Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Dia belum menikah, tetapi dia sudah punya pacar. - He/She is not yet married, but he/she already has a boyfriend/girlfriend.

Belum literally means “not yet.” It implies that something has not happened up to now, but there is a possibility or expectation that it might happen in the future.

Dia belum menikah.
→ He/She is not married yet. (Could get married later.)

Tidak is a general negation word meaning “not / do not / does not / did not” (for verbs and adjectives), without the “yet” idea.

Dia tidak menikah.
This is unusual as a general statement. It could mean:
- He/She didn’t get married (on that particular occasion).
- He/She does not marry (e.g., by principle), depending on context.

So:

belum = “not yet” (unfinished, but still possible/expected)
tidak = neutral “not” (no “yet” meaning)

What does sudah add to the sentence “dia sudah punya pacar”?

Sudah means “already” and marks that an action or state has been achieved or is in effect now.

Compare:

Dia punya pacar.
→ He/She has a boyfriend/girlfriend. (Simple fact.)
Dia sudah punya pacar.
→ He/She already has a boyfriend/girlfriend.
This adds the idea:
- At some earlier point he/she didn’t have one, but now he/she does.
- Often used when this is contrary to someone’s expectation or is new information.

In this sentence, sudah gives the contrast with belum menikah:

Not yet married (belum menikah),
but already has a boyfriend/girlfriend (sudah punya pacar).

How does Indonesian show tense (past, present, future) in this kind of sentence?

Indonesian does not change the verb form for tense like English does. The verb menikah stays the same. Time is shown by:

Context
Time words (e.g., kemarin “yesterday”, sekarang “now”, besok “tomorrow”)
Aspect markers like sudah (already) and belum (not yet)

Examples using the same core sentence:

Sekarang dia belum menikah.
→ Right now he/she is not married yet.
Waktu itu dia belum menikah.
→ At that time he/she wasn’t married yet.
Dulu dia belum menikah, tetapi sekarang dia sudah menikah.
→ In the past he/she wasn’t married yet, but now he/she is already married.

So the verb does not change form; you add words around it to show time.

Does dia mean “he” or “she”? How do you know the gender?

Dia can mean “he” or “she”. Indonesian does not mark gender in third‑person singular pronouns.

Key points:

Dia = he / she (neutral, common in speech and writing)
Ia = also he / she (more formal, usually not at the start of a sentence in modern usage)
Beliau = respectful “he/she” for someone you respect (e.g., a teacher, leader)

You know the gender only from context, such as:

Other words that refer to the person (e.g., suaminya “her husband”, istrinya “his wife”)
The situation or what the speaker told you earlier

In the isolated sentence Dia belum menikah, tetapi dia sudah punya pacar, we cannot tell whether dia is male or female.

What exactly does menikah mean? Is it “to marry” or “to get married”? Are there other common words for this?

Menikah is a verb meaning “to marry / to get married”. In practice, it usually refers to getting married (entering the state of marriage).

Usage:

Dia menikah tahun lalu.
→ He/She got married last year.
Dia belum menikah.
→ He/She is not married yet.

You can add a partner with dengan (“with”):

Dia menikah dengan pacarnya.
→ He/She married his/her boyfriend/girlfriend.

Other common words:

Kawin
- Also “to marry,” but can sound more informal, and in some contexts it can sound a bit crude or animal-like.
- Among close friends, it can be jokingly used: Kapan kawin? (“When are you getting married?”)
Nikah (without me-), bernikah
- Variants you may see in more formal or religious contexts (e.g., related to Islamic marriage).

Summary: menikah is a safe, neutral, and common word for “to marry / to get married.”

What is the difference between tetapi, tapi, and namun? Are they all “but”?

All three can be translated as “but”, but they differ in formality and style.

Tetapi
- Meaning: “but”
- Register: neutral to formal
- Very suitable for writing and careful speech.
- Example: Dia belum menikah, tetapi dia sudah punya pacar.
Tapi
- Meaning: “but”
- Register: informal / conversational
- Common in everyday speech and casual writing.
- Example: Dia belum menikah, tapi dia sudah punya pacar.
Namun
- Meaning: “however / but”
- Register: more formal, written style
- Often placed at the beginning of a sentence or clause.
- Example: Dia belum menikah. Namun, dia sudah punya pacar.

In this sentence, you could use tetapi or tapi with basically the same meaning. Namun would sound like a more formal, written alternative.

What does punya mean here? How is it different from mempunyai, memiliki, or ada?

In this sentence, punya means “to have / to own”.

Dia sudah punya pacar.
→ He/She already has a boyfriend/girlfriend.

Related words:

punya
- Very common, informal to neutral.
- Pattern: Subject + punya + thing/person
- Example: Saya punya dua saudara. → I have two siblings.
mempunyai
- More formal version of punya.
- Example: Dia mempunyai pacar. → He/She has a boyfriend/girlfriend.
memiliki
- Also formal, and can sound slightly more “legal/official/ownership‑like.”
- Example: Perusahaan itu memiliki banyak karyawan. → That company has many employees.
ada
- Means “there is / there are / exist”, not exactly “have,” but sometimes used in a similar way.
- Example: Dia ada pacar. is not natural.
- More natural: Dia punya pacar (He/She has a boyfriend/girlfriend) or Ada pacarnya? (Does he/she have a boyfriend/girlfriend? lit. “Is there his/her boyfriend/girlfriend?”)

For everyday speech, punya is the most common and natural choice in a sentence like this.

What exactly does pacar mean? Is it “boyfriend” or “girlfriend”?

Pacar means “romantic partner,” and it is gender‑neutral. It can be translated as either:

boyfriend
girlfriend

You know which one only from context (who you are talking about, or extra information).

Examples:

Dia pacarku.
→ He/She is my boyfriend/girlfriend.
Dia sudah punya pacar.
→ He/She already has a boyfriend/girlfriend.

Other related words:

kekasih – “beloved, sweetheart” (more poetic/formal)
cowok – “guy,” often used as “boyfriend” in casual speech: cowoknya (her boyfriend)
cewek – “girl,” often “girlfriend” in casual speech: ceweknya (his girlfriend)

But as a dictionary word, pacar is the standard term for boyfriend/girlfriend.

Why is the word order dia belum menikah and not something like dia menikah belum?

In Indonesian, words like belum and sudah usually come before the verb or adjective they modify.

Typical pattern:

Subject + belum/sudah + verb/adjective

So:

Dia belum menikah. (correct, natural)
→ He/She is not married yet.
Dia menikah belum. (unnatural/wrong in standard Indonesian)

Similarly:

Dia sudah punya pacar. (correct)
Dia punya pacar sudah. (sounds wrong or very strange)

Think of belum and sudah as “pre‑verb markers” that go right in front of the verb or adjective.

Why is dia repeated in “tetapi dia sudah punya pacar”? Can you omit the second dia?

Repeating dia is grammatically correct and clear:

Dia belum menikah, tetapi dia sudah punya pacar.
→ He/She is not married yet, but he/she already has a boyfriend/girlfriend.

However, Indonesian often drops pronouns when the subject is clear from context. So it is also natural to say:

Dia belum menikah, tetapi sudah punya pacar.

This second version is very common in everyday usage:

The subject of sudah punya pacar is still understood as dia from the first clause.
It sounds a bit more flowy and natural in casual conversation.

So:

With repetition: slightly more explicit, sometimes more formal.
Without repetition: very common and perfectly correct.