Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Daftar itu belum lengkap.

In this sentence, daftar is a noun meaning “list”.
However, daftar can also mean “to register / to sign up” when used as a verb (for example: Saya mau daftar kursus. – “I want to sign up for the course.”).
So the word is flexible; here the context clearly makes it a thing (a list), not an action.

Why is there no word for “is” in Daftar itu belum lengkap?

Indonesian usually does not use a verb like “to be” (is/are/am) in simple present-tense sentences with adjectives or nouns.
So instead of saying “The list is not complete yet”, Indonesian just says:
Daftar itu (that list) + belum lengkap (not-yet complete).
The idea of “is” is understood from the structure; you don’t need to say it explicitly.

What’s the difference between belum and tidak, and why use belum here?

belum = “not yet”, and it often implies the situation may change in the future.
tidak = “not” (simple negation, no “yet” idea).

Daftar itu belum lengkap = “That list is not complete yet,” suggesting it will or should be completed later.
If you said Daftar itu tidak lengkap, it’s more like “That list is not complete” (and maybe won’t be).

Does belum always imply that something is expected to change?

Often, yes. Belum usually suggests:

it hasn’t happened up to now,
but there is an expectation or possibility that it will happen.

So belum lengkap sounds like “it’s incomplete for now; we expect to complete it.”
In some contexts, speakers still use belum even if it might never change, but the core idea is “up to this time, not yet.”

What exactly does itu mean here? Is it “that” or “the”?

Itu literally means “that”, but in practice it often works like “the” in English by marking something specific/known.

daftar itu can be understood as:
- “that list” (pointing or referring to a particular list), or
- “the list” (the specific one we both know about).

Indonesian doesn’t have a separate word for “the”, so itu often does this job.

Why is it daftar itu, not itu daftar? Is the word order important?

Yes, the word order affects the nuance:

daftar itu = “that/the list” (noun + determiner) – the normal way to say “that list”.
itu daftar could appear in sentences like Itu daftar nama siswa. (“That is the student name list.”), where itu is more like “that is…”.

In your sentence, you are talking about the list, so daftar itu is the natural order.

Can I say Daftarnya belum lengkap instead? What’s the difference?

Yes, Daftarnya belum lengkap is also correct and common.

Daftar itu belum lengkap – “That list is not complete yet.”
Daftarnya belum lengkap – “The list is not complete yet” or “Its list is not complete yet.”

The suffix -nya often marks something definite/known (“the list”, “its list”) and can sound a bit more attached to the current context (for example, “our list / that list we’re talking about right now”).
Both are natural; daftarnya feels slightly more like “the list (we have here)”.

Is lengkap an adjective or a verb?

Lengkap is primarily an adjective meaning “complete”.
Indonesian adjectives can feel verb-like because you don’t need “to be”:

Daftar itu lengkap. – “That list is complete.”
Daftar itu belum lengkap. – “That list is not complete yet.”

So grammatically it’s an adjective, but in the sentence it functions as the predicate, like “is complete.”

Can I move belum somewhere else, like Daftar itu lengkap belum?

Yes, in spoken / casual Indonesian, people often say:

Daftar itu lengkap belum? – “Is that list complete yet?”

Here lengkap belum acts like “complete or not yet?”.
But for a statement (not a question), the normal neutral order is belum lengkap:

Daftar itu belum lengkap. – statement
Daftar itu lengkap, belum? – question, sounding like “The list is complete already, right / or not yet?”

Can itu be omitted? What does Daftar belum lengkap sound like?

Yes, you can say Daftar belum lengkap, but it becomes less specific.

Daftar itu belum lengkap. – “That/the specific list is not complete yet.”
Daftar belum lengkap. – “The list isn’t complete yet” or more vaguely “Lists aren’t complete yet,” depending on context.

Without itu (or -nya), it feels more general or reliant on context for which list you mean.

How would I say “The lists are not complete yet” in Indonesian?

You can show plural in a few ways, for example:

Daftar-daftar itu belum lengkap. – “Those lists are not complete yet.”
Semua daftar itu belum lengkap. – “All those lists are not complete yet.”

Indonesian often leaves plural implicit, so if context is clear, some people still just say: Daftar itu belum lengkap, and let context show it refers to more than one list.

Is this sentence formal or informal?

Daftar itu belum lengkap. is neutral and works in both informal and formal situations.
In casual speech you might also hear:

Daftarnya belum lengkap.
Or even a mixed form like List-nya belum lengkap (using the English “list” + -nya) in very informal conversation.

But your original sentence is perfectly acceptable in spoken and written Indonesian.

How would I turn this into a direct question: “Is that list not complete yet?”

You can ask:

Apakah daftar itu belum lengkap? – more formal / neutral.
Daftar itu belum lengkap? – informal, relying on rising intonation.

Both mean “Is that list not complete yet?” with the same belum nuance (“not yet”).