Questions & Answers about Buku ini milik saya.
- buku = book (noun)
- ini = this (demonstrative, like this in this book)
- milik = ownership / property / belonging (a noun meaning possession)
- saya = I / me (first-person singular pronoun, polite/neutral)
So the structure is literally: book – this – possession – I, i.e. This book is (the) possession of me.
Indonesian normally omits a verb like “to be” (is/are/am) when linking a subject to a noun or adjective.
So instead of saying Buku ini adalah milik saya, people usually just say Buku ini milik saya.
Adding adalah is possible and sounds more formal or written: Buku ini adalah milik saya = This book is mine (formal style).
Both can translate as This is my book, but the focus is slightly different:
- Buku ini milik saya emphasizes ownership: This book belongs to me (not someone else).
- Ini buku saya is more like simple identification: This is my book, without strong emphasis on the idea of “belonging”.
In everyday conversation, Ini buku saya is more common and sounds more casual and neutral.
milik saya and punya saya both mean mine / belongs to me, but:
- milik feels more formal, written, or careful.
- punya is more colloquial and commonly used in speech.
Compare:
- Buku ini milik saya. (more formal, neutral)
- Buku ini punya saya. (more casual, everyday speech)
In most spoken situations, punya saya will sound more natural.
In Indonesian, demonstratives usually come after the noun:
- buku ini = this book
- buku itu = that book
When ini comes at the start of the sentence, it behaves more like this as a standalone subject:
- Ini buku saya. = This is my book.
- Buku ini milik saya. = This book is mine.
So buku ini is a noun phrase (this book), while sentence-initial Ini is more like saying This….
saya and aku both mean I / me, but differ in formality:
- saya = polite, neutral, used in most situations (with strangers, at work, in formal writing).
- aku = informal, used with close friends, family, or in songs and poetry.
In this sentence:
- Buku ini milik saya. → neutral/polite.
- Buku ini milik aku. → grammatically possible, but sounds odd; with aku, people more often say Buku ini punyaku.
So saya is the safer, more general choice.
Yes, you can say Buku saya, and it means my book. The differences are:
- Buku saya = my book (a simple noun phrase; no pointing, no emphasis on this).
- Buku ini milik saya = This book is mine (refers to a specific book that is near you and stresses ownership).
If you are pointing at a book in front of you and want to emphasize that it belongs to you (vs. someone else), Buku ini milik saya or Ini buku saya is clearer than just Buku saya.
Yes, you can say Buku itu milik saya. The demonstratives are:
- ini = this (near the speaker)
- itu = that (farther away, or not in the immediate space)
So:
- Buku ini milik saya. = This book (near me) is mine.
- Buku itu milik saya. = That book (over there / that one we’re talking about) is mine.
Grammatically they are the same; only the distance or context changes.
milik saya behaves more like “mine” than “my”. It means something like “(the) property of me / belonging to me.”
- Buku ini milik saya. → This book is mine.
- Ini buku saya. → This is my book.
So buku saya = my book (possessive adjective),
while milik saya functions as mine / belongs to me.
Milik saya buku ini is technically understandable but sounds unnatural in normal conversation. The standard word order is:
- Buku ini milik saya. (subject + predicate)
Reordering it might appear in poetry or very marked emphasis, but for normal speech and writing, stick to Buku ini milik saya or the more conversational Ini buku saya / Buku ini punya saya.
It is grammatically correct and acceptable, but in everyday speech Indonesians more often use:
- Ini buku saya.
- Buku ini punya saya.
Buku ini milik saya sounds a bit more formal, careful, or emphatic, for example when clarifying ownership in a polite or official context (at school, in an office, filling a report, etc.).