Questions & Answers about Kancing baju saya hilang.
Why is the word order kancing baju saya, and not baju saya kancing?
In Indonesian, the typical pattern for possession or description is:
Head noun + modifying noun/pronoun
So:
- kancing = button (head noun)
- baju saya = my shirt (modifier that tells you which button)
kancing baju saya literally means the button of my shirt.
If you said baju saya kancing, it would be interpreted more like my shirt is buttoned (up), with baju saya as the subject and kancing trying (awkwardly) to act like a predicate. It doesn’t mean my shirt’s button.
What exactly does baju saya mean here? Is it “my shirt” or “my clothes”?
baju can mean either:
- shirt/top (most common in everyday speech when context is clear), or
- clothing in a more general sense (but pakaian is more neutral for “clothes”).
In kancing baju saya hilang, the most natural reading is:
- baju saya = my shirt (or my top), so the whole sentence is The button of my shirt is missing.
Context decides whether baju is “shirt” or “clothes”, but with kancing, most people will imagine a shirt or blouse.
How does show possession? Why is after ?