Tukang bangunan membersihkan puing.

Tukang bangunan is a common phrase for a construction worker, builder, or workman.

• tukang often means a person who does a certain kind of skilled work or trade.
• bangunan means building or construction-related structure.

So together, tukang bangunan refers to someone who works in construction.

In Indonesian, the main noun usually comes first, and the word that describes it comes after.

So:

• tukang = worker/craftsman
• bangunan = building/construction

That gives tukang bangunan = building worker / construction worker.

This is a very common Indonesian pattern:

• rumah sakit = hospital
• kartu kredit = credit card
• tukang kebun = gardener

No. Indonesian usually does not use articles like the or a/an.

So Tukang bangunan membersihkan puing could mean:

• The construction worker cleans the debris
• A construction worker cleans debris
• Construction workers clean debris

The exact meaning depends on context.

By itself, it is not specifically marked as singular or plural.

So it can mean:

• a construction worker
• the construction worker
• construction workers

If you want to make plurality clearer, Indonesian can add context or words like:

• para tukang bangunan = the construction workers
• tukang-tukang bangunan = construction workers

But in many ordinary sentences, number is simply left unstated.

Because bersih means clean as an adjective, while membersihkan means to clean something.

• bersih = clean
• membersihkan = to clean, to make clean

So:

• Rumah itu bersih = The house is clean.
• Dia membersihkan rumah = He/She cleans the house.

In your sentence, membersihkan is needed because the worker is doing an action to puing.

It comes from the root bersih and the affixes meN- and -kan:

• bersih = clean
• meN-...-kan often forms a transitive verb meaning to make/do something to an object

So:

• membersihkan = to clean something, literally something like to make clean

This is a very common pattern in Indonesian verb formation.

Puing means debris, rubble, or wreckage.

Like many nouns in Indonesian, it is not marked for singular or plural here. In English, words like debris also often behave as mass nouns, so this is not too strange.

Depending on context, puing could refer to:

• rubble in general
• pieces of a destroyed building
• construction debris

The basic word order is Subject – Verb – Object, just like in English.

• Tukang bangunan = subject
• membersihkan = verb
• puing = object

So the structure is:

Tukang bangunan + membersihkan + puing
Construction worker + cleans + debris

Yes. Membersihkan is an active verb form.

The sentence focuses on the doer of the action:

• Tukang bangunan membersihkan puing = The construction worker cleans the debris.

A passive version would be something like:

• Puing dibersihkan oleh tukang bangunan = The debris is cleaned by the construction worker.

So meN- verbs are commonly associated with active voice, while di- often marks passive voice.

Yes, often you can. But the best English translation depends on context.

Possible translations include:

• construction worker
• builder
• workman

If the person is specifically doing manual construction work, construction worker is often the safest translation.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

Too-kahng bahng-OO-nahn mem-ber-SEEH-kahn POO-eeng

A few tips:

• ng sounds like the ng in sing
• u is usually like oo in food
• i is usually like ee in see
• stress in Indonesian is usually not as strong or contrastive as in English, so try to say it smoothly rather than heavily stressing one syllable

Yes, but that usually changes the structure and often gives a more passive or marked feel.

For example:

• Tukang bangunan membersihkan puing = active, neutral
• Puing dibersihkan tukang bangunan = passive, focus on the debris

For beginners, the most natural basic pattern to remember is:

Subject + meN- verb + object