Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Anak laki-laki itu kagum melihat jerapah tinggi yang berjalan pelan. - That boy is amazed to see a tall giraffe walking slowly.

Anak laki-laki itu kagum melihat jerapah tinggi yang berjalan pelan.

That boy is amazed to see a tall giraffe walking slowly.

Breakdown of Anak laki-laki itu kagum melihat jerapah tinggi yang berjalan pelan.

Elon.io is an online learning platform

We have an entire course teaching Indonesian grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning Indonesian now

Questions & Answers about Anak laki-laki itu kagum melihat jerapah tinggi yang berjalan pelan.

What does itu do in anak laki-laki itu, and why is it placed after the noun instead of before like English that boy?

In anak laki-laki itu, the word itu is a demonstrative, similar to that or the in English.

anak laki-laki = boy (literally: male child)
itu = that / the (pointing to a specific one)
anak laki-laki itu = that boy / the boy

In Indonesian, the demonstrative itu (that/the) normally comes after the noun phrase, not before it:

buku itu = that book / the book
rumah besar itu = that big house / the big house
anak laki-laki itu = that boy / the boy

If you put itu before the noun (itu anak laki-laki), it usually sounds like you are stressing it, and often needs more context (e.g. itu anak laki-laki yang kemarin datang = that’s the boy who came yesterday). The neutral, basic form is to put itu after the noun phrase.

Why do we say anak laki-laki for boy instead of just laki-laki?

laki-laki by itself usually means man (an adult male).
anak means child.

So:

anak laki-laki = male child = boy
anak perempuan = female child = girl

If you say laki-laki itu, it will usually be understood as that man, not that boy. To clearly say boy, you normally need anak in front: anak laki-laki.

Is kagum a verb or an adjective here? Why don’t we need adalah or merasa (like is amazed / feels amazed)?

kagum is a stative word – it describes a state or feeling and can function like both an adjective and a verb, depending on how you translate it.

In Indonesian, you often don’t need a separate verb like to be or to feel:

Anak itu kagum.
= The child is amazed / feels amazed.

You do not say:

✖ Anak itu adalah kagum.
✖ Anak itu merasa kagum melihat jerapah… (grammatically possible but more formal/long-winded).

So in Anak laki-laki itu kagum melihat jerapah…, kagum covers the meaning of was amazed / felt amazed all by itself. This is very normal for words like takut (afraid), marah (angry), sedih (sad), lelah (tired), etc.

Why do we use melihat after kagum? Could we say anak laki-laki itu kagum jerapah tinggi… without melihat?

You need melihat here because kagum is describing being amazed by seeing something:

kagum melihat … ≈ amazed to see … / amazed when (he) saw …

The pattern is:

S + kagum + (verb) …
- Saya kagum melihat lukisan itu.
  = I was amazed to see that painting.
- Dia kagum mendengar suaranya.
  = He/She was amazed to hear his/her voice.

If you say anak laki-laki itu kagum jerapah tinggi… it sounds incomplete or unnatural, because kagum usually needs:

either a verb (melihat, mendengar, membaca, etc.), or
a preposition like pada / terhadap (kagum pada jerapah = amazed by the giraffe).

So the natural version is:

Anak laki-laki itu kagum melihat jerapah tinggi…

Why is it jerapah tinggi, not tinggi jerapah? What is the normal order of noun and adjective?

Indonesian normally puts the noun first, then the adjective:

jerapah tinggi = tall giraffe
rumah besar = big house
buku baru = new book

So:

jerapah = giraffe
tinggi = tall / high
jerapah tinggi = the tall giraffe

If you say tinggi jerapah, it sounds like you are talking about the height of the giraffe, and you would usually add -nya:

tinggi jerapah itu = the height of that giraffe
tingginya jerapah itu = the giraffe’s height

For simple descriptions (tall giraffe, big house), always use noun + adjective.

Does tinggi here mean tall or high? How do we know?

tinggi is a general word meaning tall/high (in the sense of vertical size). The exact English choice depends on context.

For people and animals, English usually uses tall:
- jerapah tinggi = tall giraffe
- orang tinggi = tall person
For things like buildings, mountains, walls, English might use tall or high, depending:
- gunung tinggi = high/tall mountain
- tembok tinggi = high wall / tall wall

So in jerapah tinggi, the natural English is tall giraffe, but the Indonesian tinggi itself just means high in height / tall.

What is the function of yang in jerapah tinggi yang berjalan pelan?

yang introduces a relative clause (a clause that describes a noun), similar to that / which / who in English.

Break it down:

jerapah tinggi = the tall giraffe
yang berjalan pelan = that is walking slowly / which is walking slowly

Together:

jerapah tinggi yang berjalan pelan
= the tall giraffe that is walking slowly

So the pattern is:

noun + (adjectives) + yang + verb phrase
- anak kecil yang berlari = the small child who is running
- mobil merah yang diparkir di sana = the red car that is parked there
- rumah besar yang menghadap laut = the big house that faces the sea

In your sentence, yang links jerapah tinggi to the description berjalan pelan.

