English normally moves a question phrase to the front and adds an auxiliary: “What did Mira send?” Indonesian often replaces the unknown element exactly where its answer would appear: Mira mengirim apa? The language also allows fronting—especially with kapan, mengapa, and bagaimana—but it does not require English-style wh movement or do support.
Core question words
| Question word | Core meaning | Typical target |
|---|---|---|
| apa | what | thing, content, category |
| siapa | who | person |
| mana | which; where in a prepositional phrase | choice or place |
| kapan | when | time |
| mengapa | why | reason |
| bagaimana | how; what ... like | manner, condition, evaluation |
| berapa | how many/much | number, amount, measurement |
Kamu sedang membaca apa?
What are you reading?
Kamu berbicara dengan siapa tadi?
Who were you talking with earlier?
Kita bertemu kapan?
When are we meeting?
Bagaimana keadaan nenekmu sekarang?
How is your grandmother now?
Harga tiketnya berapa?
How much is the ticket?
Each question word occupies a slot that could contain an ordinary noun, person, time, manner expression, or number.
The answer-slot principle
Compare an answer and its question:
| Answer statement | Question |
|---|---|
| Rina membeli roti. | Rina membeli apa? |
| Rina bertemu Dodi. | Rina bertemu siapa? |
| Rina tinggal di Bogor. | Rina tinggal di mana? |
| Rina berangkat pukul tujuh. | Rina berangkat kapan? |
Rina membeli apa untuk sarapan?
What did Rina buy for breakfast?
Rina bertemu siapa di depan perpustakaan?
Who did Rina meet in front of the library?
Rina tinggal di mana selama pelatihan?
Where is Rina staying during the training?
Rina berangkat kapan untuk mengejar kereta pagi?
When is Rina leaving to catch the morning train?
English moves what, who, where, and when and inserts did/is. Indonesian can leave the unknown in the same position as roti, Dodi, di Bogor, and pukul tujuh.
One frame transformed six ways
Start with a detailed declarative frame:
Kemarin, Mira mengirim laporan itu dari kantor melalui surel karena diminta atasannya.
Yesterday, Mira emailed that report from the office because her supervisor asked her to.
Now question one slot at a time.
Subject
Siapa yang mengirim laporan itu dari kantor kemarin?
Who sent that report from the office yesterday?
The unknown person occupies subject position. Yang connects the human head to the following predicate in this common subject-question pattern.
Object
Mira mengirim apa dari kantor kemarin?
What did Mira send from the office yesterday?
Apa stays after mengirim, where laporan itu stood.
Place or source
Mira mengirim laporan itu dari mana?
Where did Mira send that report from?
The source preposition remains: dari kantor becomes dari mana.
Time
Mira mengirim laporan itu kapan?
When did Mira send that report?
In situ kapan is natural in conversation, especially when the event is already under discussion.
Reason
Mengapa Mira mengirim laporan itu kemarin?
Why did Mira send that report yesterday?
Mengapa is commonly fronted because it asks about the reason for the whole proposition, not a noun argument beside the verb.
Manner or means
Bagaimana Mira mengirim laporan itu dari kantor?
How did Mira send that report from the office?
Bagaimana is also commonly fronted when it asks about the manner or method of the event.
The same declarative frame has produced subject, object, source, time, reason, and manner questions without adding any verb conjugation or auxiliary.
Fronting is available, not compulsory
Question words for arguments are especially natural in situ. Time, reason, and manner phrases often appear initially to set the scope of the whole question. Fronting can also emphasize contrast.
Kapan Mira mengirim laporan itu?
When did Mira send that report?
Mira mengirim laporan final itu kapan?
When did Mira send that final report? (event already known)
Bagaimana mereka menemukan alamat kami?
How did they find our address?
Mereka menemukan alamat kami bagaimana?
How did they find our address? (echoing or pressing for the method)
Mengapa rapat itu dibatalkan?
Why was that meeting canceled?
The two orders are not always stylistically identical. Fronted kapan/bagaimana/mengapa is broadly neutral; final placement can sound more conversational, contrastive, or like a follow-up. The important contrast with English is that Indonesian grammar does not force every wh phrase to the front.
apa: things and content
Apa asks for a thing, category, name, action label, or content. It can be predicate-initial in “what is X?” questions or in situ as an object.
Ini namanya apa?
What is this called?
Kalian membahas apa dalam rapat tadi?
What did you discuss in the meeting earlier?
Apa tujuan kunjungan Anda?
What is the purpose of your visit? (formal)
Do not confuse content apa with clause-initial yes-no marker apakah. Kamu membeli apa? expects an item; Apakah kamu membeli buku? expects yes or no.
