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Questions & Answers about Ruang tamu saya rapi.
Why does rapi come after ruang tamu saya rather than before, like adjectives do in English?
In Indonesian, adjectives normally follow the noun they modify. The pattern is:
- Noun + Adjective
So instead of saying neat living room, you literally say living room neat, i.e. ruang tamu saya rapi.
Why isn’t there a word equivalent to English is in Ruang tamu saya rapi?
Equative sentences with adjectives in Indonesian do not require a copula in the present tense. You simply place the adjective after the subject. Thus ruang tamu saya serves as the subject and rapi as the predicate without any linking verb.
Why is saya placed after ruang tamu? In English, my comes before the noun.
Possessive pronouns in Indonesian are post-nominal. You express possession by placing the owner after the thing possessed:
- buku saya (my book)
- rumah dia (their house)
- ruang tamu saya (my living room)
Can I use the suffix -ku instead of saya? For example, ruang tamuku rapi?
Yes. You can use the enclitic -ku to mean my. When you write it, attach -ku directly to the preceding word without a space: ruang tamuku rapi. This form is more informal and common in speech or casual writing.
What exactly does rapi mean? Are there nuances compared to similar words?
rapi means tidy, neat, well-arranged, or organized. It focuses on order and lack of clutter. A related word is bersih (clean), which highlights absence of dirt rather than the arrangement of items. You can have a ruang tamu rapi that’s organized but not necessarily spotless, or a ruang tamu bersih that’s clean but a bit messy.
How would I say very neat or so tidy in Indonesian?
Use an intensifier before rapi, for example:
- ruang tamu saya sangat rapi
- ruang tamu saya rapi sekali
- ruang tamu saya amat rapi
How do I make the sentence negative, as in my living room is not tidy?
Place tidak before the adjective for simple negation:
- ruang tamu saya tidak rapi
If you want to say not yet tidy, use belum: - ruang tamu saya belum rapi
Is ruang tamu one word or two? How do I know it’s a compound noun?
ruang tamu is a fixed two-word compound meaning living room. Indonesian often forms compound nouns by placing two words side by side, with the first word as the head (ruang = room) and the second as a specifier (tamu = guest). They remain separate words but function as a single concept.