Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Tangga licin setelah hujan. - The stairs are slippery after the rain.

Indonesian doesn’t use a separate “to be” verb before adjectives. The adjective itself functions as the predicate. So Tangga licin literally means “Stairs slippery,” which equals “The stairs are slippery.” No extra verb is needed.

Can I use adalah here?

No. Adalah is typically used to link nouns (e.g., Ini adalah tangga = “This is a staircase”). With adjectives, you don’t use adalah. Saying Tangga adalah licin is unnatural. Just say Tangga licin.

Does tangga mean “stairs” or “ladder”?

Both, depending on context.

“Stairs/staircase”: tangga (e.g., Tangga rumah = the house stairs)
“Ladder”: tangga as well; to be clearer, people often specify: tangga lipat (folding ladder), tangga kayu (wooden ladder), etc.

Is tangga singular or plural here?

Indonesian doesn’t mark plural on the noun, so tangga can be singular or plural from context. To be explicit:

One ladder/staircase: sebuah tangga
Several staircases/ladders: beberapa tangga or tangga-tangga (reduplication, more formal/written) Note: individual steps are anak tangga.

How do I say “the/this/those stairs”?

Use demonstratives or the enclitic -nya:

“this”: tangga ini
“that/those”: tangga itu
Contextual “the/its”: tangganya (means “the stairs” just mentioned, or “its/their stairs” depending on context) Examples: Tangga itu licin (Those stairs are slippery). Tangganya licin (The/its stairs are slippery).

Do I need to add something like “become,” as in “become slippery”?

You can if you want to emphasize change:

Neutral/state: Tangga licin setelah hujan.
Emphasizing change: Tangga menjadi licin setelah hujan. (more formal) or Tangga jadi licin setelah hujan. (colloquial)

What’s the difference between setelah, sesudah, and sehabis/habis?

They all mean “after,” with minor nuance/register:

setelah and sesudah: near-perfect synonyms, neutral and common.
sehabis: also common; habis alone is more casual in this sense. All fit here: … setelah/sesudah/sehabis hujan.

How is “after the rain” different from “when it rains/while it’s raining”?

setelah/sesudah/sehabis hujan = after it rains (when the rain has finished).
ketika/saat/waktu hujan = when/while it’s raining (during the rain). Examples:
Tangga licin setelah hujan. (after)
Tangga licin saat hujan. (during)

Should I say hujan turun or hujan reda?

hujan turun literally “rain falls/comes” and is fine but not required.
setelah hujan is already natural and common.
If you mean “after the rain stops,” you can say setelah hujan reda (after the rain subsides).

Can I move the time phrase to the front?

Yes. Time expressions are flexible:

Tangga licin setelah hujan.
Setelah hujan, tangga licin. Avoid Tangga setelah hujan licin, which sounds like “the stairs after the rain [are] slippery” as a noun phrase, and is awkward in this context.

How do I say “very/too/a bit slippery” or make comparisons?

Very: sangat licin, licin sekali; informal: licin banget
Too: terlalu licin
A bit: agak licin
More/most: lebih licin (more slippery), paling licin (most slippery) Example: Tangga sangat licin setelah hujan.

Do I need a preposition like di (“at/on”)?

No. Here tangga is the subject (“the stairs”). Di would locate something: Di tangga, licin (“On the stairs, it’s slippery”), which works as a sign or fragment, but for a full sentence about the stairs themselves, Tangga licin… is best.

What’s the difference between tangga licin and tangga yang licin?

Tangga licin is a full sentence: “The stairs are slippery.”
tangga yang licin is a noun phrase: “the slippery stairs” (as a modifier), e.g., Awas tangga yang licin (“Watch out for the slippery stairs”).

How do I pronounce the words?

tangga: “TAHNG-gah” (the ngg is an “ng” sound plus a hard “g”)
licin: “LEE-cheen” (Indonesian c = “ch”)
setelah: “suh-TUH-lah”
hujan: “HOO-jan” (Indonesian j = English “j”)