Beberapa spesies di alam liar perlu dilindungi.

Some species in the wild need to be protected.

Breakdown of Beberapa spesies di alam liar perlu dilindungi.

• di: in
• perlu: need
• beberapa: some
• spesies: the species
• dilindungi: to be protected
• alam liar: the wild

Questions & Answers about Beberapa spesies di alam liar perlu dilindungi.

What does beberapa mean here? Is it “some” or “several,” and does it imply a specific number?

Beberapa usually means “some” or “several” in a vague, non‑exact way.

• It implies more than one, but not many, and not all.
• It does not give a specific number (it could be 3, 4, 5, etc.).
• It does not sound scientific or exact; it’s more general.

So Beberapa spesies… = Some species… / Several species… without saying exactly how many.

Why is there no plural ending on spesies? How do we know it’s plural?

Indonesian usually does not change the noun form for plural:

• spesies can mean “species” (singular) or “species” (plural), depending on context.
• Here, beberapa (“some / several”) tells us it’s more than one, so spesies is plural in meaning.

You can mark plurality with reduplication (e.g. buku-buku “books”), but with quantifiers like beberapa, reduplication is usually not needed and can sound redundant or unnatural.
So beberapa spesies is the normal way to say “several species.”

What exactly does di alam liar mean? Is it literally “in wild nature”?

Yes. Broken down:

• di = “in / at / on” (a preposition of place)
• alam = “nature”
• liar = “wild”

So di alam liar literally is “in wild nature”, which corresponds to natural English “in the wild.”

Natural translations:

• Beberapa spesies di alam liar perlu dilindungi.
  → “Some species in the wild need to be protected.”

Why is it di alam liar and not alam liar alone? Could I just say Beberapa spesies alam liar…?

You need the preposition di here:

• di alam liar = “in the wild” (a location phrase modifying the species: species that are in the wild)
• spesies alam liar would look like a noun + noun phrase (“wild‑nature species”), which is not how Indonesian normally expresses “species in the wild.”

If you want to use liar as an adjective directly with the noun, you would say:

• spesies liar = “wild species” (i.e. they are wild, not domesticated)

But that’s slightly different in nuance:

• spesies liar focuses on the type of species (wild vs domesticated).
• spesies di alam liar focuses on the habitat/location (species that live in the wild).

The original sentence emphasizes that species living in natural habitats need protection.

Can I move di alam liar to the end, like Beberapa spesies perlu dilindungi di alam liar? Does the meaning change?

Yes, you can say:

• Beberapa spesies perlu dilindungi di alam liar.

It’s still understandable, but there is a slight shift in how it might be read:

1. Beberapa spesies di alam liar perlu dilindungi.
   → The species that are in the wild need to be protected.
   (The phrase di alam liar clearly describes the species.)

2. Beberapa spesies perlu dilindungi di alam liar.
   → The species need to be protected in the wild.
   (This can be read as describing where the protection takes place.)

In many real contexts, listeners won’t worry about the difference, but the original order (spesies di alam liar) is a bit clearer that it’s the habitat of the species, not just the place of the action.

What does perlu do here? Is it like “must” or “need to”?

Perlu means “need” / “need to” / “necessary”. In this sentence:

• perlu dilindungi ≈ “need to be protected” / “must be protected” / “should be protected”.

Nuance:

• perlu suggests something is necessary or needed, but is often slightly softer than harus (“must / have to”), which sounds stronger and more obligatory.

Patterns:

• Subjek + perlu + verba
  
  • Kita perlu belajar. = “We need to study.”
• Subjek + perlu + verba pasif
  
  • Beberapa spesies … perlu dilindungi. = “Some species … need to be protected.”

Why is dilindungi in the passive form? Could we use the active melindungi instead?

Dilindungi is passive. It focuses on the thing receiving the action (the species), not on who does the protecting.

• Beberapa spesies … perlu dilindungi.
  = “Some species … need to be protected.”

If you use active:

• Kita perlu melindungi beberapa spesies di alam liar.
  = “We need to protect some species in the wild.”

Differences:

• perlu dilindungi (passive)
  
  • Focus: the species and their need for protection.
  • The agent (who protects) is unspecified or not important.
• perlu melindungi (active)
  
  • Focus: the doer, e.g. kita (“we”) needing to take action.

Indonesian very often uses passive constructions in statements about what should happen in general, especially in formal or written language. That’s why perlu dilindungi is natural here.

Who is doing the protecting in perlu dilindungi? It’s not mentioned—how do Indonesians understand it?

In Indonesian passives without an agent, the doer is usually implied from context as one of:

• people in general / society,
• the government / authorities,
• we (humans).

So Beberapa spesies di alam liar perlu dilindungi is understood as:

• “Some species in the wild need to be protected (by us / by people / by the government).”

Indonesian is comfortable leaving the agent unstated when it’s obvious or not the focus.

What is the structure of dilindungi? Is di- the same di as in di alam liar?

They are different “di”:

1. In di alam liar, di is a preposition meaning “in / at / on.”
2. In dilindungi, di- is a verb prefix forming the passive voice.

dilindungi is built like this:

• lindung = the root related to “protect”
• di- … -i = a common passive pattern: di-ROOT-i

So:

• melindungi = active: “to protect (something)”
• dilindungi = passive: “to be protected (by someone)”

Even though they are both spelled di, they are different grammatical items.

What’s the difference between perlu dilindungi and harus dilindungi?

Both express necessity, but with different strength:

• perlu dilindungi

  • “need to be protected” / “should be protected”
  • Sounds necessary, but a bit softer, more like a recommendation or general necessity.

• harus dilindungi

  • “must be protected” / “have to be protected”
  • Sounds stronger, more obligatory or mandatory.

So:

• Beberapa spesies di alam liar perlu dilindungi.
  = “Some species in the wild need to be / should be protected.”
• Beberapa spesies di alam liar harus dilindungi.
  = “Some species in the wild must be protected.” (stronger tone)

Could I say the same idea using an active sentence?

Yes. A natural active version would be:

• Kita perlu melindungi beberapa spesies di alam liar.
  = “We need to protect some species in the wild.”

Comparison:

• Beberapa spesies di alam liar perlu dilindungi.
  
  • Passive; focuses on the species and their need for protection.
• Kita perlu melindungi beberapa spesies di alam liar.
  
  • Active; focuses on our responsibility to act.

How do you pronounce spesies in Indonesian? Is it like English “species”?

Spesies is a loanword from Latin/English, but the pronunciation follows Indonesian spelling:

• s-pe-si-es (4 syllables): spe-si-es
• Approximate pronunciation: [spé-si-es], with:
  • e as in “bed” (not like “see”),
  • all syllables clearly pronounced: spe – si – es.

So it’s not exactly like English “spee‑sheez”; it’s closer to “speh‑see‑es.”