Saya memasak ayam dengan bawang.

I cook chicken with onions.

Breakdown of Saya memasak ayam dengan bawang.

• saya: I
• dengan: with
• memasak: to cook
• ayam: the chicken
• bawang: the onion

Questions & Answers about Saya memasak ayam dengan bawang.

Does bawang mean onion or garlic here?

It’s ambiguous by itself. Specify if you need clarity:

• bawang merah = shallot
• bawang putih = garlic
• bawang bombay = bulb onion (the big Western onion)
• daun bawang = green onion/scallion In many Indonesian cooking contexts, bawang often implies shallots and/or garlic as aromatics, but you should name the type to avoid confusion.

Can I use pakai or menggunakan instead of dengan?

Yes.

• Saya memasak ayam pakai bawang. (very common, casual)
• Saya memasak ayam menggunakan bawang. (more formal)
• Saya memasak ayam dengan bawang. (neutral, fine) All three work to mean “with/using” as an ingredient or tool.

How do I say “with my mom,” as in cooking together?

Use dengan (neutral), bersama (more explicit “together with”), or bareng (colloquial):

• Saya memasak ayam dengan ibu saya.
• Saya memasak ayam bersama Ibu.
• Saya masak ayam bareng Ibu. (casual)

What’s the difference between memasak and masak?

• memasak = standard active verb “to cook” (with the meN- prefix)
• masak = base/root form; used informally as a verb (“Aku lagi masak”), and also an adjective meaning “cooked/ripe” Note: masak? (with questioning intonation) is an interjection meaning “Really?/You can’t be serious?”—a different usage.

How do I mark time (now/past/future) since Indonesian doesn’t mark tense?

Add time/aspect words:

• Ongoing: Saya sedang memasak… / Aku lagi masak…
• Past/completed: Saya sudah memasak…; Tadi saya masak…
• Recent: Saya baru memasak…
• Future: Saya akan memasak…; Nanti saya masak…

How do I say “the chicken,” “a chicken,” or “some chicken (meat)”?

• No articles in Indonesian; ayam can be generic.
• a/one chicken (animal): seekor ayam
• the chicken (specific/previously known): ayamnya or ayam itu
• chicken (meat): daging ayam or just ayam in cooking contexts
• some chicken (pieces): beberapa potong daging ayam / sedikit ayam

How do I count onions or garlic (cloves, bulbs)?

• garlic clove(s): satu/dua siung bawang putih
• shallot clove/small bulb: satu/dua siung (or butir) bawang merah
• bulb onion: satu buah bawang bombay “Siung” is standard for cloves (especially garlic); “buah” is common for whole bulb onions.

Can I omit dengan and just say “Saya memasak ayam bawang”?

Generally no. Without a link word, ayam bawang reads like a dish name (“onion chicken”). To mean “with onions,” keep dengan or pakai.

Is the word order fixed? Can I move the dengan-phrase?

Default is SVO + prepositional phrase:

• Saya memasak [ayam] [dengan bawang]. You can front the prepositional phrase for emphasis:
• Dengan bawang, saya memasak ayam. Topicalization is also possible:
• Ayamnya saya masak dengan bawang. (focus on “the chicken”)

How would the passive form look?

• Ayam dimasak dengan bawang. (The chicken is/was cooked with onions.) You can add the agent, though often omitted:
• Ayam dimasak (oleh) saya. (more formal/bookish with oleh)

Do I need to make ayam or bawang plural?

Not usually. Bare nouns can be singular or plural from context. To stress plurality/quantity:

• banyak ayam/bawang (many)
• beberapa ekor ayam (several chickens, animals use ekor)
• beberapa siung bawang (several cloves)

Should I use saya or aku?

• saya = polite/neutral, used with strangers, formal situations
• aku = informal/intimate Regional colloquial options exist (e.g., gue/gua in Jakarta). The sentence with aku (casual): Aku masak ayam pakai bawang.

How do I pronounce the “ng” in dengan and bawang?

It’s the nasal sound ŋ, like the “ng” in English “sing.”

• dengan ≈ “deng-an” (not “den-gan” with a hard g)
• bawang ≈ “ba-wang” (final “ng” as in “sing”)

Is there a difference between dengan and dan?

Yes.

• dengan = with (instrument, accompaniment, manner)
• dan = and (connector between words/phrases) Saya memasak ayam dan bawang = I cook chicken and onions (as two separate things). Saya memasak ayam dengan bawang = I cook chicken with onions (onions are an ingredient).

When would I use memasakkan instead of memasak?

• memasak = to cook (something)
• memasakkan (suffix -kan) = to cook (something) for someone (benefactive) Examples:
• Saya memasak ayam. (I cook chicken.)
• Saya memasakkan ayam untuk Ibu. (I cook chicken for Mom.)

Is capitalizing Saya required?

Pronouns aren’t capitalized by default (except Anda in formal address). Saya is capitalized here only because it starts the sentence. In the middle of a sentence, use saya.