Breakdown of Saya menempel poster belajar di dinding dengan lem.
sebuah
a
saya
I
dengan
with
di
on
dinding
the wall
menempel
to stick
poster
the poster
belajar
study
lem
the glue
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Questions & Answers about Saya menempel poster belajar di dinding dengan lem.
Should it be menempel or menempelkan?
Both are used, but there’s a nuance:
- menempel: literally “to stick/adhere.” Traditionally intransitive (no direct object): Poster itu sudah menempel di dinding. In everyday speech, people often use it transitively: Saya menempel poster…
- menempelkan: clearly transitive/causative “to stick (something) onto (something).” This is the safest choice in careful or formal writing: Saya menempelkan poster di dinding dengan lem.
Your sentence with menempel is natural in conversation. In formal text, many would prefer menempelkan.
Where did the t from tempel go in menempel?
It’s from the meN- prefix assimilation rule. With roots starting with t, meN- becomes men- and the initial t of the root drops:
- tempel → menempel
- tulis → menulis
- tonton → menonton
So the missing t is expected and correct.
Why di dinding, not ke dinding or pada dinding?
- di marks location (where something is/ends up). You’re describing the final location of the poster, so di dinding is standard.
- ke marks direction (to/toward). You might hear menempelkan … ke dinding, but many speakers still prefer di/pada after menempelkan because the result is a location.
- pada is a more formal alternative to di with concrete nouns: pada dinding is fine, just a bit formal.
What exactly does poster belajar mean? Is it ambiguous?
In Indonesian, a noun can be followed by an activity word to show function or topic. Poster belajar most naturally means “a poster for studying” (an educational/learning poster). If you need extra clarity:
- Function: poster untuk belajar, poster edukasi, poster pelajaran/pembelajaran
- Topic: poster tentang belajar (a poster whose content is about studying as a topic)
Is dengan lem the best way to say with glue? What about pakai or menggunakan?
All are fine; they differ in tone:
- dengan lem: neutral, widely acceptable.
- pakai lem: informal, very common in speech.
- menggunakan lem: formal/careful. You can also name the adhesive: pakai selotip, pakai lakban (duct tape), pakai perekat.
Where should I place dengan lem and di dinding? Does the order matter?
Both orders are acceptable and natural:
- Saya menempel poster … di dinding dengan lem.
- Saya menempel poster … dengan lem di dinding. Indonesian word order is flexible; the difference is stylistic/emphasis rather than grammatical.
Why is there no article before poster? Should I add sebuah?
Indonesian has no articles like “a/the.” You can add a classifier or numeral if you want to stress quantity:
- sebuah poster (one poster; generic)
- satu lembar poster (one sheet poster; emphasizes the sheet-like form) Omitting them is completely natural when the exact number isn’t important.
Is di here the preposition or the passive prefix di-?
It’s the preposition di (separate word) meaning “at/on/in.” The passive prefix di- attaches to a verb with no space: ditempel, ditempelkan. Compare:
- Preposition: di dinding
- Passive verb: ditempel di dinding
Can menempel be used intransitively?
Yes. Intransitive examples:
- Poster itu menempel di dinding. (The poster is sticking on the wall.)
- Kertasnya tidak menempel. (The paper isn’t sticking.) For “stick X onto Y,” use transitive menempelkan in formal contexts.
What’s the difference between dinding and tembok?
- dinding: wall (often interior/partition), standard term in general descriptions.
- tembok: a solid/masonry wall; can feel more concrete/external. In casual speech they often overlap, but di dinding is the default for “on the wall.”
How would the sentence look in the passive?
- di-passive (patient-focused, formal-neutral): Poster belajar ditempel(kan) di dinding dengan lem (oleh saya).
- short passive/object-fronting (very common): Poster belajar saya tempel di dinding dengan lem.
Both are natural; adding oleh saya in the di-passive is optional if the agent is obvious.
Are there good synonyms for menempel(kan)?
Yes:
- merekatkan: to glue/adhere something (emphasizes adhesion via glue). Saya merekatkan poster di dinding.
- melekat (intransitive) / melekatkan (transitive): to cling/be stuck; less common but correct. Poster itu melekat di dinding.
- Noun/verb switch: merekat (intransitive) also exists but is less common than melekat in many regions.
How would people say this casually?
- Aku nempelin poster belajar di dinding pakai lem.
- Jakarta-style slang: Gue nempelin poster belajar di dinding pake lem. Note: nempelin is the colloquial form of menempelkan. You may also hear nempel used transitively in speech.
Is it okay that belajar (a verb) modifies poster?
Yes. Indonesian commonly uses a bare activity word after a noun to show purpose/function:
- sepatu lari (running shoes)
- meja belajar (study desk)
- tas belanja (shopping bag) So poster belajar fits the pattern “a poster for studying.” If you need explicitness, use poster untuk belajar.