Saya simpan minyak di lemari.

I store oil in the cupboard.

Breakdown of Saya simpan minyak di lemari.

• saya: I
• di: in
• lemari: the cupboard
• simpan: to store
• minyak: the oil

Questions & Answers about Saya simpan minyak di lemari.

Why is it simpan and not menyimpan? Is the bare verb correct?

Both are correct. Simpan is the root verb and is very common in everyday speech. Menyimpan is the more formal, affixed form (meN- + simpan → menyimpan). Meaning-wise they’re the same; the difference is mainly register. In casual talk you’ll hear Saya simpan …, while in formal writing you’d prefer Saya menyimpan ….

What tense is this? Does it mean I stored it, am storing it, or will store it?

Indonesian doesn’t mark tense on the verb. Context or time words clarify it:

• Past/completed: Saya sudah (tadi) menyimpan/simpan minyak di lemari.
• Progressive/ongoing: Saya sedang menyimpan (less common for this action) or more naturally Saya sedang menaruh minyak di lemari.
• Future: Saya akan/nanti saya simpan minyak di lemari. It can also express a habit: Saya simpan minyak di lemari = I keep oil in the cupboard (habitually).

Does minyak specifically mean cooking oil?

Minyak means oil in general. Specify if needed:

• Cooking oil: minyak goreng
• Olive oil: minyak zaitun
• Kerosene: minyak tanah
• Gasoline/petrol is not minyak; it’s bensin.

What’s the nuance difference between simpan and taruh/letakkan?

• Simpan = keep/store (often implies keeping it for future use or in its usual place).
• Taruh/letakkan = put/place (a single act of putting). Examples:
• Saya simpan minyak di lemari. (I keep/store it there.)
• Saya taruh minyak di lemari. (I’m putting it there now.)

Why di lemari and not ke lemari? When do I use di, ke, di dalam?

• di + place = location (in/at/on): di lemari.
• ke + place = movement to: ke lemari is used for going toward the cupboard (e.g., Saya berjalan ke lemari), but for putting something inside, say ke dalam lemari.
• di dalam emphasizes “inside”: di dalam lemari. Often di lemari already implies “in the cupboard.”

Is it ever written as one word dilemari?

No. The preposition di is always separate: di lemari. Only the prefix di- (passive voice) attaches to verbs, e.g., disimpan.

What exactly does lemari mean—cupboard, closet, or cabinet? Could it mean fridge?

Lemari is a general cabinet/wardrobe piece of furniture:

• Clothes wardrobe/closet: lemari pakaian
• Kitchen cabinet/cupboard: lemari dapur
• Fridge: commonly kulkas; a more formal/older term is lemari es.

How do I say “in the cupboard” vs “on top of the cupboard”?

• In the cupboard: di (dalam) lemari
• On top of the cupboard: di atas lemari
• On the cupboard door: di pintu lemari

How do I make a passive version?

Two common options:

• Passive with di-: Minyak disimpan di lemari (oleh saya). (Agent with oleh is usually omitted in speech.)
• Object-fronting (informal passive-like): Minyak saya simpan di lemari.

How do I make “the oil” explicit, or say “some oil” or “a bottle of oil”?

• General/indefinite: minyak
• Definite: minyaknya or minyak itu
• Quantities:
  • sebotol minyak (a bottle of oil)
  • seliter minyak (a liter of oil)
  • sedikit minyak (a little oil) Note: -nya can mean “the” or “his/her/its,” depending on context.

Can I drop saya? What happens if I do?

If you drop saya, Simpan minyak di lemari is usually read as an imperative: “Store the oil in the cupboard!” For a declarative with a 1st-person subject, keep saya/aku, or use the literary prefix ku-:

• Kusimpan minyak di lemari.
• Minyak kusimpan di lemari.

Is aku natural here? What about gue?

• Aku is informal and widely used: Aku simpan/simpen minyak di lemari.
• Gue is Jakarta-style colloquial: Gue taro minyak di lemari. (colloquial spelling taro from taruh; simpen from simpan).

Which is more natural: Saya simpan or Saya menyimpan?

In casual speech, Saya simpan is very natural. In formal contexts (reports, essays), prefer Saya menyimpan. Semantically they’re the same.

What’s going on in menyimpan? Why does it become ny?

The prefix meN- assimilates to the first sound of the root:

• meN- + simpan → menyimpan (the initial s drops; meN- becomes meny-). Other patterns: menulis (tulis), memakai (pakai), mengirim (kirim), melepas (lepas).

How can I say “I have already kept/put the oil in the cupboard since yesterday”?

• Saya sudah menyimpan minyak di lemari sejak kemarin.
• More colloquial focus: Sejak kemarin, minyaknya saya/ku simpan di lemari.

How do I show whose cupboard it is?

• di lemari saya/aku (in my cupboard)
• di lemariku (literary/colloquial fused form)
• di lemari dia (in his/her cupboard)
• di lemari rumah (in the home cupboard)
• di lemari dapur (in the kitchen cupboard)

Do I need a classifier like buah for lemari?

Not for a simple location phrase. Di lemari is fine. If you need “in a/one cupboard,” you can say di sebuah lemari. Buah is a general classifier used mainly when counting items (e.g., sebuah lemari, “one cupboard”).

How would I say “I’ll put that in the cupboard” or “I’ll put it in the cupboard”?

• Referring to a visible/mentioned item: Saya simpan itu di lemari or more naturally with the noun: Minyaknya saya simpan di lemari.
• With a pronoun-like feel, Indonesian often repeats the noun or uses -nya instead of an “it” pronoun.

Is there any difference between di lemari and di dalam lemari?

Both can mean “in the cupboard,” but di dalam lemari explicitly emphasizes inside. Di lemari typically implies inside already; use di dalam if you need to stress the interior (e.g., contrasting with “on top of”).