The dedicated apakah guide develops that proposition-versus-content contrast.
siapa: people
Use siapa for a person. It remains after a preposition or verb when that is the answer position.
Paket ini untuk siapa?
Who is this package for?
Kamu datang bersama siapa?
Who did you come with?
Siapa yang mengetuk pintu tadi malam?
Who knocked on the door last night?
Subject questions commonly use siapa yang + predicate. Object and prepositional questions naturally leave siapa in place.
mana and place expressions
Bare mana asks “which” when a known set is available. For location and direction, preserve the preposition as a separate word.
Kamu pilih warna yang mana?
Which color do you choose?
Buku mana yang perlu saya baca lebih dulu?
Which book do I need to read first?
Kunci mobilnya disimpan di mana?
Where is the car key kept?
Setelah ini kalian pergi ke mana?
Where are you going after this?
Tamu itu datang dari mana?
Where did that guest come from?
Write di mana, ke mana, and dari mana separately. These are prepositional phrases, not the fused nonstandard spellings dimana, kemana, and darimana.
kapan, mengapa, and bagaimana
These often have scope over the whole event and therefore appear at the beginning, though kapan readily occurs in situ.
Kapan hasil pemeriksaan diumumkan?
When will the examination results be announced?
Mengapa jalan utama ditutup pagi ini?
Why was the main road closed this morning?
Bagaimana cara menggunakan mesin ini?
How do you use this machine?
Bagaimana cuaca di sana selama musim hujan?
What is the weather like there during the rainy season?
Bagaimana asks both manner (“by what method?”) and condition/evaluation (“what is it like?”). Mengapa is neutral in careful Indonesian; kenapa is its very common conversational counterpart (informal).
berapa: number, amount, and measurement
Berapa can stand as a predicate or combine with a measurement noun. Keep multiword expressions separate.
Pesertanya berapa orang?
How many participants are there?
Kamu membeli berapa kilogram beras?
How many kilograms of rice did you buy?
Perjalanannya memakan waktu berapa lama?
How long does the journey take?
Berapa lama kamu tinggal di Surabaya?
How long are you staying in Surabaya?
Write berapa lama as two words. With formal attached -kah, write berapa lamakah, still preserving the boundary after berapa.
Common Mistakes
Fronting an object and inverting like English
❌ Apa membeli Rina di pasar?
Incorrect — fronting apa does not move the predicate before the subject; the neutral question keeps apa in the object slot.
✅ Rina membeli apa di pasar pagi tadi?
What did Rina buy at the market this morning?
Adding an English do auxiliary
❌ Apa melakukan Rina membeli di pasar?
Incorrect — Indonesian has no empty do auxiliary in content questions.
✅ Rina membeli apa di pasar tadi?
What did Rina buy at the market earlier?
Fusing di mana
❌ Kamu tinggal dimana sekarang?
Incorrect standard spelling — di is a separate preposition.
✅ Kamu tinggal di mana sekarang?
Where do you live now?
Fusing ke mana or dari mana
❌ Setelah rapat, mereka pergi kemana?
Incorrect standard spelling — ke mana is two words.
✅ Setelah rapat, mereka pergi ke mana?
Where did they go after the meeting?
Fusing berapa lama
❌ Kamu menunggu berapalama di terminal?
Incorrect spelling — berapa lama is a two-word expression.
✅ Kamu menunggu berapa lama di terminal?
How long did you wait at the terminal?
Key Takeaways
- Indonesian usually places a question word where its answer would stand, without inversion or do support.
- Subject siapa, object apa, and prepositional siapa/mana reveal their roles through position.
- Kapan, mengapa, and bagaimana are frequently fronted because they scope over the event, but in-situ alternatives remain possible in context.
- Write di mana, ke mana, dari mana, and berapa lama as separate words.
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Start learning Indonesian →Related Topics
- siapa: Asking About PeopleA2 — Use siapa in subject, object, possessor, and prepositional questions, and understand when focused siapa yang is appropriate.
- apa: Things, Predicates, and Echo QuestionsA2 — Use apa for unknown things, categories, purposes, and unheard content, while keeping it distinct from yes-no apakah.
- mana, yang mana, and pilihanA2 — Use mana after nouns, yang mana for discourse-known alternatives, and prepositional mana phrases for place, destination, and source.
- di mana, ke mana, and dari manaA2 — Choose di mana for static location, ke mana for destinations, and dari mana for origins while preserving Indonesian question order.
- kapan and Time QuestionsA2 — Ask points and occasions with kapan, starting and ending boundaries with sejak/sampai kapan, and durations with berapa lama.
- bagaimana and gimanaA1 — Use bagaimana for method, condition, evaluation, and proposals, then shift to gimana only for an appropriately colloquial voice.