Can we omit yang and just say jerapah tinggi berjalan pelan?

In this sentence, you really should not omit yang if you want to say:

the tall giraffe that is walking slowly

Without yang, jerapah tinggi berjalan pelan is ambiguous and sounds more like a simple sequence of words:

jerapah tinggi berjalan pelan
could be interpreted as: “the tall giraffe walks slowly” (a whole clause: subject + verb).

But in your original sentence, jerapah tinggi yang berjalan pelan is a noun phrase (one long “thing” that the boy sees), not a full independent clause. yang is what shows that berjalan pelan is describing jerapah tinggi, not starting a new sentence.

So:

jerapah tinggi yang berjalan pelan = the tall giraffe that is walking slowly (correct, clear)
jerapah tinggi berjalan pelan = can sound like the tall giraffe walks slowly (different structure)

Is pelan an adverb here (slowly) or an adjective (slow)? Why don’t we say dengan pelan?

Indonesian doesn’t clearly separate adjectives and adverbs the way English does. The same word can cover both.

pelan = slow / slowly

In berjalan pelan:

berjalan = to walk
pelan = slow / slowly

So berjalan pelan means to walk slowly.

You can say berjalan dengan pelan or berjalan dengan perlahan, but in everyday Indonesian, it’s more natural and shorter to just use:

verb + adjective:
- berjalan pelan = walk slowly
- bicara pelan = speak softly/quietly
- makan cepat = eat quickly

pelan-pelan (reduplication) is also common. It can sound a bit more informal or more emphasised: slowly, take your time, go easy.

All of these are grammatical:

berjalan pelan
berjalan pelan-pelan
berjalan dengan pelan / perlahan

The version in your sentence is the most natural, neutral form.

Does jerapah here mean one giraffe or several giraffes? There is no plural marker, so how do we know?

Indonesian nouns usually don’t change form for plural. jerapah can mean giraffe or giraffes, depending on context.

Ways to make it clearly plural if needed:

jerapah-jerapah = giraffes (reduplication)
banyak jerapah = many giraffes
beberapa jerapah = several giraffes

In Anak laki-laki itu kagum melihat jerapah tinggi yang berjalan pelan, most listeners would imagine one giraffe, because:

The relative clause yang berjalan pelan sounds singular in English translation, and the mental image is usually a single animal.

However, grammatically, it could be plural in Indonesian. If you want to make it clearly singular, you can add something like:

seekor jerapah tinggi yang berjalan pelan
(seekor = one (for animals))

Could we add sedang to show that the giraffe is currently walking, like yang sedang berjalan pelan? Is it necessary?

Yes, you can add sedang to emphasise that the action is ongoing at that moment:

jerapah tinggi yang sedang berjalan pelan
= the tall giraffe that is walking slowly (right now)

However, sedang is not necessary. Indonesian often leaves out explicit tense/aspect words if the context is clear.

berjalan can already mean is/was walking depending on context.
Your original sentence already clearly describes an event the boy sees.

So both are correct:

…jerapah tinggi yang berjalan pelan.
…jerapah tinggi yang sedang berjalan pelan.

The second one just makes the “ongoing right now” feeling stronger.

How would we say “The tall giraffe that was walking slowly amazed the boy” (making the giraffe the subject instead of the boy)?

To switch the subject, you can rearrange the sentence like this:

Jerapah tinggi yang berjalan pelan itu membuat anak laki-laki itu kagum.

Breakdown:

Jerapah tinggi yang berjalan pelan itu
= that tall giraffe which was walking slowly
membuat … kagum
= made … amazed
anak laki-laki itu
= that boy / the boy

So the overall meaning is:

The tall giraffe that was walking slowly amazed the boy.

This shows how the same phrase jerapah tinggi yang berjalan pelan can be used as a subject as well, not only as something the boy sees.

Is there any difference in meaning or naturalness between Anak laki-laki itu kagum melihat jerapah tinggi yang berjalan pelan and Anak laki-laki itu melihat jerapah tinggi yang berjalan pelan dengan kagum?

There is a difference in naturalness and focus.

Anak laki-laki itu kagum melihat jerapah tinggi yang berjalan pelan.
- Very natural.
- Focus: the boy’s feeling (he was amazed) when he saw the giraffe.
- Smooth Indonesian word order.
Anak laki-laki itu melihat jerapah tinggi yang berjalan pelan dengan kagum.
- Grammatically understandable, but feels more awkward or bookish.
- Sounds like you are forcing dengan kagum as an adverb (“he saw it in an amazed way”), which is not how Indonesians usually express it.

To express “with amazement”, Indonesians normally prefer:

Anak laki-laki itu melihat jerapah tinggi yang berjalan pelan dengan rasa kagum.
(more formal: “with a feeling of amazement”)

But in everyday language, your original sentence is the most natural and idiomatic way to say it.