Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Jangan simpan sepatu basah; keringkanlah dulu di bawah matahari. - Do not store wet shoes; dry them first under the sun.

Negative commands in Indonesian use jangan directly before the verb to mean “don’t do X.” tidak is used to negate statements or describe facts, not to give direct orders.

Why is menyimpan reduced to simpan in jangan simpan?

Imperative forms drop the active prefix meN-, so menyimpan (to store) becomes the bare root simpan when giving a command.

What role does the enclitic -lah play in keringkanlah?

The particle -lah adds emphasis, urgency or politeness to an imperative. It makes the instruction “dry it” sound more forceful or courteous.

Why does keringkan have the suffix -kan?

kering is an adjective meaning dry. Adding -kan turns it into a transitive verb (mengeringkan) meaning “to dry something.” In the imperative you drop meN- but keep -kan, yielding keringkan.

Why is the adjective basah placed after sepatu?

In Indonesian, adjectives normally follow the noun they modify. So sepatu basah literally “shoes wet” corresponds to “wet shoes.”

What does dulu indicate in keringkanlah dulu di bawah matahari?

Here dulu means “first” or “before doing anything else.” It tells you to dry the shoes first in the sun before storing them.

Why is di bawah written as two separate words instead of dibawah?

When di functions as a preposition meaning “in/at,” it stays separate from bawah. Writing dibawah would be parsed as the passive prefix di- plus a noun, which changes the meaning.

Is it okay to replace the semicolon with a comma?

Yes. Indonesian punctuation is flexible. You can use a comma or link the clauses with lalu, which means then, without changing the overall meaning.