Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Origami berbentuk burung itu kami taruh di dekat tanaman hias di ruang tamu. - We put that bird-shaped origami near the decorative plant in the living room.

Origami berbentuk burung itu kami taruh di dekat tanaman hias di ruang tamu.

We put that bird-shaped origami near the decorative plant in the living room.

Breakdown of Origami berbentuk burung itu kami taruh di dekat tanaman hias di ruang tamu.

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Questions & Answers about Origami berbentuk burung itu kami taruh di dekat tanaman hias di ruang tamu.

What does the word itu do in origami berbentuk burung itu, and where can it go in the phrase?

Itu is a demonstrative meaning that (or the in many contexts).

In origami berbentuk burung itu, it attaches to the whole noun phrase and gives you:

origami berbentuk burung itu = that bird‑shaped origami / the bird‑shaped origami

In Indonesian, itu normally comes after the noun (and its modifiers), not before it:

buku itu = that book
buku merah itu = that red book
origami berbentuk burung itu = that bird‑shaped origami

You could also move itu to the very end of the clause for a slightly different nuance or for emphasis, but then it feels more like that one referring back to something already known:

Origami berbentuk burung kami taruh di dekat tanaman hias di ruang tamu itu.
⇒ more like We put the bird‑shaped origami near the ornamental plant in that living room.

So in the original sentence, itu clearly belongs to origami berbentuk burung, not to ruang tamu.

Why does the sentence start with origami instead of kami if kami is the subject?

Indonesian allows relatively flexible word order. The normal neutral order would be:

Kami menaruh origami berbentuk burung itu di dekat tanaman hias di ruang tamu.
(Subject–Verb–Object)

In the original, the object is moved to the front:

Origami berbentuk burung itu kami taruh di dekat tanaman hias di ruang tamu.

This is called fronting or topicalization: you put what you want to highlight or talk about first. It roughly feels like:

That bird‑shaped origami, we put (it) near the ornamental plant in the living room.

So:

kami is still the subject
taruh is the verb
origami berbentuk burung itu is the object, but fronted for emphasis or to connect with previous context.

What exactly does berbentuk mean in berbentuk burung?

Berbentuk comes from:

bentuk = shape, form
prefix ber- (often means “to have / to be in the state of / to wear / to possess”)

So berbentuk X literally means to have the shape of X or to be X‑shaped.

Therefore:

berbentuk burung = bird‑shaped, having the shape of a bird

Other common patterns:

berwarna merah = red‑colored, having the color red
berbulu halus = having soft fur
bermotif bunga = flower‑patterned

Could or should there be a yang in origami berbentuk burung itu (like origami yang berbentuk burung itu)?

Yes, you can add yang:

origami yang berbentuk burung itu

Both are grammatically correct:

origami berbentuk burung itu
origami yang berbentuk burung itu

Differences:

Without yang feels a bit more compact and colloquial.
With yang can feel clearer and slightly more formal or careful, explicitly marking berbentuk burung as a relative clause or modifier.

In everyday speech, Indonesians often drop yang when the meaning is obvious, especially with ber- phrases modifying a noun.

Why is the verb taruh here, and not menaruh? Is one of them wrong?

Both exist:

taruh = base verb to put, to place
menaruh = the meN- (active) form of taruh

In colloquial spoken Indonesian, people often:

Drop the meN- prefix
Especially when the object is fronted

So:

Neutral: Kami menaruh origami berbentuk burung itu di dekat tanaman hias.
Colloquial / with fronting: Origami berbentuk burung itu kami taruh di dekat tanaman hias.

Both are understood, but:

With object in normal position (after the verb), menaruh sounds more standard.
With object fronted, kami taruh sounds very natural in speech.

In very formal writing, you are more likely to see menaruh or meletakkan with more standard word order.

What is the difference between taruh, menaruh, and meletakkan?

All can translate as to put / to place, but there are nuances:

taruh: basic, very common in speech, quite informal
- Taruh bukunya di sini. = Put the book here.
menaruh: active form, sounds a bit more standard/formal than bare taruh
- Saya menaruh kunci di meja.
meletakkan: often slightly more formal or deliberate, sometimes with a nuance of carefully placing
- Dia meletakkan vas itu di atas lemari.

In your sentence, you could say:

Origami berbentuk burung itu kami taruh di dekat tanaman hias ... (natural spoken)
Kami menaruh origami berbentuk burung itu di dekat tanaman hias ... (neutral written/spoken)
Kami meletakkan origami berbentuk burung itu di dekat tanaman hias ... (a bit more formal/precise)

What is the difference between kami and kita, and why is kami used here?

Both mean we, but:

kami = we (not including the listener)
kita = we (including the listener)

In this sentence:

Origami berbentuk burung itu kami taruh ...

Using kami implies:

The group who put the origami does not necessarily include the person being spoken to.

If the speaker wants to include the listener in the group who put the origami, they would say:

Origami berbentuk burung itu kita taruh di dekat tanaman hias di ruang tamu.
⇒ We (you and I / we all) put that bird‑shaped origami near the ornamental plant in the living room.

Why is it di dekat tanaman hias? Do we need the di before dekat?

In the phrase di dekat tanaman hias:

di = at / in / on (location preposition)
dekat = near, close (can function as an adjective or as part of a prepositional phrase)

Common patterns:

di dekat + noun
- di dekat rumah = near the house
- di dekat taman = near the park
This is exactly what you have: di dekat tanaman hias = near the ornamental plant.
dekat + noun (without di) is possible, but it often feels like dekat is functioning more adjectivally or giving a looser location:
- Kami tinggal dekat stasiun. = We live near the station.

In your sentence, di dekat tanaman hias is the most natural, clear way to express at a location near the ornamental plant. Keeping di here is standard and sounds good.

What exactly does tanaman hias mean? Is it just any plant?

Tanaman hias is:

tanaman = plant (something planted; from the root tanam = to plant)
hias = decorative, ornamental (from menghias = to decorate)

So tanaman hias specifically means:

ornamental plant, decorative plant, houseplant (in many contexts)

It usually refers to plants used for decoration rather than for food or agriculture, e.g. potted plants in a living room, garden decorative plants, etc.

Compare:

tanaman sayur = vegetable plants
tanaman obat = medicinal plants
tanaman bunga = flower plants
tanaman hias = decorative/ornamental plants (not necessarily only flowers)

Why is it di ruang tamu and not something like ke ruang tamu? What does di add here?

Di and ke express different ideas:

di = at / in / on (location, static)
ke = to (movement or direction toward a place)

In di ruang tamu, di shows location:

di ruang tamu = in the living room / at the living room

The sentence tells you where the origami ended up and now is, not the direction of movement. If you used ke, it would emphasize the movement to the living room:

Kami membawa origami itu ke ruang tamu. = We brought that origami to the living room.

But in your sentence the focus is the final position, so di ruang tamu is correct and natural.

Can we move di ruang tamu earlier in the sentence, and does it change the meaning?

Yes, you can move the location phrase as long as the sentence stays clear. For example:

Original:
- Origami berbentuk burung itu kami taruh di dekat tanaman hias di ruang tamu.
Variant:
- Di ruang tamu, origami berbentuk burung itu kami taruh di dekat tanaman hias.

Both basically mean the same thing:

The bird‑shaped origami was put near the ornamental plant in the living room.

Differences:

Starting with Di ruang tamu puts more emphasis on the setting (the living room).
The original order highlights the object first (the origami) and then tells you exactly where it was placed.

All of these are natural; Indonesian word order is flexible as long as relations remain clear.