Saya suka cerita tentang masa kecil nenek saya.

I like stories about my grandmother's childhood.

Breakdown of Saya suka cerita tentang masa kecil nenek saya.

• saya: I
• suka: to like
• cerita: the story
• tentang: about
• saya: my
• nenek: the grandmother
• masa kecil: the childhood

Questions & Answers about Saya suka cerita tentang masa kecil nenek saya.

What does each word in Saya suka cerita tentang masa kecil nenek saya literally mean?

Word by word:

• Saya = I / me (formal–neutral)
• suka = to like
• cerita = story / stories
• tentang = about / regarding
• masa = period / time
• kecil = small / little; together masa kecil = childhood
• nenek = grandmother / grandma
• saya (at the end) = my (literally I, used after a noun to show possession)

So the structure is roughly:
I – like – story/stories – about – period small (childhood) – grandmother – my.

Is cerita singular or plural here? Why don’t we say cerita-cerita?

Indonesian nouns usually don’t change for singular vs plural. Cerita can mean story or stories, depending on context.

• Saya suka cerita...
  = I like story/stories...

If you really want to emphasise “many stories” or “various stories”, you can say:

• Saya suka cerita-cerita tentang masa kecil nenek saya.
  (I like stories about my grandmother’s childhood – with a stronger sense of “several / various stories”.)

But in normal conversation, plain cerita is enough for both singular and plural. Context tells the listener whether it’s one story or many.

Can saya suka cerita also mean I like to tell stories, or only I like stories?

In this sentence, cerita is a noun, so saya suka cerita is understood as:

• I like stories (or I like a story / that story, depending on context).

To say I like telling stories, Indonesians would normally use a verb:

• Saya suka bercerita. = I like telling stories.
• Saya suka menceritakan sesuatu. = I like to tell (explain) something.

So:

• suka cerita → “like stories” (noun)
• suka bercerita → “like to tell stories” (verb)

Why do we use tentang here? Could we leave it out and just say Saya suka cerita masa kecil nenek saya?

Tentang means about / regarding, and cerita tentang X is a very common collocation: stories about X.

• Saya suka cerita tentang masa kecil nenek saya.
  = I like stories about my grandmother’s childhood.

If you say:

• Saya suka cerita masa kecil nenek saya.

it is still understandable, and in some contexts it might sound okay, but:

• it can sound slightly less natural in careful, standard Indonesian,
• without tentang, cerita masa kecil nenek saya feels more like a fixed noun phrase “my grandmother’s childhood story” (one specific story) rather than stories about that period in general.

In everyday speech, some people do drop tentang, but cerita tentang ... is the safest and most clearly correct pattern.

What is the difference between tentang, mengenai, and soal in this kind of sentence?

All three can mean about / regarding, but they differ slightly in tone:

• tentang

  • Very common, neutral.
  • Works perfectly here.
  • Saya suka cerita tentang masa kecil nenek saya.

• mengenai

  • A bit more formal or written.
  • Could be used similarly:
    Saya suka cerita mengenai masa kecil nenek saya.

• soal

  • More informal, often “about” in the sense of “on the topic of / concerning”.
  • More common with problems, issues, subjects: soal uang, soal pekerjaan.
  • You could hear cerita soal masa kecil nenek saya, but tentang is more neutral and natural here.

For a learner, for “stories about X”, default to cerita tentang X.

How does masa kecil nenek saya work grammatically? Why is it in that order?

Indonesian noun phrases usually follow this order: Head noun + modifiers.

• masa (period/time) = head noun
• kecil (small) = adjective; in this phrase it forms the fixed idea “childhood” → masa kecil
• nenek saya (my grandmother) = noun phrase that further specifies whose childhood

So:

• masa kecil nenek saya
  literally: period-small grandmother my
  meaning: my grandmother’s childhood

It is:

1. masa kecil (childhood)
2. of nenek saya (my grandmother)

Indonesian does not use a possessive ’s like English. Instead, the possessor comes after the thing possessed:

• rumah saya = my house
• buku nenek saya = my grandmother’s book
• masa kecil nenek saya = my grandmother’s childhood

Why not say masa kecilnya nenek saya or masa kecil dari nenek saya?

All three are grammatical, but they differ in naturalness:

1. masa kecil nenek saya

   • Most natural and straightforward.
   • Very standard: X Y saya = X of my Y.

2. masa kecilnya nenek saya

   • -nya can mean his/her/its/their or work like “the”.
   • masa kecilnya nenek saya is understandable, but feels a bit heavier / more emphatic, like “the childhood of my grandmother”.
   • Often -nya is used when the possessor is not repeated right after, e.g. masa kecilnya sangat sulit = his/her childhood was very hard.

3. masa kecil dari nenek saya

   • dari literally means from / of, and is used for origin: datang dari Jepang = come from Japan.
   • For possession, you normally just put the possessor after the noun: masa kecil nenek saya, buku adik saya, etc.
   • dari here sounds overly literal (influenced by English “of”) and less natural.

So in everyday good Indonesian, masa kecil nenek saya is the best choice.

Why do we say nenek saya for my grandmother instead of putting saya before the noun?

In Indonesian, the possessor usually comes after the noun:

• nenek saya = my grandmother
• ibu saya = my mother
• teman saya = my friend

So the pattern is:

• [thing/person] + [pronoun]

Putting saya before the noun (like saya nenek) does not mean my grandmother. Instead it sounds like I, (the) grandmother and is usually ungrammatical or changes the meaning.

You can also use possessive suffixes:

• nenekku = my grandmother (informal, with aku)
• ibuku = my mother

But in neutral, learner‑friendly Indonesian, nenek saya is the clearest form.

What is the difference between saya and aku in this sentence?

Both saya and aku mean I / me, but they differ in register and context:

• saya

  • More formal / polite / neutral.
  • Good for talking to strangers, superiors, in writing, in class, etc.
  • Safe default for learners.

• aku

  • More informal / intimate.
  • Used with close friends, family, children, in songs, etc.

So your sentence could become:

• Saya suka cerita tentang masa kecil nenek saya. (neutral–polite)
• Aku suka cerita tentang masa kecil nenekku. (informal, more intimate)

Both are correct; choose based on who you’re talking to and the tone you want.

Can we drop saya and just say Suka cerita tentang masa kecil nenek saya?

Yes, in informal spoken Indonesian, people sometimes drop the subject pronoun when it is clear from context:

• (Saya) suka cerita tentang masa kecil nenek saya.

If the listener already knows we’re talking about me, the sentence without saya can still be understood as I like stories about....

However:

• In writing, teaching materials, and clear speech, it’s better not to drop saya.
• For learners, always using the subject (here saya) is safer and more standard.

So the fully explicit, learner‑friendly version is the original:
Saya suka cerita tentang masa kecil nenek saya.

If I want to say I like hearing stories about my grandmother’s childhood, how could I say that more explicitly in Indonesian?

You can make “hearing” explicit with mendengar (to hear):

• Saya suka mendengar cerita tentang masa kecil nenek saya.

Breakdown:

• saya = I
• suka = like
• mendengar = to hear / hearing
• cerita = stories
• tentang masa kecil nenek saya = about my grandmother’s childhood

This makes it very clear that what you enjoy is hearing the stories, not just that you like the stories in some abstract sense.