Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Kakak saya pakai kacamata baru di pesta. - My older sibling wears new glasses at the party.

It means “older sibling” and is gender‑neutral. If you need to specify, say kakak laki-laki (older brother) or kakak perempuan (older sister). In many regions, people also use abang for an older brother. The opposite (younger sibling) is adik.

Why is it kakak saya, not saya kakak? How does possession work?

Indonesian places the possessed noun before the possessor: kakak saya = my older sibling. Alternatives:

kakakku (attach -ku to the noun) = my older sibling
kakak aku (informal, with aku) Avoid kakak milik saya; it’s grammatical but unnatural here.

Can I use other pronouns instead of saya? What changes?

Yes:

Formal/neutral: saya → kakak saya
Informal: aku → kakak aku or kakakku
Very casual (Jakarta): gue → kakak gue Note: Kak can be a polite way to address someone slightly older (as “you”), but kakak saya refers to your own sibling.

Is pakai the same as memakai or mengenakan? Which sounds most natural?

pakai: common, neutral-to-informal. Works for “wear” and “use.”
memakai: more formal/complete; fully natural.
mengenakan: formal, often in writing/news for clothing/accessories. Avoid menggunakan for clothing; it literally means “to use” and sounds odd with things you wear. Any of pakai/memakai/mengenakan fits here; pick based on formality.

What’s happening morphologically with memakai?

It’s meN- + pakai. With meN-, initial p is dropped and assimilates to m, giving memakai. This affix often makes a verb more formal/standard and marks transitivity.

Does this sentence mean “wore,” “is wearing,” or “will wear”? How do I mark tense?

Indonesian has no verb tense. Use time/aspect words:

Ongoing: Kakak saya sedang memakai kacamata baru di pesta.
Past: add time words like tadi, kemarin. Example: Kemarin, kakak saya pakai kacamata baru di pesta.
Future: akan or a future time. Example: Besok, kakak saya akan memakai kacamata baru di pesta.

Does baru mean “new” or “just”? How do I tell?

Both:

Adjective “new”: after the noun → kacamata baru.
Adverb “just/recently”: before the verb → Saya baru makan (I just ate). In your sentence, baru is “new.”

Why is the adjective after the noun (kacamata baru)? Can I say baru kacamata?

Adjectives normally follow nouns: kacamata baru, baju merah, rumah besar. Baru kacamata is wrong here. To emphasize contrast/definiteness, use yang: kacamata yang baru = the new glasses (not the old ones).

Is kacamata singular or plural? How do I say “a pair of glasses”?

Number isn’t marked on nouns. kacamata can mean a (pair of) glasses or glasses in general. To be explicit:

sepasang kacamata = a pair of glasses Reduplication (kacamata-kacamata) is not natural here.

What does di pesta mean? How is it different from ke pesta or pada pesta?

di pesta = at the party (location).
ke pesta = to the party (movement).
pada pesta = at the party (more formal/literary; less common for physical locations). For time relations you’ll also see pada (e.g., pada hari Senin).

How do I say “at a party” vs “at the party” without articles?

Indonesian has no articles; context decides. If needed:

Indefinite: di sebuah pesta = at a party.
Definite: di pesta itu = at that/the party; or specify: di pesta ulang tahun Rina.

Is di here the same as the passive prefix di-? How can I tell?

No. The preposition di is a separate word followed by a noun: di pesta, di rumah. The passive prefix di- attaches to verbs with no space: dipakai, dibaca.

Can I move di pesta to another position?

Yes:

Kakak saya pakai kacamata baru di pesta. (neutral)
Di pesta, kakak saya pakai kacamata baru. (fronted for emphasis on place) Both are natural.

Any quick pronunciation tips?

kakak: final k is often a glottal stop.
saya: sah-yah.
pakai: pa-kay (casual speech often says pake: pa-keh).
kacamata: ka-cha-MAH-ta (c = ch).
pesta: PES-ta (the e like in “café” without the glide).

How do I negate the sentence?

Use tidak before the verb phrase:

Kakak saya tidak pakai kacamata baru di pesta.
More formal: Kakak saya tidak memakai kacamata baru di pesta. Use bukan to negate nouns/adjectives in equational sentences, not verbs.