Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Ibu menaruh tanaman hias di pot kecil di jendela dapur. - Mother puts a decorative plant in a small pot on the kitchen window.

My/our mother, if the context is family.
A lady / the woman of the house, if the context is more general.
It is capitalized because it’s at the beginning of the sentence; when used as a title or name, Ibu is also often capitalized (like Mrs. Sari → Ibu Sari).

Indonesian doesn’t mark possession in the same way as English here, so context tells you whether to understand it as Mother or a lady.

How do we know if menaruh means “puts,” “is putting,” or “put”? There’s no tense marking.

Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense. Menaruh itself is “to put/place,” and the time is understood from context or extra words.

You can add time/aspect markers if you need to be explicit:

Ibu sedang menaruh tanaman hias… = Mother is putting (right now / in progress).
Tadi Ibu menaruh tanaman hias… = Earlier, Mother put…
Ibu sudah menaruh tanaman hias… = Mother has already put…

Without any markers, Ibu menaruh tanaman hias… can be translated as puts, is putting, or put, depending on the situation you’re describing.

Why are there no words like a or the in tanaman hias, pot kecil, or jendela dapur?

Indonesian has no articles like a / an / the. Nouns are neutral by default; whether you translate as a plant, the plant, some plants, etc., is decided by context.

For example:

tanaman hias → a decorative plant, the decorative plant, decorative plants, depending on the story.
If you want to be explicit, you can add words:
- sebuah pot kecil = a/one small pot
- beberapa tanaman hias = some decorative plants
- tanaman hias itu = that decorative plant / the decorative plant

In the original sentence, we pick the most natural English articles based on context, not because they’re present in Indonesian.

Does tanaman hias mean one plant or several plants? How do you make it clearly plural?

Tanaman hias literally means decorative plant(s). Indonesian doesn’t force you to mark singular/plural.

To show plural more clearly, you can use:

tanaman-tanaman hias (reduplication, more formal/literary)
beberapa tanaman hias = several/some decorative plants
banyak tanaman hias = many decorative plants

In everyday speech, people usually just say tanaman hias, and context tells you whether it’s one plant or more.

What’s the difference between menaruh and the base form taruh? When should I use each?

Taruh is the base verb, and menaruh is the meN--prefixed form.

menaruh
- More neutral/standard; common in writing and careful speech.
- Used in the sentence: Ibu menaruh tanaman hias…
taruh
- Very common in everyday, informal speech.
- You’ll often hear: Ibu taruh tanaman hias di pot kecil…

In many casual contexts, taruh and menaruh are interchangeable in meaning; menaruh just sounds a bit more complete/standard.

How is menaruh formed from taruh? What does the meN- prefix do?

The verb menaruh comes from taruh (to put/place) + the prefix meN-:

meN- is a very common verb-forming prefix. It usually:
- Turns roots into active verbs.
- Can sometimes add a sense of doing the action as an agent/subject.

The N in meN- changes shape depending on the first consonant of the root (this is a phonological rule). For taruh:

meN- + taruh → menaruh (the n replaces the t sound).

You don’t need to memorize all the rules at once; just notice that many common active verbs start with me- / men- / mem- / meng- / meny-.

What’s the difference between menaruh, meletakkan, and memasang? They all seem like “to put.”

They all involve placing something, but use is slightly different:

menaruh
- Neutral “to put/place.”
- Flexible: menaruh buku di meja, menaruh tanaman di pot.
meletakkan
- Also “to place/put,” often a bit more deliberate or formal.
- Very common with objects: meletakkan kunci di meja (place the keys on the table).
memasang
- More like “to install / set up / attach.”
- Used for things that need fixing, attaching, or installing:
  - memasang lampu = install a lamp
  - memasang tirai di jendela = put up curtains on the window

In your sentence, menaruh is natural because you’re just placing a plant in a pot on a window.

Why is di repeated in di pot kecil di jendela dapur? Can you have two di phrases like that?

Yes. Each di introduces a separate location phrase:

di pot kecil = in the small pot
di jendela dapur = at/on the kitchen window

Together, they narrow down the location step by step:

Put the plant in the small pot,
and that small pot is at/on the kitchen window.

You can think of it like English:

“in the small pot on the kitchen window”
Indonesian just uses di for both “in/at/on” depending on context.

Does di here mean “in,” “on,” or “at”? How do I know for di pot kecil di jendela dapur?

Di is a general location preposition; its exact English translation depends on the noun:

di pot kecil → usually in the small pot (because a pot is a container).
di jendela dapur → could be:
- on the kitchen window (e.g., on the windowsill)
- at the kitchen window

You choose in/on/at in English based on what sounds natural for that object; Indonesian keeps the same di.

What does jendela dapur literally mean? Why isn’t there a word for “of,” like “window of the kitchen”?

Jendela dapur is literally window kitchen, and it means kitchen window.

Indonesian often makes “X of Y” relationships by simply putting the nouns next to each other:

jendela dapur = kitchen window
pintu kamar = room door → bedroom door
meja makan = dining table

You can also say jendela di dapur (= the window in the kitchen), but:

jendela dapur sounds more like a specific “kitchen window” as a unit.
jendela di dapur emphasizes the location: “window that is in the kitchen.”

Why is it pot kecil, not kecil pot? Where do adjectives go in Indonesian?

In Indonesian, descriptive adjectives normally come after the noun:

pot kecil = small pot
jendela besar = big window
tanaman hijau = green plant

So:

pot kecil = correct
kecil pot = incorrect (this sounds ungrammatical to Indonesian ears)

If you add more description, it still follows the noun:

pot kecil yang baru = the new small pot
(roughly: pot small that new in order)