javanese. But a more universally sounding Indonesian would pronounce it. Better be on the safe side :)
You do pronounce the k. I know it's silent sometimes which can make things confusing but it's definitely pronounced in jeruk.
