Nenek membacakan dongeng kepada cucu di ruang tamu.

Grandmother reads a fairy tale to her grandchild in the living room.

Breakdown of Nenek membacakan dongeng kepada cucu di ruang tamu.

• sebuah: a
• di: in
• ruang tamu: the living room
• kepada: to
• nenek: the grandmother
• cucu: the grandchild
• membacakan: to read aloud
• dongeng: the fairy tale

Questions & Answers about Nenek membacakan dongeng kepada cucu di ruang tamu.

Why is it membacakan and not just membaca?

Membaca means simply “to read”.

Membacakan means “to read something for/to someone” – it highlights that there is a listener/beneficiary.

So:

• Nenek membaca dongeng.
  = Grandma reads a story (focus on the act/content of reading)

• Nenek membacakan dongeng kepada cucu.
  = Grandma reads a story to her grandchild (focus on doing it for the grandchild)

In your sentence, the presence of cucu (grandchild) as a beneficiary makes membacakan more natural than plain membaca.

So what does the suffix -kan actually do here?

-kan is a very common suffix that often adds one of these ideas:

1. Benefactive: doing something for someone

   • membacakan dongeng (untuk/kepada cucu) = read a story for/to the grandchild
   • membelikan adik buku = buy a book for younger sibling

2. Causative / making something happen:

   • menyalakan lampu = to turn on (cause to be lit) the light
   • membersihkan kamar = to clean (cause to become clean) the room

Here, membacakan is meN- + baca + -kan, and it’s used in the benefactive sense: reading something for someone.

Can I replace membacakan with membaca without changing the meaning?

You can say:

• Nenek membaca dongeng kepada cucu di ruang tamu.

This is grammatically fine and understandable.
However, there is a nuance:

• membaca: just “read”
• membacakan (sesuatu kepada/untuk seseorang): “read something to/for someone”

Indonesian speakers will usually prefer membacakan when they explicitly mention the listener/beneficiary (cucu) because it sounds more natural and matches the pattern:

[do something] for/to [someone]

So membacakan fits better here than plain membaca, even though membaca is not wrong.

What does kepada mean, and why is it needed before cucu?

Kepada roughly means “to” (when the object is a person).

In this sentence:

• dongeng = the thing being read (the direct object)
• cucu = the person who receives/hears the story (the indirect object)

Indonesian often marks the indirect object with kepada when it is a person:

• memberi buku kepada adik = to give a book to younger sibling
• mengirim email kepada dosen = to send an email to the lecturer
• membacakan dongeng kepada cucu = to read a story to the grandchild

So kepada clarifies that cucu is the recipient (listener), not the thing being read.

Could I say untuk cucu instead of kepada cucu?

Yes, you can.

• Nenek membacakan dongeng untuk cucu di ruang tamu.

This is natural Indonesian.

• kepada tends to emphasize direction/recipient:
  → read to the grandchild
• untuk tends to emphasize purpose/benefit:
  → read for the grandchild

In many everyday sentences they overlap, and both are acceptable. Here, kepada and untuk are both fine; kepada slightly highlights that the story is being addressed directly to the child.

Can I leave out the preposition and say Nenek membacakan cucu dongeng?

You might hear sentences like that in conversation, but you should be careful:

• The more natural version without a preposition usually puts the beneficiary right after the verb and keeps the object clearly identifiable:

  • Nenek membacakan cucu-cucunya dongeng.
    = Grandma reads her grandchildren a story.

Here, cucu-cucunya is long and clearly the recipient, and dongeng is clearly the thing.

In your shorter version:

• Nenek membacakan cucu dongeng.

this can sound a bit odd or ambiguous to many speakers, because cucu and dongeng are both short, bare nouns. The safer, clearer forms are:

• Nenek membacakan dongeng kepada cucu.
• Nenek membacakan dongeng untuk cucu.

As a learner, it’s best to keep kepada/untuk when you’re not sure.

Does cucu mean “grandchild” or “grandchildren” here? How do I show singular vs plural?

Cucu by itself is number-neutral: it can mean grandchild or grandchildren, depending on context.

