Saya memeriksa kabel lampu di langit-langit.

I check the lamp cable on the ceiling.

Breakdown of Saya memeriksa kabel lampu di langit-langit.

• saya: I
• di: on
• memeriksa: to check
• langit-langit: the ceiling
• kabel lampu: the lamp cable

Questions & Answers about Saya memeriksa kabel lampu di langit-langit.

Why is the word langit-langit repeated? Can’t I just say langit?

Langit means “sky.” The reduplicated form langit-langit is a fixed word that means “ceiling.” Indonesian often uses reduplication to form a new word with a new meaning (not just plural). So for “ceiling,” you need langit-langit, not langit.

What’s the difference between langit-langit, plafon, and atap?

• langit-langit: ceiling (inside a room). Neutral, standard Indonesian.
• plafon: ceiling as well; very common in everyday speech and in construction contexts (a loanword from Dutch/French).
• atap: roof (the exterior top of a building), not the ceiling.

Why use memeriksa here? How is it different from mengecek, meneliti, and memeriksakan?

• memeriksa: to check/inspect/examine. Neutral to formal; common in many contexts (doctors, police, quality checks, etc.).
• mengecek / cek: to check; more informal. You’ll often hear the colloquial ngecek.
• meneliti: to research/examine in depth (more thorough/analytical).
• memeriksakan: to have something checked by someone else (causative). Example: Saya memeriksakan gigi (I have my teeth checked by a dentist).

How do I express past, present, or future with this sentence?

Indonesian doesn’t mark tense on the verb. Use time words or aspect markers:

• Past: Saya sudah memeriksa… / Tadi saya memeriksa…
• Present/progressive: Saya sedang memeriksa…
• Future: Saya akan memeriksa… / Nanti saya memeriksa…

There’s no “the” or “a” in Indonesian. How do I make “the lamp cable” specific?

Use determiners or clitics:

• kabel lampu itu = that/the lamp cable
• kabel lampunya = the lamp cable (often indicates definiteness or “its”)
• You can also specify with a relative clause: kabel lampu yang di langit-langit itu

Does di langit-langit mean “on” the ceiling or “in” the ceiling? Could I use di atas?

di is a general location preposition (“in/at/on” depending on context). di langit-langit can match English “on/in the ceiling” depending on what makes sense.
di atas means “above/on top of.” di atas langit-langit would mean in the space above the ceiling, not at the ceiling surface itself.

Can I move the place phrase earlier, like: “Saya memeriksa di langit-langit kabel lampu”?

That word order is unnatural. Prefer:

• Saya memeriksa kabel lampu di langit-langit.
• If you front the location, keep the object together: Di langit-langit, saya memeriksa kabel lampu.
• To make it crystal clear the location modifies the cable, use a relative clause: Saya memeriksa kabel lampu yang (ada) di langit-langit.

Is kabel lampu the natural way to say “light wiring”? When would I use kabel listrik?

• kabel lampu = the cable/wiring for a specific lamp/light fixture (e.g., the ceiling light).
• kabel listrik = electrical cable in general.
• For building wiring broadly, you might also hear instalasi listrik (electrical installation/wiring).

Do I need yang before di langit-langit?

Not required. Saya memeriksa kabel lampu di langit-langit is already natural. Adding yang makes the modifying relationship explicit:

• Saya memeriksa kabel lampu yang di langit-langit.
• Slightly fuller: …yang ada di langit-langit.
  Both are fine when you want to avoid any ambiguity.

How do I say this in the passive voice?

Two common options:

• Formal passive: Kabel lampu di langit-langit diperiksa (oleh saya). (Agent often omitted.)
• Colloquial “short passive”: Kabel lampu di langit-langit saya periksa.

Can I use different pronouns, like aku or gue?

Yes:

• saya: neutral/formal, safe in most situations.
• aku: casual/intimate.
• gue/gua: very informal Jakarta slang.
  Examples: Aku memeriksa… (casual), Gue ngecek… (very informal).

Any spelling tips about di and the hyphen in langit-langit?

• The location preposition di is always a separate word: di langit-langit, not “dilangit-langit.”
• The passive prefix di- attaches to verbs: diperiksa.
• Use a hyphen for full reduplication: langit-langit. (Plural reduplication also uses a hyphen, e.g., kabel-kabel.)

How do I say “cables” (plural)?

Indonesian often leaves plurality implicit. If you need to specify:

• kabel-kabel lampu = lamp cables (plural)
• beberapa kabel lampu = several lamp cables
• semua kabel lampu = all the lamp cables

Can I drop the prefix and say Saya periksa… or use cek?

• Saya periksa kabel lampu… is common in headlines and casual speech; it’s less formal than memeriksa but acceptable in everyday use.
• Saya cek… (or very colloquial Saya ngecek…) is informal and widely used in speech/texting.
• For neutral/formal prose, stick with memeriksa.