Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Anak perempuan itu membuat gambar matahari kuning di selembar kertas. - That girl makes a picture of a yellow sun on a sheet of paper.

Itu is a post-nominal demonstrative that most often corresponds to English “that,” but in many contexts it simply marks definiteness, like “the.” So:

anak perempuan itu = “that girl” or “the girl” (a specific, known girl)
Without itu, it sounds more like a generic/indefinite reference (“a girl”), unless context makes it definite.

Can I drop itu? How would I say “a girl”?

Yes, you can drop itu, but then it becomes non-specific. To explicitly say “a girl,” you typically add the human classifier seorang:

Seorang anak perempuan membuat gambar … = “A girl made a picture …”
Anak perempuan membuat … can also mean “A girl …” in the right context, but seorang is the clearest way to show “a.”

Could I say gadis itu or cewek itu instead of anak perempuan itu?

anak perempuan = neutral “girl/female child” (safe in most contexts)
gadis = “maiden/young woman,” not usually for a small child; somewhat formal/literary
cewek = casual/slang “girl” (colloquial) So for a child, anak perempuan itu is best. For casual speech among peers, cewek might appear, but it’s not ideal in formal or neutral narration.

Does anak perempuan ever mean “daughter”?

Yes. In a family context, anak perempuan = “daughter.” To show possession, add -nya or an explicit possessor:

anak perempuannya = “his/her/their daughter”
anak perempuan saya = “my daughter”

Why use membuat gambar instead of menggambar? Which is more natural?

Both are correct, but menggambar is more idiomatic for “to draw.”

More natural: Anak perempuan itu menggambar matahari kuning di selembar kertas.
membuat gambar literally “make a picture,” perfectly understandable but a bit less direct.

Why does kuning come after matahari?

In Indonesian, adjectives generally follow the noun. So matahari kuning = “yellow sun.”
Order: noun + adjective. More examples: rumah besar (big house), baju baru (new shirt).

Do I need yang before kuning (as in matahari yang kuning)?

Not for a simple adjective. Matahari kuning is natural and concise. Yang is used to introduce relative clauses or to emphasize/clarify, e.g. matahari yang berwarna kuning (“the sun that is yellow”), which is more formal or when you need extra clarity.

Is gambar matahari kuning ambiguous? Is the picture yellow or the sun yellow?

By default, adjacency means kuning modifies the nearest noun (matahari), so it reads as “a picture of a yellow sun.”
If you wanted to say “a yellow picture of the sun” (the picture is yellow), you’d clarify:

gambar yang berwarna kuning tentang matahari, or
gambar matahari yang berwarna kuning keseluruhannya (more explicit, still a bit unusual).
In practice, speakers rephrase to avoid this rare ambiguity.

Why is there no “of” between gambar and matahari?

Indonesian often uses noun–noun sequences where the second noun specifies the first: gambar matahari = “picture (of) the sun,” pintu rumah = “the house’s door.” You don’t insert a word like “of” here. Use dari mainly for material or origin (e.g., meja dari kayu = “table made of wood”).

What exactly does selembar mean?

Selembar = “one sheet (of).”

se- = “one/a”
lembar = classifier for flat, sheet-like things
So selembar kertas = “a sheet of paper.” Synonyms: sehelai kertas (also fine), secarik kertas (a slip/small piece of paper).

Should it be di kertas or di atas kertas for “on (the) paper”?

All are used:

di kertas = common, perfectly acceptable
di atas kertas = literally “on top of the paper,” often preferred in formal writing when you mean on the surface
di selembar kertas = “on a sheet of paper” (emphasizes one sheet)

When do I use di, ke, and pada?

di = location “at/in/on” (static): di selembar kertas
ke = movement toward “to”: ke sekolah (to school)
pada = “at/on/in” in more formal or abstract contexts; also used before pronouns: pada hari Senin, pada mereka.
In this sentence, di is correct.

Is the word order flexible? Can I front the place phrase?

Yes. You can topicalize the location:

Di selembar kertas, anak perempuan itu (meng)gambar matahari kuning.
This is natural and often used to set the scene. Keep punctuation (a comma) to show the topicalization.

How do I make “the girls” instead of “the girl”?

Indonesian doesn’t usually mark plural on nouns. To make plurality clear:

anak-anak perempuan itu = “those/the girls” (reduplication)
para anak perempuan itu = plural, formal (more natural is para perempuan or para siswi, but with “anak” we typically use reduplication)
Without such markers, anak perempuan itu is usually understood as singular from context.

How would I say “the little girl”?

anak perempuan kecil itu (literal and clear)
Or simply anak kecil itu if gender is clear from context
Avoid gadis kecil for a small child; gadis is usually older than a little kid.

Is the spacing in di selembar kertas correct? When is di attached?

Yes, di as a preposition is always separate: di kertas, di rumah.
Attach di- only when it’s the passive verb prefix: dibuat (is/was made).
So not diselembar, but you can have dibuat as a verb.

Should matahari be capitalized?

No. matahari (the sun) is a common noun in Indonesian, so it’s lowercase unless it starts a sentence. Proper names like brands (Matahari store) are capitalized.

Can I say sebuah kertas?

Prefer selembar kertas. While sebuah is a general classifier for many objects, paper is flat/sheet-like, so lembar/helai are the natural classifiers. Sebuah kertas sounds odd to most speakers.