Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Nelayan itu membersihkan jaring di depan rumah kayu mereka setiap sore. - Those fishermen clean the nets in front of their wooden houses every afternoon.

Nelayan itu membersihkan jaring di depan rumah kayu mereka setiap sore.

Those fishermen clean the nets in front of their wooden houses every afternoon.

Breakdown of Nelayan itu membersihkan jaring di depan rumah kayu mereka setiap sore.

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Questions & Answers about Nelayan itu membersihkan jaring di depan rumah kayu mereka setiap sore.

Does nelayan itu mean “the fisherman” (singular) or “the fishermen” (plural)? What exactly does itu do here?

Nelayan itu can mean either “that fisherman / the fisherman” or “those fishermen / the fishermen”, depending on context.

nelayan = fisherman / fisher (gender‑neutral in Indonesian)
itu = “that” / “those” or acts like “the” after a noun

Indonesian normally doesn’t mark singular vs plural on the noun. So:

nelayan itu
- could be 1 person: that fisherman, the fisherman
- could be a group: those fishermen, the fishermen

If you really want to be clear:

para nelayan itu = those fishermen (definitely plural)
seorang nelayan itu = that one fisherman (clearly singular)

Why is the pronoun mereka (“they / their”) used? Could we say rumah kayu dia instead?

Mereka is used because nelayan itu is being treated as more than one person (a group of fishers).

mereka = “they / their” (third‑person plural)
dia = “he / she / him / her” (third‑person singular)

So:

rumah kayu mereka = their wooden house
rumah kayu dia = his/her wooden house

If in your context nelayan itu is definitely just one fisherman, then you could say:

Nelayan itu membersihkan jaring di depan rumah kayu dia setiap sore.

But in the original sentence, mereka signals that the speaker imagines more than one fisher.

What is the structure and meaning of membersihkan? How is it formed from bersih?

Membersihkan comes from the adjective bersih (clean) with the circumfix meN‑ … ‑kan:

base: bersih = clean
meN‑ + bersih + ‑kan → mem‑bersih‑kan → membersihkan

Function:

membersihkan [object] = to make [object] clean / to clean [object]

So in the sentence:

membersihkan jaring = to clean the net(s)

Grammar:

The pattern meN‑ … ‑kan often means “to cause something to become [adjective]” or “to do [root] to something”, making a transitive verb that takes a direct object:
- mengeringkan baju (kering → mengeringkan) = to dry clothes
- memperindah taman (indah → memperindah) = to beautify the garden

What is the difference between membersihkan jaring and mencuci jaring?

Both could be translated as “to clean the net(s)”, but there is a nuance:

membersihkan jaring
- more general: to clean nets (remove dirt, debris, fix them up, etc.)
- doesn’t necessarily imply washing with water
mencuci jaring
- mencuci = to wash (usually with water and soap / detergent)
- focuses specifically on washing

So membersihkan jaring is the broader, more typical expression if the fisher is generally cleaning and maintaining the nets, not just washing them.

How do we know if jaring is singular or plural? Does it mean “net” or “nets”?

Jaring can mean “net” or “nets”; Indonesian nouns usually don’t change for plural.

Context decides:

If there’s only one net, it means “net.”
If we know they regularly use several nets, it’s natural to understand “nets.”

To make it explicitly plural, you can say:

jaring-jaring = nets (reduplication for plural)
beberapa jaring = several nets
banyak jaring = many nets

To make it clearly singular, you can say:

satu jaring = one net
sebuah jaring = a net (with a classifier)

Why is it di depan, not something like pada depan? How does di depan rumah kayu mereka work grammatically?

Di is the standard preposition for location: “at / in / on / inside / etc.”
Depan literally means “front”, and together di depan means “in front of.”

Structure:

di (preposition: at / in)
depan (noun: front)
rumah kayu mereka (the thing being “in front of”)

So:

di depan rumah kayu mereka = in front of their wooden house

Pada is also a preposition, but it’s used more for:

abstract locations (e.g. pada saat itu = at that moment)
certain fixed expressions
more formal/written style

For physical, concrete locations like “in front of the house,” Indonesian uses di, not pada:

✅ di depan rumah
❌ pada depan rumah (not natural)

Why is it rumah kayu, not kayu rumah, if it means “wooden house”?

