Saya sama sekali tidak punya uang tunai.

I have no cash at all.

Breakdown of Saya sama sekali tidak punya uang tunai.

• saya: I
• punya: to have
• tidak: not
• uang tunai: the cash
• sama sekali: at all

Questions & Answers about Saya sama sekali tidak punya uang tunai.

What does sama sekali add, and can it move in the sentence?

• sama sekali intensifies a negation to mean “at all,” “completely,” or “whatsoever.”
• Placement is flexible:
  • Before the negation: Saya sama sekali tidak punya uang tunai.
  • After the verb phrase: Saya tidak punya uang tunai sama sekali.
• Don’t use sama sekali in a positive sentence: ❌ Saya sama sekali punya uang tunai. (unnatural)
• More examples:
  • Itu sama sekali tidak benar. = That’s not true at all.

Why is it tidak and not bukan?

• tidak negates verbs and adjectives.
• bukan negates nouns and pronouns.
• Here, punya is a verb (“to have”), so use tidak: Saya tidak punya…
• Compare:
  • Itu bukan uang saya. (That is not my money.) — negating a noun.
  • Saya tidak punya uang. (I don’t have money.) — negating a verb.

Is Saya the most natural pronoun here? What about Aku or Gue?

• Saya: neutral/formal; safe with strangers, service staff, and in writing.
• Aku: informal/intimate; with friends, peers, loved ones.
• Gue/gua (Jakarta slang) or ane (some regions): very informal/regional.
• The sentence adapts easily:
  • Aku sama sekali nggak punya uang tunai. (informal)
  • Saya sama sekali tidak punya uang tunai. (neutral/formal)

Can I replace punya with mempunyai or memiliki?

• punya: everyday, neutral-colloquial.
• mempunyai: more formal/politer; common in careful speech and writing.
• memiliki: formal and slightly stronger sense of “own/possess.”
• All are possible:
  • Saya sama sekali tidak punya uang tunai. (most natural)
  • Saya sama sekali tidak mempunyai uang tunai.
  • Saya sama sekali tidak memiliki uang tunai. (most formal-sounding)

What’s the difference between tidak punya and tidak bawa?

• tidak punya = “don’t have (in possession/at all).”
• tidak bawa = “didn’t bring (with me).”
• Use based on context:
  • Saya tidak punya uang tunai. = I don’t have any cash (period).
  • Saya tidak bawa uang tunai. = I didn’t bring cash (I might have money elsewhere).

Do I need tunai? Could I just say uang? Are there synonyms for “cash”?

• uang = money (general).
• uang tunai = cash (physical notes/coins).
• Synonyms/alternatives:
  • tunai (standard), kontan (often in set phrases like bayar kontan = pay in cash),
  • Colloquial borrowing: cash (often written/pronounced “cash/kes” informally).
  • Slang for money: duit (e.g., nggak ada duit).
• Examples:
  • Saya tidak punya uang. = I don’t have money.
  • Saya tidak punya uang tunai. = I don’t have cash.

Is “Saya tidak ada uang tunai” correct?

• Standard distinction:
  • (Saya) tidak punya uang tunai. = I don’t have cash. (possession)
  • Tidak ada uang tunai. = There is no cash. (existence)
• In casual speech, many natives say Aku nggak ada uang to mean “I don’t have money.” It’s common and understood, but for careful/standard usage, prefer tidak punya when you mean possession.

Can sekali alone mean “at all”?

• No. sekali by itself usually means “very” (after adjectives) or “once.”
  • bagus sekali = very good
  • sekali (as an adverb of frequency) = once
• To mean “at all,” use sama sekali with a negation:
  • Saya tidak punya uang tunai sama sekali.
• Be careful: tidak … sekali tends to mean “not very …,” not “not … at all” (e.g., tidak besar sekali = not very big).

Why is it uang tunai and not tunai uang? Where do adjectives go?

• In Indonesian, descriptive words (including many things that feel like adjectives) typically come after the noun.
• So it’s uang tunai (cash money), rumah besar (big house), kopi panas (hot coffee), not the reverse.

Can I drop Saya?

• Yes, Indonesian frequently drops subjects when context makes them clear.
• Sama sekali tidak punya uang tunai. is fine in conversation/texting if it’s clear who’s speaking.
• For clarity or in formal writing, keep Saya.

Is it okay to use nggak/gak instead of tidak? And what about tak?

• tidak: neutral/formal standard.
• enggak/nggak/gak: informal/colloquial.
• tak: formal/literary or certain regions; more common in writing or set expressions.
• All fit the sentence with register changes:
  • Saya tidak punya… (neutral/formal)
  • Aku nggak punya… (informal)
  • Saya tak punya… (formal/literary flavor)

How can I emphasize “not even a penny”?

• Use the particle pun with a minimizer:
  • Saya tidak punya uang sepeser pun. (not a penny/cent)
  • Saya tidak punya uang sedikit pun. (not even a little)
  • For banknotes: Saya tidak punya selembar pun. (not a single bill)
• Note: pun is written separately.

What if I want to say “I don’t have cash yet”?

• Use belum (“not yet”) instead of tidak:
  • Saya belum punya uang tunai.
• belum implies possibility in the future or “as of now.”

Can tunai stand alone like a noun? Can I say “tidak punya tunai”?

• tunai is an adjective (“cash” as a quality), so you normally need uang: uang tunai.
• Saying tidak punya tunai is not idiomatic. Better:
  • tidak punya uang tunai (standard), or
  • tidak punya cash (informal borrowing), or
  • tidak bawa uang tunai (didn’t bring cash).