Bibi saya mengecat dinding ruang tamu dengan warna biru.

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Questions & Answers about Bibi saya mengecat dinding ruang tamu dengan warna biru.

Why is it written as mengecat and not mencat?

Because the base word cat is one syllable. With monosyllabic bases, the prefix meN- surfaces as menge-, so you get mengecat. Forms like mencat are nonstandard today. Compare:

  • mengebor (from bor)
  • mengebom (from bom)
  • mengecek (from cek)
Do I have to include warna? Could I just say the color?

You have options:

  • Standard/clear: dengan warna biru.
  • Focus on the paint as a substance: dengan cat biru.
  • Result complement (very common in speech): mengecat dinding … biru (no warna, no dengan).
  • Change-of-state: mengecat dinding … menjadi biru. Saying dengan biru (without warna/cat) is odd.
Is dengan necessary here?

Not strictly. These are all acceptable:

  • … mengecat dinding ruang tamu dengan warna biru.
  • … mengecat dinding ruang tamu warna biru.
  • … mengecat dinding ruang tamu dengan cat biru. Using dengan sounds a bit more formal/explicit; omitting it is common and natural.
What’s the difference between dinding and tembok?
  • dinding: a wall, especially interior room walls (the usual choice here).
  • tembok: a thick wall, often exterior or structural (e.g., compound wall, roadside wall). In a house interior, say dinding ruang tamu, not tembok ruang tamu.
Why is it dinding ruang tamu, not ruang tamu dinding?

Indonesian genitive/“of” relationships are expressed by placing the head noun first, then the descriptor/possessor:

  • dinding ruang tamu = “the living room wall(s)” (literally: wall [of] living room). Using dari for this (e.g., dinding dari ruang tamu) is not idiomatic.
What’s the difference between ruang, ruangan, and kamar?
  • ruang: “room/space” used in set names of rooms: ruang tamu, ruang makan, ruang keluarga.
  • ruangan: a physical room/area (countable), often used generically: ruangan itu besar.
  • kamar: a bedroom: kamar tidur.
    So say ruang tamu (living room), not ruangan tamu or kamar tamu (which would be a guest bedroom).
Does dinding here mean one wall or all the walls?

It’s unspecified—context decides. To be explicit:

  • One wall: satu dinding ruang tamu / sebuah dinding ruang tamu.
  • All walls: semua dinding ruang tamu / seluruh dinding ruang tamu.
  • Plural in general: dinding-dinding ruang tamu.
Is Bibi saya the only way to say “my aunt”? What about bibiku or bibi aku?
  • bibi saya: neutral/formal and very common.
  • bibiku: also common, more intimate/informal (using the clitic -ku).
  • bibi aku: grammatically possible but sounds awkward; prefer bibiku if you want to use aku. You can also say tante saya in informal settings (see next Q).
What’s the difference between bibi and tante (and regional terms)?
  • bibi: Standard Indonesian for “aunt” (often paternal, but usage varies).
  • tante: Informal/urban, widely used for “aunt” (by blood or marriage), also as a polite address for women of your parents’ generation.
  • Regional terms exist (e.g., bude/bulik in Javanese, makcik in Malay areas).
    Note: bibi can also be used as a polite address for certain older women (including domestic helpers) depending on region/context.
How do I mark time/aspect (already, currently, will) in this sentence?

Add particles/adverbs:

  • Completed: Bibi saya sudah mengecat … / tadi (earlier) / kemarin (yesterday).
  • Ongoing: Bibi saya sedang mengecat …
  • Future: Bibi saya akan mengecat … / nanti (later). Indonesian verbs don’t inflect for tense; these words carry the time/aspect.
Can the color phrase move to the front for emphasis?

Yes, for emphasis you can front it:

  • Dengan warna biru, bibi saya mengecat dinding ruang tamu. Don’t place it between the verb and object (e.g., mengecat dengan warna biru dinding …) unless you’re deliberately styling the sentence; the default is to keep complements after the object.
Could I say dinding dari ruang tamu to mean “the living room wall”?

No. Use the noun–noun pattern: dinding ruang tamu.
Use dari mainly for material or source/origin, e.g., meja dari kayu (a table made of wood), datang dari Jakarta.

Is mengecat the same as melukis?

No:

  • mengecat: to paint (apply paint to a surface like walls, doors, fences).
  • melukis: to paint artwork (on canvas, etc.).
    You might also see mewarnai (to color, e.g., hair or a coloring book).
Any pronunciation tips for this sentence?
  • c in mengecat is pronounced like English “ch” in “chair.”
  • ng in ruang is the final nasal sound in “sing.”
  • The e in menge- is the mid-central vowel (schwa-like).
  • Stress is relatively even; don’t overemphasize any one syllable.
Should bibi be capitalized here?
Capitalize Bibi only because it begins the sentence. In the middle of a sentence, bibi is lowercase unless it’s part of a title/name (e.g., Bibi Sari). Similarly, ruang tamu stays lowercase.
If I mean my aunt painted my living room (not hers), how do I show that?

Make the possessor explicit:

  • Bibi saya mengecat dinding ruang tamu saya dengan warna biru. You could also use rumah saya if that’s clearer:
  • Bibi saya mengecat dinding ruang tamu rumah saya …