Saya mencuci pakaian kerja di malam hari.

I wash work clothes at night.

Breakdown of Saya mencuci pakaian kerja di malam hari.

• saya: I
• di: at
• malam hari: the night
• pakaian kerja: the work clothes
• mencuci: to wash

Questions & Answers about Saya mencuci pakaian kerja di malam hari.

What does mencuci mean and how does the me- prefix work in this word?

mencuci means “to wash.” The prefix me- is one of the active verb prefixes in Indonesian. When attached to the root cuci (“wash”), it forms an active transitive verb indicating the subject performs the action on an object. So cuci → mencuci = “(to) wash (something).”

Why is it pakaian kerja instead of pakaian untuk kerja?

pakaian kerja is a compound noun meaning “work clothes.” In Indonesian, it’s common to combine two nouns directly to specify purpose or category. Although pakaian untuk kerja (“clothes for work”) is grammatically correct, pakaian kerja is shorter and more idiomatic.

If I want to say “my work clothes,” how would I modify pakaian kerja?

You can add a possessive suffix -ku: pakaian kerjaku = “my work clothes.” Alternatively, you can say pakaian kerja saya, but that’s a bit longer and literally “work clothes of mine.”

What does di malam hari mean and why is the preposition di used here?

di malam hari means “at night.” In Indonesian, di can function as a preposition indicating location or time. When you want to say “at night” in a time-adverbial sense, di malam hari (or more formally pada malam hari) is very common. You can sometimes drop di and just say malam hari in casual speech, but using di is standard.

Where does the time phrase di malam hari usually go in an Indonesian sentence?

The default word order is Subject–Verb–Object–Time:
“Saya mencuci pakaian kerja di malam hari.”
However, Indonesian is flexible. You can front the time phrase:
“Di malam hari, saya mencuci pakaian kerja.”
Both orders are correct; the emphasis just shifts slightly.

Could I turn this into the passive voice using the di- verb prefix?

Yes. The passive form of “mencuci” is formed with di- instead of me-. A natural passive version is:
“Pakaian kerja saya dicuci di malam hari.”
Structure there is Object–Possessor–PassiveVerb–Time.

Why is Saya used here instead of a more informal Aku? Can it be omitted?

Saya is a neutral/formal first-person pronoun. Aku is more casual. You could say Aku mencuci... in conversational Indonesian. Also, like many Indonesian sentences, you can drop the pronoun if the subject is clear from context:
“Mencuci pakaian kerja di malam hari.”
The action still makes sense, though adding Saya clarifies who’s doing it.

Do Indonesian nouns have singular and plural forms? How does that affect pakaian here?

Indonesian nouns generally don’t change form for singular vs. plural. pakaian can mean “a piece of clothing,” “clothes,” or “clothing” depending on context. If you want to emphasize plurality, you can use reduplication (e.g., pakaian-pakaian), but it’s rarely needed when the meaning is already clear. In our sentence, pakaian kerja naturally covers the idea of multiple work clothes.