Saya memakai payung murah ketika hujan deras.

I use a cheap umbrella when it rains heavily.

Breakdown of Saya memakai payung murah ketika hujan deras.

• sebuah: a
• saya: I
• ketika: when
• payung: the umbrella

Questions & Answers about Saya memakai payung murah ketika hujan deras.

What does memakai mean, and how is it different from pakai or menggunakan?

memakai is an active transitive verb meaning “to use” or “to wear.” It’s formed by adding the me- prefix to the root pakai.

• pakai is the same root but used colloquially without the prefix: Saya pakai payung.
• menggunakan is another formal equivalent: Saya menggunakan payung.

Why is murah placed after payung, and not before it?

In Indonesian, adjectives typically follow the nouns they modify. So you say payung murah (inexpensive umbrella) rather than murah payung. Placing the adjective before the noun can sound poetic or uncommon in everyday speech.

What role does ketika play here? Can it be replaced with saat or waktu?

ketika is a conjunction meaning “when,” introducing a time clause. You can indeed swap it out:

• saat: Saya memakai payung murah saat hujan deras.
• waktu: Saya memakai payung murah waktu hujan deras.
  All three are correct. ketika and saat lean more formal; waktu is neutral.

There’s no “used” or “was using” form—how do I know it’s past tense?