Indonesian weather clauses often need no grammatical subject. Sekarang hujan means “It is raining now,” but there is no Indonesian word corresponding to dummy English it. Hari ini panas directly predicates a hot environmental state, while Ada angin kencang introduces strong wind as something present.
The key is to choose the predicate type: hujan can itself report precipitation, adjectives such as panas and dingin report states, and ada + noun phrase presents a phenomenon as existing. This page focuses on environmental sentence architecture, not advanced clause linking, complete question paradigms, or discourse-particle pragmatics.
No dummy “it”
English requires a grammatical subject in “It is raining” and “It is hot.” That it refers to nothing. Indonesian simply begins with a time, place, or environmental predicate.
Sekarang hujan, jadi tunggu sebentar sebelum keluar.
It is raining now, so wait a moment before going outside.
Hari ini panas, tetapi anginnya cukup sejuk.
It is hot today, but the wind is fairly cool.
Tadi malam dingin sekali di daerah pegunungan.
It was very cold in the mountain region last night.
Di luar sudah gelap dan mulai berkabut.
It is already dark outside and beginning to get foggy.
Do not add itu or dia. Itu is a demonstrative meaning “that,” and dia refers to a person or another discourse referent. Neither functions as an empty weather subject.
Hujan as a complete predicate
Hujan can form a complete weather predicate meaning “rain/is raining.” It does not require ada, a copula, or a progressive form.
Sejak sore hujan tanpa henti di kawasan pantai.
It has been raining nonstop in the coastal area since late afternoon.
Di sini sering hujan pada awal tahun.
It often rains here at the beginning of the year.
Besok mungkin hujan pada siang hari.
It may rain tomorrow afternoon.
Saat kami tiba di terminal, masih hujan deras.
When we arrived at the terminal, it was still raining heavily.
Markers precede the predicate: sedang hujan “is raining,” masih hujan “is still raining,” and akan hujan “will rain/is going to rain.” Bare hujan is already complete; sedang is used only when ongoingness is relevant.
Pagi tadi sedang hujan ketika bus sekolah datang.
It was raining this morning when the school bus arrived.
Sepertinya akan hujan sebelum pertandingan selesai.
It looks as though it will rain before the match ends.
Hujan can also be a noun in a larger clause. In Hujan deras merusak jembatan, the heavy rain is an explicit participant causing damage.
Hujan deras merusak beberapa rumah di tepi sungai.
Heavy rain damaged several houses along the river.
Compare that noun-subject use with subjectless Tadi malam hujan deras “It rained heavily last night.” The same lexical item participates in different sentence structures.
Panas, dingin, sejuk, and lembap as states
Adjectives can directly predicate environmental conditions. There is no form of be.
Siang ini panas sekali meskipun langit berawan.
It is very hot this afternoon even though the sky is cloudy.
Kalau malam, cukup dingin di dekat danau.
At night, it is quite cold near the lake.
Setelah hujan, udara terasa sejuk dan lembap.
After the rain, the air feels cool and humid.
Pagi ini lebih hangat daripada kemarin.
It is warmer this morning than yesterday.
With no expressed subject, panas describes the ambient setting. With an explicit noun, the same adjective describes that noun.
Udara di kamar ini panas karena pendinginnya mati.
The air in this room is hot because the air conditioner is off.
Air di botol itu dingin, tetapi cuaca di luar panas.
The water in that bottle is cold, but the weather outside is hot.
The adjectival sentence guide explains why these predicates need no copula. Context distinguishes ambient dingin “it is cold” from an explicit object being cold.
Ada introduces an environmental phenomenon
Use ada + noun phrase when presenting something as present: wind, fog, lightning, smoke, waves, or another noticeable phenomenon.
Ada angin kencang dari arah laut sejak pagi.
There has been a strong wind from the sea since this morning.
Di jalan menuju puncak ada kabut tebal.
There is thick fog on the road to the summit.
Tadi malam ada kilat dan petir selama hampir satu jam.
There was lightning and thunder for almost an hour last night.
Di sebelah barat tampaknya ada awan gelap.
There seem to be dark clouds to the west.
This is an existential pattern: angin kencang or kabut tebal is the entity whose presence is asserted. By contrast, panas is a state, so Ada panas is not the neutral way to say “It is hot.”
Tidak ada angin, sehingga udara terasa lebih panas.
There is no wind, so the air feels hotter.
Masih ada kabut tipis di atas sawah.
There is still a thin layer of fog above the rice fields.
The broader syntax of ada appears in the existential-order guide.
Explicit environmental nouns
An environmental noun is useful when the speaker wants to classify or contrast a particular domain.
Cuaca hari ini cerah, tetapi besok diperkirakan berawan.
Today's weather is clear, but tomorrow is forecast to be cloudy.
Langit di sebelah timur mulai mendung.
