Question 1

What does itu mean here? Is it “the” or “that”?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 2

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

Accepted Answer

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.”

Question 3

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

Accepted Answer

- 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.

Question 4

Does anak perempuan ever mean “daughter”?

Accepted Answer

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”

Question 5

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

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 6

Why does kuning come after matahari?

Accepted Answer

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).

Question 7

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

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 8

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

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 9

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

Accepted Answer

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”).

Question 10

What exactly does selembar mean?

Accepted Answer

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).

Question 11

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

Accepted Answer

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)

Question 12

When do I use di, ke, and pada?

Accepted Answer

- 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.

Question 13

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

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 14

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

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 15

How would I say “the little girl”?

Accepted Answer

- 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.

Question 16

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

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 17

Should matahari be capitalized?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 18

Can I say sebuah kertas?

Accepted Answer

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.

Anak perempuan itu membuat gambar matahari kuning di selembar kertas.

Breakdown of Anak perempuan itu membuat gambar matahari kuning di selembar kertas.

Questions & Answers about Anak perempuan itu membuat gambar matahari kuning di selembar kertas.

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Master Indonesian — from Anak perempuan itu membuat gambar matahari kuning di selembar kertas to fluency