"We can not do what we want."

Translation: Kami tidak bisa melakukan apa yang kami mau.

[JamesTWils]

Is "apa" absolutely necessary here? I had thought "yang" could mean something like "that which."

[_adrianpop_]

I just spoke to an Indonesian friend I have and he said that in this context, apa is optional. It only marks a passive sentence. It's not something you really think about when you speak.

Active:

Dia suka apa? (What does she like?)

Dia suka buku bahasa Indonesia

Passive:

Apa yang dia suka?

Yang dia suka (adalah) buku bahasa Indonesia

Both question mean "What does he/she like?" but in the 1st one the highlight is on dia, while in the 2nd one the highlight is on apa. So basically apa highlights/emphasizes WHAT (the thing) we actually want.

[drigoro2000]

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