The sky to the east is beginning to look overcast.
Suhu udara turun tajam setelah matahari terbenam.
The air temperature drops sharply after sunset.
Ombaknya tinggi karena angin bertiup dari selatan.
The waves are high because the wind is blowing from the south.
These are ordinary subject–predicate clauses: cuaca is clear, langit is overcast, suhu falls, and ombak is high. English it is irrelevant because an actual subject is present.
The spelling berawan is solid because ber- is a prefix. In ada awan, however, ada and the noun awan remain separate.
Time and place organize the forecast
Environmental clauses naturally begin with time or place because those frames tell listeners where the condition holds.
Besok pagi hujan ringan diperkirakan turun di wilayah utara.
Tomorrow morning, light rain is forecast for the northern region. (weather report)
Di Jakarta, suhu malam tetap hangat sepanjang pekan ini.
In Jakarta, nighttime temperatures will remain warm throughout this week.
Menjelang sore, angin akan bertiup lebih kencang di pesisir.
Toward late afternoon, the wind will blow more strongly along the coast.
Pada musim kemarau, daerah ini jarang hujan.
In the dry season, it rarely rains in this area.
A comma is useful after a longer initial frame; a short frame such as sekarang or hari ini normally needs no comma. Capitalization follows ordinary sentence rules. Fronting time or place does not require accents or all capitals.
Everyday reports and formal forecasts
Conversation favors direct observations (informal; neutral):
Di rumahmu hujan juga?
Is it raining at your place too? (conversational)
Belum hujan, tetapi udaranya sudah terasa dingin.
It is not raining yet, but the air already feels cold.
Tadi sempat gerimis, lalu langit kembali cerah.
It drizzled briefly earlier, then the sky cleared again.
Weather reports often use diperkirakan and named regions (formal; journalistic).
Hujan sedang hingga lebat diperkirakan terjadi di beberapa wilayah pada malam hari.
Moderate to heavy rain is forecast in several regions tonight. (formal forecast)
Masyarakat diminta waspada terhadap angin kencang dan gelombang tinggi.
The public is advised to be alert for strong winds and high waves. (formal warning)
The formal examples name weather phenomena as subjects. This does not change the availability of the simpler subjectless clause in conversation.
Common Mistakes
1. Adding demonstrative itu as a dummy subject
❌ Itu sedang hujan di luar.
Incorrect English-style structure — itu means ‘that,’ not dummy ‘it.’
✅ Di luar sedang hujan cukup deras sekarang.
It is raining fairly heavily outside now.
2. Using dia as an expletive
❌ Dia panas hari ini di kota.
Incorrect — dia refers to a person or discourse referent, not the weather.
✅ Hari ini panas di pusat kota sejak pagi.
It has been hot in the city center since this morning.
3. Adding a copula before an environmental adjective
❌ Pagi ini adalah dingin dan berkabut.
Incorrect — dingin is already the predicate.
✅ Pagi ini dingin dan berkabut di sekitar bandara.
It is cold and foggy around the airport this morning.
4. Using ada with an ambient state
❌ Siang ini ada panas sekali.
Incorrect neutral weather expression — panas is an adjectival state, not an existential noun here.
✅ Siang ini panas sekali karena hampir tidak ada angin.
It is very hot this afternoon because there is almost no wind.
5. Separating the prefix in berawan
❌ Besok pagi langit akan ber awan.
Incorrect spelling — ber- attaches to awan.
✅ Besok pagi langit akan berawan di wilayah timur.
The sky will be cloudy in the eastern region tomorrow morning.
Key Takeaways
- Indonesian environmental predicates require no dummy equivalent of English it.
- Bare hujan can report rain; aspect and time markers precede it when needed.
- Panas, dingin, sejuk, and lembap can directly predicate ambient states.
- Ada + noun phrase introduces a phenomenon such as wind, fog, or dark clouds.
- Use explicit subjects such as cuaca, langit, suhu, and angin when the environmental entity itself matters.
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Start learning Indonesian →Related Topics
- Adjectival SentencesA1 — Use adjectives as complete predicates with tidak, degree words, aspect markers, and experiencer subjects.
- Existential and Presentational SentencesA2 — Use ada to say that something exists or is present, with no dummy equivalent of English there.
- Order in ada ConstructionsA1 — Use ada to introduce something that exists or to say where a known thing is located.
- Time and Place AdverbialsA1 — Place time expressions at the beginning or end to frame an event, and keep locations near the predicate or in a contrastive initial frame.
- sedang: Progressive ActivityA1 — Use sedang to place the listener inside an unfolding dynamic event without treating it as a present-tense auxiliary.
- akan: Prospective and Predicted EventsA1 — Use akan to present an event as prospective, predicted, planned, or formally committed without treating it as an obligatory future tense.