Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Jalur pendek ke taman nasional melewati kios buah dan kios oleh-oleh. - The short route to the national park passes fruit kiosks and souvenir kiosks.

Jalur means “route,” “track,” or “lane” – a designated path from point A to B. Jalan means “street,” “road,” or simply “to walk/drive.” You could drive on a jalan, but you follow a jalur when you’re talking about a specific route (e.g., a hiking trail or bus lane).

Why is pendek placed after jalur? Could I say pendek jalur?

In Indonesian, adjectives normally follow the noun they modify. So jalur pendek = “short route.” Saying pendek jalur would sound unnatural. If you want to add emphasis or form a relative clause, you can insert yang: jalur yang pendek (“the route that is short”).

What is the role of ke in ke taman nasional? Can I replace it with menuju?

Ke is a preposition meaning “to” or “towards” a place (e.g., “to the national park”). Menuju is a verb meaning “heading toward.” You could rephrase as bermenuju taman nasional, but in a noun phrase like “route to the park,” ke is more concise: jalur ke taman nasional.

What does melewati mean? Is it different from lewat?

Melewati is the verb “to pass by” or “to go through” something (it comes from the base lewat with the active prefix me-). Lewat by itself can function as a verb or preposition in informal speech, but melewati is the standard verb used in formal descriptions of a route.

Why aren’t there articles like “the” or “a” in this sentence?

Indonesian has no definite or indefinite articles. Nouns stand alone, and you infer “a/an” or “the” from context. So jalur pendek can mean “a short route” or “the short route” depending on the situation.

What does kios mean, and why isn’t it pluralized?

Kios means “stall” or “kiosk.” Indonesian nouns are unmarked for singular/plural. You know it’s plural here because it mentions two separate stalls: kios buah dan kios oleh-oleh. If you wanted a general plural you could say kios-kios buah (“fruit stalls”).

What is oleh-oleh? Is that one word or two?

Oleh-oleh is a compound noun meaning “souvenirs” or small gifts you bring back from a trip. It’s written with a hyphen as a single concept. Literally it comes from oleh (“by/because of”) used in a reduplicated form to denote “things brought back.”

Why is it taman nasional instead of nasional taman?

Adjectives follow the noun in Indonesian. So you say taman nasional (“national park”), not nasional taman. In formal names you might see Taman Nasional [Name], but the order never flips.