Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Adik saya suka melukis planet dan roket di kanvas kecil di kamarnya. - My younger sibling likes painting planets and rockets on a small canvas in his/her room.

Adik saya suka melukis planet dan roket di kanvas kecil di kamarnya.

My younger sibling likes painting planets and rockets on a small canvas in his/her room.

Breakdown of Adik saya suka melukis planet dan roket di kanvas kecil di kamarnya.

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Questions & Answers about Adik saya suka melukis planet dan roket di kanvas kecil di kamarnya.

What exactly does Adik saya mean? Does adik always mean “younger sibling,” and does it show gender?

Adik means “younger sibling” (younger than the speaker). It does not show gender by itself.

Adik saya = my younger sibling (could be younger brother or younger sister).
To specify gender:
- adik laki-laki saya = my younger brother
- adik perempuan saya = my younger sister

So Adik saya suka melukis… means your younger sibling (gender not specified) likes to paint…

Why is it Adik saya and not saya adik? How does possession work here?

In Indonesian, the possessed noun normally comes before the pronoun:

adik saya = my younger sibling
kamar saya = my room
buku saya = my book

Putting saya first (saya adik) is not how possession is expressed; it sounds ungrammatical or would need extra words (e.g., saya adalah adik = I am the younger sibling).

You can also use suffix forms:

adikku = my younger sibling (more informal / intimate)
kamarku = my room

So in your sentence, Adik saya is the normal, neutral way to say my younger sibling.

How does suka melukis work? Can I say suka untuk melukis like “likes to paint”?

The normal pattern is:

suka + verb

So:

suka melukis = likes painting / likes to paint
suka membaca = likes reading / likes to read

You usually do not say suka untuk melukis here. That sounds awkward or overly literal from English. Untuk (for/to) is not needed with suka.

So:

✅ Adik saya suka melukis… = correct, natural
❌ Adik saya suka untuk melukis… = sounds off in everyday Indonesian

What’s the difference between melukis and menggambar?

Both involve making pictures, but there is a nuance:

melukis = to paint (using paint, brushes, canvas, etc.)
menggambar = to draw (using pencil, pen, crayons, etc.)

In your sentence:

melukis planet dan roket di kanvas kecil strongly suggests painting on a canvas, not just sketching with a pencil.

If you wanted to say “my younger sibling likes to draw planets and rockets,” you’d use:

Adik saya suka menggambar planet dan roket.

Why is it di kanvas kecil when the English meaning is “on a small canvas”? Why use di instead of something like “on”?

Indonesian di is a very general location preposition. It can cover what English expresses as in, on, or at, depending on context.

di kanvas kecil literally = at/on the small canvas
In natural English, we translate that as on a small canvas.

If you really want to emphasize “on top of” (on the surface), you can say:

di atas kanvas kecil = on (top of) a small canvas

But in everyday Indonesian, di kanvas kecil is already natural and understood as “on a small canvas.”

Why is it kanvas kecil and not kecil kanvas for “small canvas”?

In Indonesian, adjectives usually come after the noun:

kanvas kecil = small canvas
kamar besar = big room
planet merah = red planet

So the pattern is:

noun + adjective

Saying kecil kanvas sounds wrong; it does not follow the standard noun–adjective order.

Therefore:

di kanvas kecil = on a small canvas.

Are planet and roket singular or plural here? How do you say “planets and rockets” versus “a planet and a rocket”?

Indonesian nouns usually do not change form for plural. Planet and roket can be singular or plural depending on context.

In your sentence:

melukis planet dan roket can mean:
- paint a planet and a rocket
- paint planets and rockets

If you really want to stress plurality, you can add words like:

banyak planet dan roket = many planets and rockets
planet-planet dan roket-roket = planets and rockets (more emphatic, and sometimes a bit “bookish” if overused)

But the basic form planet dan roket is fine for both singular and plural; context does the work.

What does di kamarnya mean exactly, and what does the -nya at the end of kamar do?

Di kamarnya breaks down as:

di = in/at
kamar = room
-nya = his / her / its / their (or sometimes “the”)

So di kamarnya means:

in his room
in her room
(depending on the context)

Here, -nya is a possessive suffix attached to kamar:

kamar saya = my room
kamarnya = his/her room

In this sentence, -nya clearly refers back to Adik saya, so it means in my younger sibling’s room.

Could I say di kamar adik saya instead of di kamarnya? Is there any difference?

Yes, you can say:

di kamar adik saya = in my younger sibling’s room

This is perfectly correct and clear.

Difference in feel:

di kamar adik saya
- Explicit: you repeat adik saya.
- Slightly more formal/explicit, good for clarity when there might be confusion.
di kamarnya
- Uses -nya as a pronoun.
- Shorter, more natural in fluent speech and writing when it’s already clear who -nya refers to.

In your context, both are fine:

Adik saya suka melukis planet dan roket di kanvas kecil di kamarnya.
Adik saya suka melukis planet dan roket di kanvas kecil di kamar adik saya.

Why do we have di twice: di kanvas kecil di kamarnya? Could we drop one of them?

You have two separate location phrases:

di kanvas kecil = on a small canvas
di kamarnya = in his/her room

Each location phrase needs its own di. Together, they stack like this:

melukis … di kanvas kecil di kamarnya
= paint … on a small canvas in his/her room.

If you drop the second di:

❌ di kanvas kecil kamarnya

This is ungrammatical or at least very unclear. It sounds like “on the small canvas of his room,” which is not how Indonesians would say it. So both di are needed and natural here.

Does the sentence clearly mean “likes to paint” in the present, or could it also mean “liked to paint” in the past?

Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense. Suka is neutral:

Adik saya suka melukis…
- can mean My younger sibling likes to paint… (present/habitual)
- or, in the right context, My younger sibling liked to paint… (past)

Context or extra time words show tense:

Dulu adik saya suka melukis planet dan roket…
= My younger sibling used to like painting planets and rockets.
Tadi adik saya suka melukis… (less common; you’d likely say tadi adik saya melukis…)

But with no time word, most readers will interpret it as a general, present habit: My younger sibling likes painting planets and rockets…

Can the position of di kamarnya change? For example, can I say Adik saya di kamarnya suka melukis planet dan roket di kanvas kecil?

Yes, Indonesian word order is fairly flexible with location phrases, though some orders sound more natural than others.

Your original:

Adik saya suka melukis planet dan roket di kanvas kecil di kamarnya.
→ Very natural.

Possible variations:

Adik saya suka melukis di kamarnya planet dan roket di kanvas kecil.
→ Grammatically possible, but sounds a bit clumsy.
Di kamarnya, adik saya suka melukis planet dan roket di kanvas kecil.
→ Also natural; putting di kamarnya at the beginning for emphasis.

The pattern subject + verb + object + location (as in the original) is the clearest and most neutral:

Adik saya suka melukis planet dan roket di kanvas kecil di kamarnya.

Are there more informal or alternative ways to say Adik saya and kamarnya?

Yes. Common variants:

For Adik saya (“my younger sibling”):

adikku = my younger sibling (more intimate/informal)
adik aku is sometimes heard in speech, but adikku is more standard.

For kamarnya (“his/her room”):

If you are talking about your own room:
- kamarku = my room
- di kamarku = in my room
For someone else:
- kamar adik saya = my younger sibling’s room
- kamarnya = his/her room (referring to that person already mentioned)

So a more informal, intimate version of the sentence could be:

Adikku suka melukis planet dan roket di kanvas kecil di kamarnya.
(Here kamarnya is still “his/her room,” if you’re talking about a third person.)