Penjaga kebun binatang menjelaskan rantai makanan kepada anak-anak.

The zookeeper explains the food chain to the children.

Breakdown of Penjaga kebun binatang menjelaskan rantai makanan kepada anak-anak.

• anak: the child
• menjelaskan: to explain
• kepada: to
• penjaga kebun binatang: the zookeeper
• rantai makanan: the food chain

Questions & Answers about Penjaga kebun binatang menjelaskan rantai makanan kepada anak-anak.

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

Penjaga means keeper / guard / caretaker.

It’s formed from the verb jaga (to guard, to look after) with the prefix pe- (or pen- before j):

• jaga = to guard / to look after
• pen-
  • jaga → penjaga = the person who guards / looks after

So penjaga kebun binatang literally means the person who takes care of / guards the zoo → zookeeper.

You can see the same pattern in other words:

• baca (to read) → pembaca (reader)
• ajar (to teach) → pengajar (instructor, teacher)

Why does kebun binatang mean “zoo”? What does it literally mean?

Kebun binatang literally means “animal garden”:

• kebun = garden / plantation
• binatang = animal

Historically, places where animals were kept could be thought of as a kind of “garden of animals”. Nowadays, kebun binatang is the standard everyday word for zoo.

You might also see more formal or specific terms like:

• taman margasatwa = wildlife park but kebun binatang is the most common and neutral way to say “zoo” in Indonesian.

Why is it penjaga kebun binatang and not kebun binatang penjaga for “zookeeper”?

In Indonesian, when you describe what kind of penjaga someone is, the noun they are responsible for usually comes after:

• penjaga toko = shop assistant (shop keeper)
• penjaga sekolah = school guard / caretaker
• penjaga pintu = doorkeeper / goalkeeper

So:

• penjaga (keeper) + kebun binatang (zoo)
  → penjaga kebun binatang = zookeeper

Putting it as kebun binatang penjaga would sound wrong; it would feel like “zoo that is a keeper,” which doesn’t make sense.

What is the structure and meaning of menjelaskan?

Menjelaskan means “to explain”.

It comes from the adjective jelas (clear) plus the verb-forming prefix me- and the suffix -kan:

• jelas = clear
• menjelas (not used on its own)
• menjelaskan = to make something clear → to explain

So menjelaskan sesuatu = “to make something clear” / “to explain something.”

This me- … -kan pattern often means “to cause/make something have the quality of X”:

• bersih (clean) → membersihkan (to clean, to make clean)
• jelas (clear) → menjelaskan (to make clear, to explain)

How do we know the tense? Does menjelaskan mean “explained” or “explains”?

Indonesian verbs usually do not mark tense (past, present, future) the way English verbs do. The form menjelaskan itself is neutral.

The time is understood from:

• context (earlier sentences or situation)
• optional time words: tadi (earlier), kemarin (yesterday), besok (tomorrow), etc.

So Penjaga kebun binatang menjelaskan rantai makanan kepada anak-anak can mean:

• “The zookeeper explains the food chain to the children.” (present)
• “The zookeeper explained the food chain to the children.” (past)

If you want to make the past explicit, you might add:

• Tadi penjaga kebun binatang menjelaskan… (Earlier, the zookeeper explained…)
• Kemarin penjaga kebun binatang menjelaskan… (Yesterday, the zookeeper explained…)

What does rantai makanan literally mean, and is it a fixed phrase?

Rantai makanan literally means “food chain”:

• rantai = chain
• makanan = food

Together, rantai makanan is the standard biological term for the food chain (who eats whom in an ecosystem). It’s a fixed collocation used in school science lessons and textbooks.

This pattern “noun + makanan” often gives you “_ food”:

• minuman (drink) vs makanan (food)
• but rantai makanan is specifically “food chain,” not “chain of food” in a random sense; it’s a technical term.

Why is kepada used here? What’s the difference between kepada and untuk?

Kepada is a preposition that often translates as “to” when indicating the recipient of an action, especially with verbs like “say, give, explain, tell”:

• berbicara kepada dia = to speak to him/her
• memberi buku kepada saya = to give a book to me
• menjelaskan sesuatu kepada anak-anak = to explain something to the children

Untuk usually means “for” in the sense of purpose or benefit:

• hadiah untuk anak-anak = a present for the children
• buku ini untuk kamu = this book is for you

In your sentence, kepada anak-anak is correct because the children are the recipients of the explanation, not just beneficiaries in a general sense.

What does anak-anak mean, and why is there a hyphen?

Anak means child.
Anak-anak means children.

Indonesian often marks plural by repeating the noun (reduplication). The two copies are written with a hyphen:

• anak → anak-anak (child → children)
• buku → buku-buku (book → books)
• guru → guru-guru (teacher → teachers)

So anak-anak clearly indicates more than one child. The hyphen simply shows that it’s one reduplicated word, not two separate words.

Could we just say anak instead of anak-anak and still mean “children”?

Yes, sometimes anak without reduplication can still refer to multiple children, depending on context. Indonesian plural marking is often optional.

However:

• anak-anak explicitly and clearly means children.
• anak on its own is more likely to be understood as “a child” or “(the) child,” unless the context strongly suggests plural.

In a neutral, clear sentence like this, anak-anak is the most natural choice for “the children.”

How do we know it means “the zookeeper” and “the children”, not “a zookeeper” and “children”?

Indonesian normally does not use articles like a, an, the. Nouns without any article can map to:

• a / an / some
• the

Which English article you choose depends on context, not on a word in Indonesian.
So:

• penjaga kebun binatang can be:

  • a zookeeper
  • the zookeeper

• anak-anak can be:

  • children
  • the children
  • some children

In a typical narrative or classroom context, English speakers would usually translate it as:

• “The zookeeper explained the food chain to the children,” assuming specific people in the situation.

Can we change the word order, like putting kepada anak-anak before rantai makanan?

Yes, some variation is possible, but not all orders sound equally natural.

Your sentence:

• Penjaga kebun binatang menjelaskan rantai makanan kepada anak-anak.

Alternative:

• Penjaga kebun binatang menjelaskan kepada anak-anak rantai makanan.

The second version is understandable, but it sounds a bit less natural in everyday Indonesian. The more usual pattern is:

• [subject] [verb] [direct object] [to/for phrase]
  • Penjaga kebun binatang (subject)
  • menjelaskan (verb)
  • rantai makanan (direct object: what is explained)
  • kepada anak-anak (indirect object: to whom)

Moving kepada anak-anak earlier might be used for emphasis in speech, but the original word order is the default and most neutral.

Is this sentence formal, informal, or neutral in style?

The sentence is neutral and suitable for most contexts:

• Vocabulary like penjaga kebun binatang, menjelaskan, rantai makanan, anak-anak is standard and common in textbooks, news, and everyday language.
• There is no slang and no very formal terms.

You could use this sentence in:

• a school textbook,
• a story for children,
• a general explanation in writing or speech.