Pengaruh cahaya terlihat jelas di permukaan daun yang hijau.

The effect of light is clearly seen on the surface of the green leaves.

Breakdown of Pengaruh cahaya terlihat jelas di permukaan daun yang hijau.

• di: on
• yang: that
• jelas: clear
• hijau: green
• terlihat: to be seen
• pengaruh: the effect
• cahaya: the light
• permukaan: the surface
• daun: the leaf

Questions & Answers about Pengaruh cahaya terlihat jelas di permukaan daun yang hijau.

In pengaruh cahaya, why is there no word like of or from, as in “effect of light” or “pengaruh dari cahaya”?

Indonesian often expresses the “X of Y” relationship simply by putting two nouns together, with the “owner/causer” second:

• pengaruh cahaya = effect of light
• warna daun = color of the leaf
• permukaan air = surface of the water

So pengaruh cahaya already means “the effect of light” without any extra word.

You can say pengaruh dari cahaya, but:

• It sounds a bit heavier and more explicit.
• It’s more common when you want to emphasize the source, or when the phrase is long/complex.

In this short phrase, pengaruh cahaya is the most natural.

What is the role of terlihat here, and how is it different from lihat or melihat?

• lihat = to see (base form, often used in imperative: Lihat! = Look!)
• melihat = to see, to look at (active verb, “someone sees something”)
• terlihat = is/appears visible, can be seen (stative/passive-like meaning)

In the sentence:

• terlihat does not mean “to see something”; it means “to be seen / to be visible”.
• So pengaruh cahaya terlihat ≈ “the effect of light is visible / can be seen”.

You could think of terlihat as similar to English “looks” in “It looks clear.”

Why is jelas used after terlihat? Does jelas mean “clearly” or “clear”?

Jelas is an adjective meaning “clear”, but Indonesian adjectives can often play the role of adverbs without changing form.

In terlihat jelas:

• Literally: “is seen clear”
• Natural translation: “is clearly visible”

So here jelas functions like “clearly” in English, even though its basic meaning is “clear”.

Other similar patterns:

• berjalan cepat = to walk fast / quickly
• berbicara pelan = to speak softly / quietly

No extra ending (like -ly) is needed in Indonesian.

Is di in di permukaan the same di- that’s used for passive verbs like ditulis?

No. Indonesian has:

1. di (separate word) = preposition “at / in / on”

   • di rumah = at home
   • di permukaan = on the surface

2. di- (prefix attached to a verb) = passive marker

   • tulis → ditulis = written
   • makan → dimakan = eaten

You can tell which one it is by spacing:

• di permukaan (with a space) = preposition
• ditulis (no space) = passive verb prefix

In di permukaan daun yang hijau, di is a preposition, not a passive prefix.

What exactly does permukaan mean, and how is it formed?

Permukaan means “surface”.

It’s formed from the root muka (face/front) with the circumfix per- … -an:

• muka = face, front
• permukaan = surface (the outer “face” of something)

Similar patterns:

• laut (sea) → perlautan (maritime area, context-dependent)
• gunung (mountain) → pegunungan (mountain range, mountainous region)

So di permukaan daun = on the surface of the leaf.

Why is it daun yang hijau and not just daun hijau?

Both are grammatically correct, but there is a nuance:

• daun hijau = a green leaf / green leaves (just describing the leaf’s color)
• daun yang hijau = the leaf(s) that are green (more like a defining clause: “leaf which is green”)

Yang turns what follows into a descriptive/relative clause:

• daun yang hijau = leaf which is green
• daun yang besar = leaf that is big

In this sentence, daun yang hijau gives a bit more focus or contrast, as if specifying “the leaf that is (specifically) green”, not some other kind of leaf. In many contexts, daun hijau would also be fine; the choice is stylistic.

What exactly does yang do in daun yang hijau?

Yang is a very important word in Indonesian. Here it works as a relativizer, roughly like “that / which / who” in English.

Pattern:

• noun + yang + description

Examples:

• orang yang baik = person who is good
• buku yang saya baca = the book that I read
• daun yang hijau = the leaf that is green

In daun yang hijau, yang links daun and hijau, turning hijau into a defining description of daun.

Does daun here mean “leaf” (singular) or “leaves” (plural)? There’s no -s.

Indonesian usually does not mark singular vs plural on the noun itself. Daun can mean:

• a leaf / the leaf
• leaves / the leaves

Which one is meant depends on context. If you really want to emphasize plurality, you can:

• Reduplicate: daun-daun = leaves
• Use a number or quantifier: banyak daun = many leaves, tiga daun = three leaves

So in this sentence, daun could be understood as “leaf” or “leaves” depending on the broader context.

Can I change the word order to Pengaruh cahaya di permukaan daun yang hijau terlihat jelas?

Yes, that is grammatically correct, and it’s something a native speaker could say.

• Pengaruh cahaya terlihat jelas di permukaan daun yang hijau.
  → Slightly more focus on “is clearly visible” as the new information, then telling where.

• Pengaruh cahaya di permukaan daun yang hijau terlihat jelas.
  → Packs “on the surface of the green leaf” closer to “effect of light”, as if treating them as one bigger topic, then commenting “is clearly visible” about that whole chunk.

Both are acceptable; the original order is slightly more common and neutral.

Is this sentence formal, neutral, or informal? How would it sound in more casual language?

The sentence Pengaruh cahaya terlihat jelas di permukaan daun yang hijau. is neutral to slightly formal. It fits well in:

• school textbooks
• scientific explanations
• written reports

In casual spoken Indonesian, someone might say:

• Kelihatan banget pengaruh cahaya di permukaan daun yang hijau.
  (Very visible the effect of light on the surface of the green leaf.)

or

• Pengaruh cahaya kelihatan jelas di permukaan daun yang hijau.

Changes:

• terlihat → kelihatan (more colloquial)
• Optionally add banget for emphasis (very).