Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Saya menjawab, “Tentu, Ibu, aku ingin memotret singa dan kura-kura,” sambil mengecek baterai gawai. - I reply, “Of course, Mom, I want to photograph the lion and the turtle,” while checking my gadget’s battery.

Saya is the more formal / neutral word for I. It’s common in narration, public speech, with strangers, in writing, etc.
Aku is less formal / more intimate, used with close friends, family, or in emotional or poetic contexts.

In this sentence:

Saya menjawab, ... – the narrator is telling the story in a neutral/formal way.
Inside the quote: ... aku ingin memotret ... – the character’s actual spoken words sound more intimate or casual.

So the narrator uses saya, but the character, when speaking, uses aku. That kind of switch is very common and not considered wrong. It reflects the difference between narration style and the character’s personal speaking style.

Is it polite to say aku when talking to Ibu?

It depends who Ibu is.

If Ibu = your own mother:
- Using aku is normal and affectionate in many families.
- It would sound fine: Tentu, Ibu, aku ingin ...
If Ibu is a teacher / older woman you respect (not your mother):
- Learners are usually safer with saya, e.g. Tentu, Bu, saya ingin ...
- Many Indonesians would find aku to a non-family Ibu a bit too casual unless the relationship is very close.

So in a textbook story, if Ibu is the child’s mother, aku is perfectly natural. If not, you might prefer saya.

What exactly does Ibu mean here? Is it “mother” or “ma’am”?

Ibu can mean both, depending on context:

Literal mother:
- Used like Mom / Mother when you address or refer to your own mother.
- Often capitalized when used as a form of address: Ibu, just like Mom in English.
Polite title for an adult woman:
- Similar to Ma’am, Madam, Mrs., Ms.
- Used with or without a name: Ibu Sari, Bu Sari, Ibu Guru (Mrs. Teacher), etc.

In the sentence, context (usually the rest of the story) would tell you whether it’s Mom or a polite Ma’am/Mrs.. The commas around Ibu show it’s being used as a vocative (a direct form of address: “Of course, Mom/Ma’am, ...”).

Why is Ibu capitalized?

When Ibu is used as a form of address or a title, it’s usually capitalized, just like:

Mother, Mom, Dad, Doctor, Professor in English when you are addressing the person.

Examples:

Terima kasih, Ibu. – Thank you, Mom/Ma’am.
Ibu sedang di rumah. – Mother is at home. (talking about your mother as a specific person)

But if you talk about mothers in general, it is usually lowercase:

Setiap ibu sayang anaknya. – Every mother loves her child.

In this sentence it’s capitalized because the speaker is addressing a specific person: Ibu.

What is the nuance of Tentu? Is it like “yes”, “sure”, or “of course”?

Tentu is closest to of course or certainly.

It sounds a bit stronger and more definite than just ya (yes).
It’s polite and neutral; you can use it in both formal and informal contexts.

Rough equivalents:

Ya – yes
Tentu – of course / certainly
Tentu saja – of course (a bit stronger / more emphatic)
Tentu, Ibu – Of course, Mom/Ma’am

So Tentu expresses confidence and willingness, not just agreement.

Why is Ibu separated by commas: Tentu, Ibu, aku ingin ...?

Those commas mark vocative usage – calling or addressing someone directly.

In English you do something similar:

Of course, Mom, I want to take pictures...
Yes, Sir, I understand.

In Indonesian, you usually put commas around the name or title when you are directly addressing that person:

Terima kasih, Pak. – Thank you, Sir.
Maaf, Bu, saya terlambat. – Sorry, Ma’am, I’m late.
Tentu, Ibu, aku ingin memotret... – Of course, Mom/Ma’am, I want to photograph...

What is the difference between menjawab and mengatakan / berkata?

All of these are reporting-speech verbs, but they focus on slightly different things:

menjawab – to answer, to reply
- Implies there was a question or something to respond to.
- Saya menjawab, “Tentu, Ibu, ...” – I answered, “Of course, Mom, ...”
mengatakan – to say, to state (something)
- More formal, often used with bahwa (that).
- Dia mengatakan bahwa dia lelah. – He said that he was tired.
berkata – to say, to speak
- More neutral / everyday.
- Dia berkata, “Aku lelah.” – He said, “I’m tired.”

In this sentence, menjawab is natural because the line is clearly an answer to something previously asked (e.g. “Do you want to take pictures?”).

