Breakdown of Saya gemetar karena cuaca sangat dingin malam ini.
adalah
to be
saya
I
sangat
very
karena
because
Questions & Answers about Saya gemetar karena cuaca sangat dingin malam ini.
What does gemetar literally mean, and is it a verb or an adjective here?
Gemetar literally means “to tremble / to shake / to shiver.”
Grammatically, Indonesian doesn’t separate verbs and adjectives as strictly as English, but in this sentence gemetar functions like a verb:
- Saya gemetar ≈ “I am shivering / trembling.”
There is no extra “to be” verb (like am/is/are) before gemetar; Indonesian usually doesn’t need one.
What’s the difference between gemetar and menggigil? Can I say Saya menggigil instead?
Both are related to shivering:
- Gemetar – to tremble/shake in general (from cold, fear, nervousness, etc.).
- Menggigil – to shiver specifically (very commonly from cold or fever).
In this context (shivering because it’s cold), both are fine:
- Saya gemetar karena cuaca sangat dingin malam ini.
- Saya menggigil karena cuaca sangat dingin malam ini.
Menggigil sounds a bit more specifically like “shivering from cold/fever,” while gemetar is slightly more general.
Why is there no word for “am” in Saya gemetar? Shouldn’t it be something like Saya *adalah gemetar*?