Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Jaket tebal dengan banyak kantong penting saat angin malam bertiup kencang. - A thick jacket with many pockets is important when the night wind blows hard.

tebal is an adjective meaning “thick” or “heavy.” When applied to clothing (like a jacket), it implies that the material is substantial enough to keep you warm.

Why is dengan used in dengan banyak kantong?

dengan means “with” and indicates accompaniment or possession. Here it tells us that the jacket comes equipped with many pockets.

Why is there no word for “is” before penting?

In Indonesian, the copula (“to be”) is often omitted in simple equational sentences. You simply place the subject and then the adjective. So Jaket… penting is understood as “The jacket is important.”

Why doesn’t kantong take a plural marker when it means “pockets”?

Indonesian nouns don’t change form for singular or plural. Quantity is shown by words like banyak (“many”) or by reduplication (e.g., kantong-kantong).

Why is banyak placed before kantong, and what if I reversed them?

Quantifiers such as banyak (“many”) always precede the noun they modify. banyak kantong is correct. kantong banyak would sound odd and could be misunderstood as a noun phrase followed by an adjective.

What does saat mean, and can I replace it with ketika?

saat means “when” or “at the time of.” You can generally swap it with ketika, which is a bit more formal, without changing the meaning.

What is bertiup kencang?

bertiup is the intransitive verb “to blow,” formed with the prefix ber-. kencang here functions as an adverb meaning “strongly” or “hard.” Together they mean “(the wind) blows strongly.”

Why is it angin malam instead of malam angin?

In Indonesian compound nouns, the head noun comes first (angin = wind) and the modifier follows (malam = night), so angin malam literally means “wind of the night” or “night wind.”