Indonesian usually puts the main noun first, and the describing / modifying word after it.

rumah = house
kayu = wood
rumah kayu = a house made of wood → a wooden house

So the pattern is:

NOUN + NOUN → “NOUN made/consisting of NOUN” or “NOUN related to NOUN”

Examples:

meja kayu = wooden table
pintu besi = iron door
baju musim dingin = winter clothes

Putting it as kayu rumah would more naturally mean something like “the wood of the house” (rare and odd in isolation). For “wooden house,” stick with rumah kayu.

Does rumah kayu mereka already mean “their wooden house”? Do we need milik or punya?

Yes, rumah kayu mereka already means “their wooden house.”

rumah kayu = wooden house
mereka after a noun phrase = their

You do not need milik or punya here. The equivalent with milik would be:

rumah kayu milik mereka
= the wooden house owned by them

This is more formal and slightly heavier. In ordinary sentences, rumah kayu mereka is the most natural way to say “their wooden house.”

What does sore cover in terms of time of day, and how does setiap sore work?

Sore is the late afternoon to early evening period, roughly:

after siang (midday/early afternoon)
before malam (night)

Approximate range: about 3–6 pm (can vary by region and person).

setiap = every
sore = (late) afternoon / early evening

So:

setiap sore = every (late) afternoon / every evening (in the early part of the evening)

You can also say tiap sore; tiap is a slightly more informal variant of setiap, with the same meaning.

Indonesian verbs don’t show tense. How do we know if it means “cleans,” “cleaned,” or “will clean”?

Indonesian normally doesn’t mark tense on the verb itself. Membersihkan stays the same.

We understand time from:

Time expressions
- setiap sore → habitual / repeated action → “(he/they) clean(s) every afternoon”
Context or additional words
- kemarin sore nelayan itu membersihkan jaring
  = yesterday afternoon the fisherman cleaned the net(s)
- besok sore nelayan itu akan membersihkan jaring
  = tomorrow afternoon the fisherman will clean the net(s)

In the given sentence, setiap sore suggests a regular habit, so in natural English we translate it as:

“The fisherman/fishermen clean the nets in front of their wooden house every afternoon.”

Can we move setiap sore to another place in the sentence, like at the beginning?

Yes, Indonesian word order is quite flexible for time expressions. All of these are grammatical and natural:

Nelayan itu membersihkan jaring di depan rumah kayu mereka setiap sore.
(neutral; time at the end)
Setiap sore, nelayan itu membersihkan jaring di depan rumah kayu mereka.
(emphasis slightly on the time; common in storytelling or descriptions)
Nelayan itu setiap sore membersihkan jaring di depan rumah kayu mereka.
(also acceptable; putting the time after the subject)

English also allows: “Every afternoon, the fisherman cleans the nets...”
Indonesian behaves similarly in this respect.

How would we say “The fisherman/fishermen are cleaning the nets right now in front of their wooden house”?

To express a progressive / ongoing action in Indonesian, we often add sedang (and sometimes sekarang for clarity):

Nelayan itu sedang membersihkan jaring di depan rumah kayu mereka (sekarang).
= The fisherman/fishermen are (right now) cleaning the nets in front of their wooden house.

Key changes:

added sedang before membersihkan to show the action is in progress now
optionally add sekarang (now) for extra clarity

Does nelayan imply male (“fisherman”) or can it also be female (“fisherwoman”)?

Nelayan is gender‑neutral in Indonesian. It simply means “fisher / fishing person.”

It can refer to a man, a woman, or a mixed group.
Context or extra words can specify gender if needed:
- nelayan perempuan = female fisher
- nelayan laki-laki = male fisher

So nelayan itu could be “that fisherman,” “that fisherwoman,” or “those fishers,” depending on context.