What does memotret mean, and how is it different from mengambil foto or memfoto?

All three can be translated as to take a photo / to photograph, but there are some nuances:

memotret
- From potret (portrait), with the meN- prefix.
- Sounds slightly more standard or neutral, common in writing and speech.
- Aku ingin memotret singa. – I want to photograph a lion.
mengambil foto
- Literally to take a photo (mengambil = to take).
- Very common and clear, also neutral.
memfoto (or foto-foto, regionally)
- More colloquial, from foto
  - me-.
- You’ll hear it a lot in casual speech.

So memotret is a good, standard verb for a learner to use: natural, not too formal, not too slangy.

Does singa dan kura-kura mean “a lion and a turtle” or “lions and turtles”? How do I show plural in Indonesian?

Indonesian usually does not mark plural the way English does. singa and kura-kura can be singular or plural, depending on context.

singa – lion / lions
kura-kura – turtle / tortoise / turtles / tortoises

So memotret singa dan kura-kura can mean:

take a photo of a lion and a turtle, or
take photos of lions and turtles, etc.

To emphasize plurality, you have several options:

singa-singa – lions (reduplication)
beberapa singa – several lions
banyak singa – many lions

For kura-kura, it’s already a reduplicated form; we normally don’t say kura-kura-kura-kura. So:

banyak kura-kura – many turtles
beberapa kura-kura – several turtles

In practice, context usually makes the number clear.

Why is there a hyphen in kura-kura?

The hyphen marks reduplication, which is very common in Indonesian:

kura → kura-kura
orang → orang-orang (people)
buku → buku-buku (books)

However, with kura-kura, the reduplication is part of the standard word for turtle/tortoise. There isn’t a commonly used meaning for kura by itself in modern Indonesian; kura-kura is basically the dictionary form.

So in a learner’s mind, you can treat kura-kura as a single word meaning “turtle/tortoise”, even though it’s formally reduplicated.

What does sambil mean and how does it work with mengecek?

sambil means while (doing something), with the idea of two actions happening at the same time by the same subject.

Pattern:

[Subject] + [main action], sambil + [another action].

In the sentence:

Saya menjawab, ... sambil mengecek baterai gawai.
→ I answered ... while checking the device’s battery.

Important points:

The subject Saya is understood to be doing both actions.
sambil is normally followed by a verb (here, mengecek).
It focuses on the idea of doing A while also doing B, not so much on time sequence.

Compare with:

ketika / saat – when (time point)
sementara – while (often with contrasting subjects in two clauses)

For learners, it’s safe to think of sambil + verb-ing = while (verb-ing).

What does mengecek mean, and is it formal Indonesian?

mengecek = to check (directly borrowed from English check).

Root: cek
With meN- prefix → mengecek (the -ge- appears because the root is only one syllable).

It means to inspect / verify / see if something is okay:

mengecek baterai – check the battery
mengecek email – check email
mengecek jadwal – check the schedule

Very common in everyday language.
Acceptable in most written Indonesian.
A slightly more formal/synonymous option is memeriksa (to examine, inspect).

So mengecek baterai gawai is perfectly natural modern Indonesian.

What does gawai mean? Is it the same as HP or ponsel?

gawai is a relatively formal/“official” Indonesian word meaning device / gadget (especially electronic).

It is more general than “phone”: it might be a phone, tablet, camera, etc.
In everyday speech, Indonesians more often say:
- HP (pronounced ha-pe) – “cell phone”
- ponsel – mobile phone (slightly more formal)
- handphone / henpon – informal loan from English

So:

baterai gawai – the battery of the device (generic)
baterai HP – the phone’s battery (specifically)

In many textbooks or news texts, gawai is used to avoid English loanwords, but in real casual speech, you’ll hear HP a lot more.

Why is it mengecek baterai gawai and not mengecek gawai baterai or something else?

Indonesian noun order is usually:

[head noun] + [modifier]

Here:

baterai – battery (head noun)
gawai – device (modifier: tells whose battery)

So baterai gawai literally = the battery of the device / the device’s battery, which matches the normal Indonesian order.

More examples:

rumah guru – the teacher’s house
buku saya – my book
anak perempuan – girl (female child)

Therefore:

mengecek baterai gawai – check the device’s battery
is the natural word order in Indonesian.