Berapa asks for a number or measurable amount. It can replace a cardinal directly before a noun, combine with a classifier or unit, serve as the predicate in price and age questions, or form compounds such as berapa lama, pukul berapa, and tanggal berapa. The word fits into the same slot where an answer number would appear.
English spreads these meanings across how many, how much, how old, what date, and how long. Indonesian keeps the number question stable and lets the following noun or measure identify the dimension.
Cardinal quantity: berapa + noun
Place berapa before the counted noun. Indonesian nouns do not take English plural endings and normally do not reduplicate after an explicit number question.
Berapa peserta yang sudah mengirim formulir?
How many participants have submitted the form?
Kamu membawa berapa buku untuk perjalanan ini?
How many books did you bring for this trip?
Berapa kamar yang masih tersedia malam ini?
How many rooms are still available tonight?
Mereka membutuhkan berapa kursi tambahan?
How many additional chairs do they need?
The answer occupies the same position:
Kami membutuhkan dua belas kursi tambahan.
We need twelve additional chairs.
Tiga kamar masih tersedia malam ini.
Three rooms are still available tonight.
This answer-slot principle prevents English-style reordering. Kamu membawa berapa buku? is structurally parallel to Kamu membawa lima buku.
With classifiers
When a classifier is natural or useful, the order is berapa + classifier + noun. Human orang, animal ekor, sheet-like lembar, and pair pasang occupy the same position they would after a numeral.
Berapa orang yang akan mengikuti pelatihan besok?
How many people will attend tomorrow's training?
Di kebun itu ada berapa ekor kambing?
How many goats are there in that garden?
Anda perlu mencetak berapa lembar formulir?
How many sheets of the form do you need to print?
Toko itu menjual berapa pasang sepatu hari ini?
How many pairs of shoes did that shop sell today?
Berapa buah meja yang akan dipindahkan ke aula?
How many tables will be moved to the hall?
Classifiers are often optional with ordinary count nouns. Berapa peserta? and berapa orang peserta? may both be possible, with the latter making human counting explicit. The classifier overview explains when classifiers sound useful rather than redundant.
Berapa banyak: amount or aggregate quantity
Berapa banyak explicitly asks “how much/many.” It is particularly useful with mass nouns, abstract quantities, or when quantity as a scale is foregrounded.
Berapa banyak air yang dibutuhkan untuk satu tanaman?
How much water is needed for one plant?
Berapa banyak waktu yang tersisa sebelum kereta berangkat?
How much time is left before the train departs?
Berapa banyak pengunjung yang datang pada hari pertama?
How many visitors came on the first day?
Kita sudah menghabiskan berapa banyak bahan bakar?
How much fuel have we used?
With a unit, Indonesian often prefers the more precise berapa + unit + noun instead of berapa banyak.
Resep ini memerlukan berapa liter santan?
How many liters of coconut milk does this recipe require?
Measures and dimensions
Measurement nouns define what the number measures: weight, length, area, volume, temperature, frequency, or another dimension.
Paket itu beratnya berapa kilogram?
How many kilograms does that package weigh?
Jarak dari stasiun ke hotel berapa kilometer?
How many kilometers is it from the station to the hotel?
Tinggi rak paling atas berapa meter?
How many meters high is the top shelf?
Suhu ruangan sekarang berapa derajat?
What is the room temperature now, in degrees?
Dalam seminggu kamu berolahraga berapa kali?
How many times a week do you exercise?
The measure may appear as a predicate (beratnya berapa kilogram) or in the answer slot beside the event (berolahraga berapa kali). No plural marking is added to kilogram, meter, or kali.
Price: Berapa harganya?
For price, common patterns are Berapa harganya?, Harganya berapa?, and Berapa harga + noun?. The attached -nya in harganya points to the item already under discussion.
Berapa harganya setelah mendapat potongan?
How much is it after the discount?
Harga tiket kereta itu berapa?
How much is that train ticket?
Berapa harga sewa kamar untuk dua malam?
What is the room rate for two nights?
Semua sayuran ini berapa rupiah?
How many rupiah are all these vegetables?
In a market, bare Ini berapa? can ask the price (informal) because the item is visible. Outside that context it may ask for an identification number or quantity, so Berapa harganya? is clearer.
Bu, mangga yang ini berapa?
Ma'am, how much are these mangoes? (informal market question)
Age: umur berapa and berapa tahun
Age questions commonly use umur, usia, or berumur + number of years. Umur berapa? is compact; Berapa umur anak itu? and Anak itu berumur berapa tahun? are fuller.
Adikmu sekarang umur berapa?
How old is your younger sibling now?
Berapa umur bangunan bersejarah itu?
How old is that historic building?
Anak tersebut berumur berapa tahun saat mulai sekolah?
How old was that child when he/she started school?
Pada usia berapa seseorang boleh mendaftar?
