Breakdown of Saya menulis catatan ringkas sesudah rapat.
saya
I
menulis
to write
rapat
the meeting
catatan
the note
sesudah
after
ringkas
concise
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Indonesian grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Saya menulis catatan ringkas sesudah rapat.
How is tense expressed here? Does menulis mean past, present, or future?
Indonesian verbs don’t inflect for tense. Menulis is time‑neutral; context or markers show time:
- Past/completed: Saya sudah menulis..., or add a time word: kemarin/tadi.
- Progressive: Saya sedang menulis....
- Future: Saya akan menulis... or add nanti.
- Habitual: leave it bare: Saya menulis....
Is sesudah the same as setelah? What about habis/sehabis and usai/seusai?
All mean “after,” with register nuances:
- setelah: very common, neutral.
- sesudah: equally correct; slightly more formal in some ears.
- sehabis/habis: casual/colloquial (e.g., Habis rapat, ...).
- seusai/usai: formal/literary or newsy. You can replace sesudah with setelah here without changing the meaning.
Can I move sesudah rapat to the front?
Yes. Sesudah rapat, saya menulis catatan ringkas. Fronting time phrases is common; use a comma after the fronted phrase.
Do I need di or pada before rapat?
No. Sesudah already functions like “after.” Say sesudah rapat, not sesudah di/pada rapat. Use di/pada only when you mean “at/in the meeting”: di rapat, pada rapat.
Do I have to use saya, or can I say aku, or drop it?
- saya: neutral/polite; safe almost everywhere.
- aku: informal/intimate.
- Subject drop: possible if context is clear, but Menulis catatan ringkas sesudah rapat can sound like an instruction. For a clear instruction, use the imperative: Tulis(lah) catatan ringkas sesudah rapat.
- Very informal Jakarta slang: gue (I), lu/lo (you).
Should it be menulis catatan, mencatat, or membuat catatan?
All work, with nuances:
- menulis catatan: write notes; neutral.
- mencatat: take note(s), jot down (often during or right after an event).
- membuat catatan: make notes; a very common collocation. For “write the minutes,” use menulis notulen or membuat risalah rapat.
What’s the difference between menulis, menuliskan, and menulisi?
- menulis: to write (basic).
- menuliskan (-kan): to write something down (often for someone), can take an indirect object: menuliskan catatan untuk atasan.
- menulisi (-i): to write on/cover a surface: menulisi dinding. In this sentence, menulis is the most natural.
Does catatan ringkas mean “a note” or “notes”? How do I mark plural or singular?
By default it’s unspecified: could be one note or several. To be explicit:
- One: sebuah/satu catatan ringkas.
- Several: beberapa catatan ringkas or catatan-catatan ringkas (reduplication for emphasis).
Is catatan ringkas the same as ringkasan?
Not exactly:
- catatan ringkas: concise notes (brief points).
- ringkasan: a summary/abstract of something. After a meeting you might write a ringkasan rapat (summary) or catatan ringkas (brief notes), depending on the goal.
Is ringkas the same as singkat or pendek?
- ringkas: concise/compact (avoids unnecessary detail).
- singkat: brief/short in length or duration; catatan singkat is also common.
- pendek: short in physical length/height; less natural for notes.
How do I say “the meeting” specifically?
Indonesian doesn’t require “the.” Add a determiner or context:
- rapat itu (that/the meeting in question)
- rapat tadi/kemarin/siang ini, etc. Example: Saya menulis catatan ringkas sesudah rapat itu.
What’s the difference between rapat and pertemuan (and the borrowed meeting)?
- rapat: a formal/organizational meeting (work, committee).
- pertemuan: any meeting/encounter; broader, can be less formal.
- meeting: English loan heard in offices; in standard Indonesian, prefer rapat.
Can I use the passive voice?
Yes:
- General passive: Catatan ringkas ditulis sesudah rapat.
- With the actor: Catatan ringkas ditulis oleh saya sesudah rapat.
- Object-fronting (colloquial active): Catatan ringkas saya tulis sesudah rapat.
Do I need yang before ringkas (e.g., catatan yang ringkas)?
Not necessary. Catatan ringkas is the normal noun + adjective order. Use yang to emphasize or when the modifier is longer: catatan yang sangat ringkas, catatan yang saya tulis sesudah rapat.
Is saya capitalized like English “I”?
No. saya is lowercase unless it begins a sentence. Indonesian doesn’t capitalize pronouns for respect.