Langit malam berwarna biru gelap.

The night sky is dark blue.

Breakdown of Langit malam berwarna biru gelap.

• berwarna: to be colored
• biru gelap: dark blue
• langit malam: the night sky

Questions & Answers about Langit malam berwarna biru gelap.

Why doesn’t the sentence use an article like the or a?

Indonesian has no definite or indefinite articles equivalent to English the or a/an. Nouns stand alone, and whether something is definite or not is understood from context or optionally marked by demonstratives like ini (this) or itu (that).

What is the structure of langit malam? Why isn’t it malam langit?

In Indonesian noun–noun compounds the head noun comes first and the modifier noun follows. Here langit (sky) is the head, and malam (night) modifies it, giving langit malam = “night sky.” Reversing them (malam langit) would sound odd.

What does berwarna mean, and how is it formed?

berwarna is a stative verb meaning “to have a color” or “to be colored.” It’s formed by adding the prefix ber- to the noun warna (color), literally “to have color.”

Why not just say Langit malam biru gelap?

You actually can say Langit malam biru gelap or Langit malam adalah biru gelap to mean “The night sky is dark blue.” Using berwarna simply emphasizes the color attribute. It’s a more explicit way to state “has the color dark blue,” especially in descriptive or formal contexts.

Can I use both adalah and berwarna together, like Langit malam adalah berwarna biru gelap?

No. adalah links two noun phrases (NP = NP), so you’d drop berwarna:
• Langit malam adalah biru gelap
Alternatively, berwarna is itself a verb, so you say:
• Langit malam berwarna biru gelap

Why is it biru gelap and not gelap biru?

Adjectives in Indonesian follow the noun and, when combined, generally go from general to specific. Here biru is the basic color, and gelap specifies its shade (“dark”). So you get “blue dark” = “dark blue.”

How would you say “very dark blue”? Where do you put an intensifier?

You can add intensifiers like sangat (very) or sekali (extremely):
• Langit malam berwarna sangat gelap (“The night sky is very dark.”)
• Langit malam berwarna biru gelap sekali (“The night sky is extremely dark blue.”)
Notice sangat precedes the adjective, while sekali often follows.

What part of speech is malam in langit malam?

Here malam is a noun used attributively (a noun modifier). It isn’t an adjective, but when placed after another noun it acts like one, forming a compound meaning “sky of night.”

If I want to express a change — “the night sky became dark blue” — how would I say that?

Use menjadi for “become”:
• Langit malam menjadi biru gelap.
This shifts the focus to the transition (“turned” or “became”) rather than simply describing a static color.