At what age may a person register? (formal)
Asking an adult's age can be face-sensitive. Grammar does not determine whether the question is socially appropriate; in formal data collection, explain why the information is required.
Dates, clock time, and numbered positions
Tanggal berapa? asks for the day of the month, tahun berapa? for the year, and pukul berapa? for clock time. Day of the week instead uses hari apa?, because the answer is a name such as Senin, not a number.
Rapat berikutnya tanggal berapa?
What date is the next meeting?
Gedung itu selesai dibangun tahun berapa?
In what year was that building completed?
Kereta terakhir berangkat pukul berapa?
What time does the last train leave?
Hari apa kantor pelayanan itu tutup?
On what day of the week is that service office closed?
Kamar Anda nomor berapa?
What is your room number?
Nomor berapa asks for a numerical identifier or position, not a quantity. An answer such as nomor dua belas identifies one room; it does not mean there are twelve rooms.
Duration: berapa lama and bounded units
Berapa lama asks for duration without choosing a unit. Write it as two words. More specific questions use berapa menit/jam/hari/tahun.
Berapa lama perjalanan dari bandara ke pusat kota?
How long is the journey from the airport to the city center?
Kamu akan tinggal di Makassar berapa lama?
How long will you stay in Makassar?
Proses pemeriksaan memerlukan berapa hari?
How many days does the inspection process require?
Kami harus menunggu berapa menit lagi?
How many more minutes do we have to wait?
Formal attached -kah goes on its host while preserving the word boundary.
Berapa lamakah masa berlaku izin tersebut?
How long is that permit valid? (formal)
Write berapa lamakah, not berapalamakah or berapa lama kah.
Quantity versus selection
Berapa asks for a number. Mana/yang mana asks which member of a known set. Apa asks what kind of thing or content.
Kamu akan membawa berapa buku?
How many books will you bring?
Kamu akan membawa buku yang mana?
Which book will you bring?
Kamu akan membawa apa?
What will you bring?
These questions could receive tiga buku, buku sejarah, and bekal makan siang respectively. English which number? and how many? must not collapse into a single Indonesian construction.
Common Mistakes
1. Reduplicating the noun after berapa
❌ Berapa buku-buku yang kamu pinjam?
Incorrect — the quantity question already licenses a count interpretation.
✅ Berapa buku yang kamu pinjam?
How many books did you borrow?
2. Putting the classifier after the noun
❌ Berapa peserta orang yang sudah hadir?
Incorrect classifier order.
✅ Berapa orang peserta yang sudah hadir?
How many participants have arrived?
3. Using berapa for selection
❌ Berapa tas yang kamu pilih, yang merah atau yang hitam?
Wrong question word for choosing one identified option.
✅ Tas yang mana yang kamu pilih, yang merah atau yang hitam?
Which bag do you choose, the red one or the black one?
4. Fusing berapa lama
❌ Berapalama rapat itu berlangsung?
Incorrect spelling — berapa lama is a two-word expression.
✅ Berapa lama rapat itu berlangsung?
How long did that meeting last?
5. Asking for a weekday with berapa
❌ Hari berapa perpustakaan itu tutup?
Wrong for the intended weekday name; hari berapa can instead suggest an ordinal day in context.
✅ Hari apa perpustakaan itu tutup?
On what day of the week is that library closed?
Key Takeaways
- Berapa replaces a number directly and does not trigger plural marking on the noun.
- The order with classifiers is berapa + classifier + noun; classifiers remain optional in many ordinary count phrases.
- Berapa banyak asks aggregate quantity, while units such as kilogram, liter, and kali specify a scale.
- Price, age, dates, clock time, and duration use established frames such as Berapa harganya?, umur berapa, tanggal berapa, pukul berapa, and berapa lama.
- Berapa asks quantity; mana/yang mana asks selection.
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Start learning Indonesian →Related Topics
- Question Words and In-Situ SyntaxA1 — Use Indonesian question words in the position where their answers belong, while recognizing when time, reason, and manner expressions are fronted.
- Indonesian Classifiers: When and Why They AppearA2 — Use optional Indonesian classifiers after numerals to classify and individuate humans, animals, and general objects.
- When Classifiers Are OmittedA2 — Recognize ordinary classifier omission and choose an overt classifier when careful individuation or discourse packaging is useful.
- Cardinal Numbers from nol to sepuluhA1 — Count from zero to ten, distinguish nol from kosong, build numeral–noun phrases, insert optional classifiers, and read digits, rooms, and scores naturally.
- Telling Time and Writing DatesA2 — Distinguish clock time from duration, use lewat and kurang, understand half-hour readings, write Indonesian dates, and convert WIB, WITA, and WIT.
- Money and Prices in RupiahA2 — Read, say, and negotiate rupiah amounts from casual market prices to exact transfers, rent, discounts, unit prices, and change.