Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Saya meminta izin kepada Ibu untuk memakai baju biru itu. - I ask permission from Mother to wear that blue shirt.

Capitalized Ibu is a title/form of address meaning either “Mom/Mother” (your own mother) or “Ma’am/Mrs.” for a respected older woman (e.g., a teacher). If you meant “a mother” in general, you would write ibu (lowercase). You can also say Bu as a vocative: Bu, saya minta izin…

Do I have to use kepada? Can I use pada, sama, or drop the preposition?

kepada is standard when the recipient is a person: meminta izin kepada Ibu (neutral-formal).
pada is also acceptable: meminta izin pada Ibu (neutral).
sama is colloquial: minta izin sama Ibu (very common in speech).
You can drop the preposition by treating the person as a possessor: minta izin Ibu (“ask for Mom’s permission,” very natural).
Avoid ke with people in standard Indonesian.
dari (“from”) after izin is sometimes heard (e.g., izin dari Ibu) but is less idiomatic than the options above.

Is meminta izin a fixed expression? Are there alternatives like memohon izin or just izin?

Yes, meminta izin (“to ask for permission”) is a set phrase. Formal alternatives:

memohon izin (more formal/polite)
In very formal writing: mengajukan permohonan izin In casual speech, people may just say izin or ijin as a shorthand: Bu, izin ya.

Can I drop Saya or use Aku?

Yes. Saya is neutral/formal; aku is informal. Subjects are often dropped in conversation:

(Saya) minta izin sama Ibu buat pakai baju biru itu.
Aku minta izin, Bu, pakai baju biru itu.

What does untuk do here? Could I use agar/supaya/biar, or omit untuk?

untuk marks purpose before a verb phrase: …untuk memakai… = “in order to wear…”. Alternatives:

buat (colloquial): …buat pakai…
agar/supaya/biar (introduce a clause): …agar/supaya/biar saya bisa memakai… In casual speech you can omit untuk: minta izin pakai baju…

Why memakai and not pakai, mengenakan, or menggunakan?

memakai is neutral; pakai is the common colloquial form.
mengenakan is more formal/literary, often in news/style writing.
menggunakan means “to use” and sounds odd with clothes; prefer memakai/mengenakan for wearing garments.

Why is the order baju biru itu? Why is itu at the end?

Indonesian noun phrase order is typically: Noun + Adjective + Demonstrative. So: baju (noun) + biru (adjective) + itu (that/the). Hence baju biru itu = “that/the blue shirt.”

Do I need yang before biru (like baju yang biru itu)?

Not normally. baju biru itu is the default. Use yang when you’re selecting/contrasting: baju yang biru itu ≈ “the one that’s blue (as opposed to other colors).”

Does itu here mean “that” or “the”?

It can function as either, depending on context. Often itu acts like a definite marker (“the”) for a previously known item; it can also literally mean “that” (as in “that one over there”). Context decides.

Can I say Saya meminta izin Ibu without kepada?

Yes. meminta izin Ibu treats Ibu as the possessor (“Mom’s permission”). It’s common and natural: Saya minta izin Ibu untuk… Both this and meminta izin kepada Ibu are fine.

Is Saya meminta Ibu untuk memakai baju biru itu okay?

Grammatically yes, but it changes the meaning to “I asked Mom to wear the blue shirt.” Structure note:

meminta izin kepada Ibu untuk [SAYA] memakai… = I want to wear it.
meminta [Ibu] untuk [Ibu] memakai… = asking Mom to wear it.

How formal is Saya meminta izin kepada Ibu… if I’m talking to my own mother?

It sounds quite formal. More natural at home:

Bu, saya minta izin pakai baju biru itu.
Bu, aku mau pakai baju biru itu, ya?

What’s the difference between baju, kemeja, and similar words?

baju: general “top/clothing,” often used like “shirt/top” in daily speech.
kemeja: a collared, usually buttoned shirt.
kaus/kaos: T-shirt. Use the specific term if you want precision; baju is fine for everyday talk.

How is tense handled? Does this mean “asked,” “am asking,” or “will ask”?

Indonesian verbs don’t mark tense. Add time/aspect words:

Past: tadi/kemarin … saya minta izin…
Progressive: sedang … meminta izin…
Future: akan/nanti … saya minta izin…

Is the spelling izin or ijin? What about the verb?

Standard spelling is izin. You’ll see ijin informally. The verb is mengizinkan (not “mengijinkan”): Ibu mengizinkan saya memakai…

Why does pakai become memakai? What’s happening morphologically?

The prefix meN- attaches to verbs. With roots starting with p, p typically drops and the prefix surfaces as mem-: pakai → memakai. Similarly: pukul → memukul. For minta, the form is meminta (root starts with m, no deletion).