Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Poster lama di papan pengumuman kelihatan kusam. - The old poster on the bulletin board looks dull.

Subject: Poster lama di papan pengumuman (the old poster(s) on the bulletin board).
Predicate: kelihatan (looks/appears) + complement kusam (dull).
So it’s literally “Old poster(s) on the bulletin board look dull.”

Why is lama placed after poster?

In Indonesian, descriptive adjectives usually come after the noun they modify. So poster lama = “old poster(s).” Putting it before (lama poster) is ungrammatical in this sense. Note that lama can also function as an adverb meaning “for a long time” in other contexts (e.g., sudah lama menunggu).

Is poster here singular or plural?

Without a number or plural marker, Indonesian nouns are number-neutral. Poster can mean “poster” or “posters.” To make it explicit:

One: sebuah poster or selembar poster
Several: beberapa poster
Plural by reduplication: poster-poster

How do I make “the” explicit (definiteness)?

Use itu (or formal tersebut). Placement changes what’s being made definite:

Poster lama di papan pengumuman itu kelihatan kusam. = the old poster(s) on that bulletin board look dull (definite board).
Poster lama itu di papan pengumuman kelihatan kusam. = that old poster (those old posters) on the bulletin board look dull (definite poster).

Should I use di or di atas for “on the bulletin board”?

Use di for general location: di papan pengumuman = “on/at the bulletin board.”
Use di atas when you mean physically on top of something (above the surface). A poster pinned to a board is naturally di papan pengumuman, not di atas papan pengumuman.

Why is di written separately here? I’ve seen di- attached to words elsewhere.

As a preposition meaning “at/in/on,” di is written separately (e.g., di papan).
As a prefix in passive verbs, di- attaches to the verb (e.g., dipajang = “is displayed”). You could say: Poster lama dipajang di papan pengumuman.

Could/should I add yang: Poster lama yang di papan pengumuman…?

You can: Poster lama yang di papan pengumuman kelihatan kusam means “The old poster that is on the bulletin board looks dull.” However, yang isn’t required for a simple prepositional phrase modifier. It’s more necessary when you have a fuller relative clause (e.g., yang dipajang kemarin).

What’s the difference between kelihatan, terlihat, tampak, and nampak?

They often overlap:

kelihatan: common, slightly informal; “looks/appears/is visible.”
terlihat: neutral-to-formal; “is seen/visible; looks.”
tampak: neutral, frequent in writing; “appears/looks.”
nampak: variant of tampak; more regional/colloquial in some areas.
All can work here: … kelihatan/terlihat/tampak kusam.

What’s the nuance of kelihatan vs kelihatannya?

kelihatan + adjective: “looks/appears [adj]” (direct observation).
Example: Poster itu kelihatan kusam.
Kelihatannya, + clause: “It seems (apparently) that…” (speaker’s inference).
Example: Kelihatannya, poster di papan pengumuman kusam.

Do I need a verb like “to be” before kusam?

No. Indonesian adjectives can be predicates without a copula: Poster … kusam = “The poster(s) [are] dull.” Adding kelihatan shifts the meaning to “look/seem dull,” emphasizing perception rather than simple fact.

What exactly does kusam mean, and what are close alternatives?

kusam: dull, lackluster (surface has lost its shine).
Close but different:
pudar: faded in color.
buram: blurry/opaque (vision/surface not clear).
lusuh: shabby/worn (often clothes).
suram: gloomy/dim (mood/lighting). Choose based on what you want to highlight.

Does di papan pengumuman modify the poster or the place where they look dull?

As written, it most naturally modifies the noun: “the old poster(s) on the bulletin board.”
To make it clearly set the scene (location of the state), front it: Di papan pengumuman, poster lama kelihatan kusam.
Word order and proximity guide what the phrase modifies.

How can I intensify or soften kusam here?

Common modifiers:

Intensify: sangat, sekali, banget (colloquial) → kelihatan sangat kusam / kusam sekali
Soften: agak, cukup, lumayan → kelihatan agak kusam

Is poster tua acceptable, or should it be poster lama?

Use poster lama for “old (in age/long-ago) poster.” tua is common for living things and some inanimates (e.g., mobil tua, gedung tua) but poster tua sounds odd. You might also hear poster lawas (older/retro; somewhat literary) or slang poster jadul (“old-school/outdated”).

How do I count posters naturally?

One: sebuah poster (general classifier) or selembar poster (sheet-like, more specific).
Two: dua buah poster / dua lembar poster
Several: beberapa poster
All are idiomatic; lembar highlights the poster as a sheet of paper.

If I want the plural explicitly, do I say poster-poster lama or poster lama-lama?

Reduplicate the noun, not the adjective: poster-poster lama = “old posters.”
poster lama-lama is wrong here; lama-lama is an adverb meaning “gradually/eventually.”