Breakdown of Anak kecil itu hampir jatuh ke lubang di trotoar.
Questions & Answers about Anak kecil itu hampir jatuh ke lubang di trotoar.
Itu is a demonstrative that usually corresponds to “that” or “the (specific one already known in context)”.
In Indonesian, demonstratives like itu (that) and ini (this) typically come after the noun phrase, not before it:
- anak itu = that child / the child
- anak kecil itu = that small child / that little kid
So itu is attached to the whole phrase anak kecil (“small child”), and the normal order is:
[Noun + Adjective] + itu
anak kecil + itu → anak kecil itu
Putting itu at the end shows that we are talking about a specific small child that the speaker and listener can identify from context (maybe they can see the child, or they already mentioned the child earlier).
These two mean different things and have different structures:
anak kecil itu
- Structure: [noun + adjective] + demonstrative
- Meaning: that small child / that little kid (a description of which child)
- kecil is an adjective describing the noun anak.
anak itu kecil
- Structure: [noun + demonstrative] + adjective (as predicate)
- Literally: that child is small
- Here, kecil is the predicate (like “is small”), saying something about the child, not identifying which one.
So:
- anak kecil itu hampir jatuh... = That small child almost fell...
- anak itu kecil = That child is small. (a separate, complete sentence)
Yes, you can say anak itu. The meaning changes slightly:
anak kecil itu = that small child / that little kid
- Emphasizes that the child is small/young.
anak itu = that child
- Neutral about size/age; it doesn’t say the child is notably small.
In many contexts, anak kecil has the nuance of “little kid” (a young child, not a teenager). If age/”little kid” feeling is important, keep kecil. If you don’t care about that nuance, anak itu is fine.
In anak kecil, kecil is usually understood as “young / little (in age)”, not primarily about height.
- anak kecil = a young child, a little kid
- If you want to specifically say someone is short in height, you’d normally make that clear from context or say something like:
- badannya pendek = (his/her body is short)
- dia bertubuh pendek = he/she is short
So in this sentence, anak kecil itu is naturally interpreted as “that little kid / that young child”, not “that short child.”
Hampir is an adverb meaning “almost / nearly”, and it usually comes right before the verb or phrase it modifies:
- hampir jatuh = almost fell
- hampir pingsan = almost fainted
- hampir menangis = almost cried
So:
Anak kecil itu hampir jatuh...
= That small child almost fell...
This is the most natural position.
You can also say:
- Anak kecil itu hampir saja jatuh...
- hampir saja adds emphasis: “almost (really) fell”.
But forms like Anak kecil itu jatuh hampir ke lubang... sound unnatural or confusing, because it suggests “fell almost to the hole” rather than “almost fell (but didn’t).”
So for “almost did X,” keep hampir directly before the verb: hampir jatuh.
Ke and di are different prepositions:
- ke = to, into, toward (direction / movement)
- di = in, at, on (location / position)
In the sentence:
jatuh ke lubang
- jatuh = to fall
- ke lubang = into a hole / to the hole
- ke shows movement toward a place/space.
lubang di trotoar
- lubang = hole
- di trotoar = on the sidewalk
- di shows where the hole is located (position, no movement).
So structurally you have:
jatuh [ke lubang] [di trotoar]
fell [into a hole] [on the sidewalk]
Ke: where the child was going (falling into).
Di: where the hole exists (on the sidewalk).
You can say jatuh di lubang, but it usually suggests the person is already in the hole when we’re talking, or describing the location of the fall:
- Dia jatuh di lubang itu.
= He/She fell there, in that hole.
But jatuh ke lubang emphasizes the movement into the hole:
- Dia hampir jatuh ke lubang itu.
= He/She almost fell into that hole. (but didn’t)
In your sentence, we focus on the danger of falling into the hole (a movement that almost happened), so ke is more natural than di.
Di itself is quite general; it covers English in/at/on, depending on the noun and context.
For trotoar (sidewalk / pavement):
- di trotoar is understood as “on the sidewalk” (where people walk).
Some examples to show the flexibility:
- di sekolah = at school
- di rumah = at home / in the house (context decides)
- di meja = on the table
- di dalam meja = inside the table (more explicit)
So lubang di trotoar = a hole on the sidewalk, not literally inside the material of the sidewalk; it’s the natural way to say it.
Indonesian often marks plural by reduplication of the noun:
- anak-anak = children
- anak-anak kecil = small children / little kids
- anak-anak kecil itu = those small children / those little kids
So you could say:
- Anak-anak kecil itu hampir jatuh ke lubang di trotoar.
= Those little children almost fell into the hole on the sidewalk.
Notes:
- You don’t need a plural article like “some” or “the”; plurality is mostly shown by anak-anak (reduplication) and/or context.
- Sometimes people omit reduplication and use just anak with a plural meaning if context is very clear, but anak-anak is the standard way to clearly say “children.”
Yes, that sentence is grammatically fine. The meaning shifts from specific to more general/indefinite:
Anak kecil itu hampir jatuh...
= That small child / The small child almost fell...
(A specific child the speaker has in mind.)Anak kecil hampir jatuh...
= A small child / Some small child almost fell...
(Non-specific; just “there was a small child who almost fell,” or “a small child” in general.)
Itu marks that the listener is expected to know which child (by sight or context). Without itu, it reads more like a new, not-yet-identified character.
Yes, hampir generally works like English “almost”:
- Dia hampir jatuh. = He/She almost fell. (but didn’t)
- Saya hampir terlambat. = I was almost late. (but in the end, I wasn’t)
- Kita hampir menang. = We almost won. (but we didn’t)
Usually, if the event actually did happen, you don’t use hampir; you just state the verb:
- Dia jatuh ke lubang di trotoar.
= He/She fell into the hole on the sidewalk. (the fall happened)
So in your sentence, hampir jatuh strongly suggests the child did not actually fall, only came very close to it.
Yes, there are a couple of common variants:
hampir
- Neutral “almost”
- Anak kecil itu hampir jatuh ke lubang...
nyaris
- Also means “almost/nearly,” often with a slightly stronger or more dramatic feel
- Anak kecil itu nyaris jatuh ke lubang...
- Very natural in spoken and written Indonesian.
hampir saja
- Adds emphasis, like “almost (really)” or “just about to”
- Anak kecil itu hampir saja jatuh ke lubang...
All three are acceptable. Hampir is the most neutral, nyaris and hampir saja tend to sound a bit more dramatic or emphatic.
Yes, trotoar is the standard Indonesian word for sidewalk / pavement in urban contexts.
A few related words:
- trotoar = sidewalk (beside a road, where people walk)
- jalanan = the road (for vehicles) or “the street” in general
- jalan setapak = footpath / narrow path (not necessarily beside a road)
- pinggir jalan = the roadside / edge of the road
In a typical city-street scene, trotoar is the normal choice for “sidewalk,” so lubang di trotoar is perfectly natural.