Tukang bangunan mengaduk semen.

Tukang bangunan is a noun phrase, not a single inflected word.

• tukang often means a worker, craftsperson, repair person, or someone who does a certain kind of job
• bangunan means something like building / construction

So tukang bangunan works as a set phrase meaning builder / construction worker.

In English, we often use an adjective before a noun, like construction worker. In Indonesian, it is very common to use a noun after another noun to specify the type.

Yes. Tukang is very productive in Indonesian.

It commonly appears in expressions like:

• tukang kayu = carpenter
• tukang kebun = gardener
• tukang cukur = barber
• tukang roti = baker
• tukang ojek = motorcycle taxi driver

A useful idea is that tukang often refers to someone who does practical work or a trade. Depending on context, it can sound neutral, informal, or very everyday.

The root is aduk, which means mix / stir.

The form mengaduk uses the prefix meN-, which often forms an active verb. In standard Indonesian, this is the normal kind of verb form you use in a sentence like this.

So:

• aduk = root word
• mengaduk = to stir / to mix

Because the root begins with a vowel, the prefix appears as meng-, giving mengaduk.

In this sentence, meng- marks the verb as an active transitive verb—in other words, a verb where the subject is doing something to an object.

Here:

• subject: tukang bangunan
• verb: mengaduk
• object: semen

So the worker is actively doing the stirring, and semen is the thing being stirred.

This is one of the most common Indonesian sentence patterns: Subject + meN- verb + object

Yes. This sentence follows the very common Indonesian order:

Subject + Verb + Object

So:

• tukang bangunan = subject
• mengaduk = verb
• semen = object

That is very similar to English word order in a simple sentence.

Indonesian can change word order in some contexts, especially in passive constructions, but this basic active pattern is extremely common.

Indonesian usually does not require articles like a, an, or the.

So tukang bangunan can mean:

• a construction worker
• the construction worker

And semen can mean:

• cement
• the cement

The exact interpretation comes from context.

If needed, Indonesian can add words to make things more specific, for example:

• seorang tukang bangunan = a construction worker
• tukang bangunan itu = that / the construction worker
• semen itu = that / the cement

You usually know from context.

In this sentence, it is most naturally understood as singular, but Indonesian nouns often do not change form for number.

If you want to make plurality clearer, Indonesian can use:

• reduplication: tukang-tukang bangunan
• a plural marker like para for people: para tukang bangunan
• numbers: dua tukang bangunan

Without anything extra, the noun can be singular or plural depending on context, though in a short sentence like this, singular is the default reading for many learners.

Semen means cement, not concrete.

That is an important distinction:

• semen = cement
• beton = concrete

So if someone is mixing the material used to make concrete, Indonesian may still say semen if it specifically means cement, but beton is the word for concrete itself.

Also, learners should be careful because English semen is a completely different word. In Indonesian, semen normally means cement.

It is pronounced roughly seh-men.

A few helpful points:

• both vowels are short and clear
• it does not sound like the English biological word semen
• Indonesian stress is usually not as strong or dramatic as in English

A simple approximation is:

se-men

with fairly even stress.

Yes. Sedang would emphasize that the action is in progress.

Compare:

• Tukang bangunan mengaduk semen. = the construction worker mixes / is mixing cement
• Tukang bangunan sedang mengaduk semen. = the construction worker is mixing cement right now

Indonesian does not mark tense the way English does, so the basic sentence can already refer to a present action if the context makes that clear. Sedang just makes the ongoing nature more explicit.

Yes. A common passive version would be:

Semen diaduk oleh tukang bangunan.

That means the cement is being mixed by the construction worker.

Compare the two patterns:

• Tukang bangunan mengaduk semen. = active
• Semen diaduk oleh tukang bangunan. = passive

Indonesian uses passive forms quite a lot, more often than English in many situations, so it is useful to notice this contrast early.

Yes.

The root bangun is related to ideas like build or wake up, depending on context, but bangunan as a noun means building or something built.

In tukang bangunan, it refers to the building/construction field. So the phrase means a worker connected with construction.

This is a good example of how Indonesian often builds meanings through roots plus affixes, and then those forms can become part of common set phrases.

Yes, and that is a very useful comparison.

• pekerja bangunan = construction worker
• tukang bangunan = builder / construction worker

In many contexts, they are similar. But tukang bangunan often sounds more like a hands-on tradesperson or laborer doing practical building work. Pekerja bangunan can sound a little more general or neutral.

Both are natural, but tukang bangunan is very common in everyday Indonesian.