Dompet saya hilang.

to be

Breakdown of Dompet saya hilang.

• dompet: the wallet
• saya: my
• hilang: missing

Questions & Answers about Dompet saya hilang.

What do the words mean and what’s the literal structure?

• dompet = wallet
• saya = I/me; after a noun it means my
• hilang = missing/lost/gone

Structure: Subject noun phrase dompet saya (my wallet) + stative predicate hilang (missing). Indonesian doesn’t require a verb like “is” here.

Why is there no “is”? Can I use adalah?

Indonesian typically drops a copula before adjectives/states. So Dompet saya hilang is correct. Adalah is used mainly to equate two nouns (e.g., Dia adalah guru = He is a teacher), not before adjectives. Dompet saya adalah hilang is ungrammatical.

Is hilang an adjective or a verb?

Both, depending on context:

• As a state/adjective: Kunci itu hilang (That key is missing).
• As an intransitive event: Dia hilang dari pandangan (He disappeared from sight).

Related words:

• menghilang = to disappear
• menghilangkan = to remove/eliminate
• kehilangan = to lose (undergo loss), as in Saya kehilangan dompet.

What’s the difference between Dompet saya hilang and Saya kehilangan dompet?