Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Ibu memanggang kue manis di pagi hari.

Context decides which one. In everyday speech, Ibu is also shortened to Bu as a respectful address. For a younger woman you’d typically use Mbak instead.

How do I say “my mom”? Do I need to add saya?

To make it explicit:

ibu saya = my mother (neutral).
ibuku = my mother (more intimate; using the suffix -ku).
If you’re directly addressing your own mother, you can just say Bu/Ibu.

In writing, Ibu alone as a subject is ambiguous: it could be “Mother,” “a mother,” or “Ma’am.”

Why is Ibu capitalized?

It’s capitalized here because it’s the first word of the sentence. In general Indonesian orthography:

Capitalize kinship titles used as address or before names: Ibu, Ibu Siti.
Use lowercase when it’s a common noun: ibu saya, ibuku.

What’s the nuance of memanggang compared to membakar or mengoven?

memanggang: bake/roast with dry heat (in an oven or over coals), e.g., cakes, bread, roasted chicken.
membakar: burn or grill; can imply charring/open flame (e.g., grilling satay).
mengoven: colloquial, literally “to oven,” often in casual speech for baking. As an adjective/noun, panggang appears in compounds: ayam panggang (roast chicken).

How is memanggang formed from the root?

Root: panggang (to roast/bake). With the active meN- prefix:

The p in panggang drops.
The nasal assimilates to m before a labial consonant.
Result: memanggang. This is a regular meN- assimilation pattern in Indonesian.

How do I pronounce memanggang? What’s with the double g?

The sequence ngg is pronounced as [ŋg] (a velar nasal immediately followed by a hard g). So you clearly articulate the g after the nasal. Syllables are roughly me-mang-gang.

Is there tense in memanggang? How do I say “is baking,” “baked,” or “will bake”?

Indonesian verbs don’t inflect for tense. Time/aspect is shown by context or particles:

Progressive: sedang — Ibu sedang memanggang kue manis (is baking).
Past: add a time word — Ibu memanggang kue manis tadi pagi (baked this morning).
Future: akan or a time word — Ibu akan memanggang kue manis besok pagi (will bake).

Do I need an article for kue manis? Is it “a/the sweet cake” or “sweet cakes”?

Indonesian has no articles, so kue manis can mean a sweet cake, the sweet cake, or sweet cakes, depending on context. To be specific:

One item: sebuah kue manis.
Definite: kue manis itu/ini (that/this sweet cake).
Plural: kue-kue manis, or use a quantifier like beberapa kue manis.

How do I mark plural or use numbers with kue?

With numbers: dua kue manis is fine; dua buah kue manis adds the general classifier buah (optional).
Plural by reduplication: kue-kue manis.
Quantifiers: banyak kue manis, beberapa kue manis.

Why is the adjective after the noun in kue manis?

In Indonesian, descriptive adjectives usually follow the noun:

kue manis = sweet cake(s). Putting the adjective before the noun is not the default pattern.

When would I use kue yang manis instead of kue manis?

Use yang to specify or contrast a subset, or when the modifier is clause-like:

Generic description: Saya suka kue manis (I like sweet cakes).
Specifying among options: Saya mau kue yang manis, bukan yang asin (I want the sweet cake(s), not the savory one(s)).
With relative clauses, yang is required: kue yang Ibu panggang.

Is di pagi hari correct, or should it be pada pagi hari?

Both are acceptable:

pada pagi hari is more formal/prescriptive for time expressions.
di pagi hari is very common in everyday Indonesian. In casual speech you can even drop the preposition: pagi hari.

Do I need the word hari? What about pagi or pagi-pagi?

pagi alone is fine: Ibu memanggang kue manis pagi.
pagi hari is a set phrase meaning “in the morning.”
pagi-pagi means early in the morning and sounds more colloquial: Ibu memanggang kue manis pagi-pagi. For “this morning,” use pagi ini or tadi pagi (earlier this morning).

Where can the time phrase go in the sentence?

Time expressions are flexible:

Fronted: Di pagi hari, Ibu memanggang kue manis.
Final position: Ibu memanggang kue manis di pagi hari. Fronting adds emphasis to the time.

How would the passive voice look?

Kue manis dipanggang Ibu di pagi hari.
More formal with an agent marker: Kue manis dipanggang oleh Ibu di pagi hari. Passive highlights the object (kue manis) rather than the doer.

Can I drop the me- prefix in casual speech?

In colloquial Indonesian, yes, especially in speech:

Ibu panggang kue manis pagi-pagi. You’ll also hear progressive lagi: Ibu lagi panggang kue manis. Note that the standard form is still memanggang.

Is di here the same as the passive prefix di-?

No. In di pagi hari, di is a preposition and is written separately. The passive prefix di- attaches to verbs (e.g., dipanggang) with no space. So:

Preposition: di pagi, di rumah.
Prefix: dipanggang, ditulis.

What exactly does kue cover in Indonesian?

Kue is a broad term for cakes, pastries, cookies, and many traditional snacks/desserts. It’s wider than just Western-style cake. In Malay you’ll often see kuih for a similar concept. For bread, Indonesian typically uses roti.