Breakdown of Gula cair disimpan di lemari.
di
in
gula
the sugar
lemari
the cupboard
cair
liquid
disimpan
to be stored
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Questions & Answers about Gula cair disimpan di lemari.
What does gula cair mean?
It literally means liquid sugar, i.e. sugar in syrup form. It’s commonly used in cooking and baking when you need a pourable sweetener.
Why is cair placed after gula instead of before?
In Indonesian the adjective follows the noun it modifies. The pattern is noun + adjective, so you say gula cair (sugar liquid) rather than cair gula.
Why is the verb disimpan used here? What does the prefix di- do?
disimpan is the passive form of simpan (“to store”). The prefix di- marks the passive voice, showing that gula cair is the recipient of the action.
So gula cair disimpan = “the liquid sugar is stored.”
What’s the difference between disimpan and diletakkan?
Both are passive verbs, but:
- disimpan (from simpan) focuses on storing or keeping something for later.
- diletakkan (from letak) focuses on placing or putting something at a spot.
Here disimpan implies you are keeping the sugar safely stored until you need it.
Why is there di before lemari? Is it the same as the di- in disimpan?
No. In di lemari, di is a preposition meaning “in/at”, indicating location. The di- in disimpan is a verb prefix for passive voice.
Can I say dalam lemari instead of di lemari?
Yes. dalam also means “inside”.
- di lemari = “in/at the cupboard”
- dalam lemari = “inside the cupboard” (slightly more specific)
Why aren’t there words for “the” or “a” in this sentence?
Indonesian doesn’t use articles like English a or the. Definiteness is understood from context or added with demonstratives like itu (“that”).
How do I pronounce gula cair?
Break it into syllables: gu-la ca-ir.
- gu as in “goo”
- la as in “lah”
- ca like “cha” in “chart”
- ir like “ear” without the initial “e”
Stress is fairly even on each syllable.