To make it explicit:

• one grandchild

  • seorang cucu = one grandchild
  • satu orang cucu = one grandchild

• more than one grandchild

  • cucu-cucu = grandchildren (general)
  • para cucu = the grandchildren (as a group, a bit formal)
  • dua orang cucu = two grandchildren
  • beberapa cucu = several grandchildren

So if you really want “grandchildren”:

• Nenek membacakan dongeng kepada cucu-cucunya di ruang tamu.
  = Grandma reads a story to her grandchildren in the living room.

Whose grandchild is it? Why is there no word for “her”?

Indonesian often leaves possession implicit if it’s obvious from context.

In:

• Nenek membacakan dongeng kepada cucu di ruang tamu.

a natural interpretation in context is “Grandma reads a story to (her/one) grandchild …” – but grammatically it could also mean “a/the grandchild” in general. The sentence doesn’t explicitly mark “her”.

To make “her grandchild” clear, you can say:

• cucunya = her/his/their grandchild (context decides whose)
• cucu nenek = Grandma’s grandchild
• cucu-cucunya = her grandchildren

Examples:

• Nenek membacakan dongeng kepada cucunya di ruang tamu.
  = Grandma reads a story to her grandchild in the living room.

Possession (my/your/his/her) is often left out if it’s obvious who is being talked about.

Is nenek “a grandmother”, “the grandmother”, or “Grandma”? Why is there no article?

Indonesian does not use separate words for “a” and “the” like English does. Nenek can mean:

• a grandmother (indefinite)
• the grandmother (definite)
• Grandma (as a family member)

Context decides.

Examples:

• Talking about your own grandma:
  Nenek membacakan dongeng kepada cucu.
  = (My) Grandma reads a story to (her) grandchild.

• In a storybook/narration:
  Nenek itu membacakan dongeng kepada cucu.
  = The grandmother reads a story to the grandchild.
  (itu can make it more clearly “that/the” grandmother.)

So nenek here is best understood as “Grandma” or “the grandmother”, depending on the context you imagine.

Where exactly does di ruang tamu go in the sentence? Can I move it?

Yes, you can move di ruang tamu (in the living room). Indonesian word order is fairly flexible for location/time phrases.

All of these are acceptable:

1. Nenek membacakan dongeng kepada cucu di ruang tamu.
2. Di ruang tamu, nenek membacakan dongeng kepada cucu.
3. Nenek di ruang tamu membacakan dongeng kepada cucu. (less common, but possible in context)

Common patterns:

• Put place/time at the end (neutral):
  … kepada cucu di ruang tamu.

• Put place/time at the beginning for emphasis or to set the scene:
  Di ruang tamu, nenek membacakan dongeng kepada cucu.

Meaning stays the same; only focus/emphasis changes slightly.

Why do we use di and not ke or pada with ruang tamu?

Because we are talking about a location, not movement or an abstract target.

• di = at / in (static location)

  • di ruang tamu = in the living room
  • di sekolah = at school

• ke = to (movement towards a place)

  • ke ruang tamu = to the living room (going there)
  • pergi ke sekolah = go to school

• pada = to / on / at (often used with people, time, or abstract things; more formal)

  • pada hari Senin = on Monday
  • pada guru = to the teacher (more formal/abstract than kepada guru)

Your sentence describes where the action happens, so di ruang tamu (“in the living room”) is correct.

How do I say this in the passive voice?

You can make either the story or the grandchild the grammatical subject.

1. Story-focused passive:

   • Dongeng dibacakan (oleh) nenek kepada cucu di ruang tamu.
     = The story is read by Grandma to the grandchild in the living room.

   dibacakan = di- + baca + -kan (passive form of membacakan).

   oleh (by) is optional in many contexts; it clarifies the agent.

2. Grandchild-focused passive:

   • Cucu dibacakan dongeng (oleh) nenek di ruang tamu.
     = The grandchild is read a story by Grandma in the living room.

Both are grammatical. Choice depends on what you want to emphasize: the story or the grandchild.

How do I show that this is happening right now, like “is reading”?

Indonesian doesn’t change the verb form for tense. Instead, you add time markers.

To show a present continuous idea (“is reading”), add sedang:

• Nenek sedang membacakan dongeng kepada cucu di ruang tamu.
  = Grandma is reading a story to her grandchild in the living room.

Other options with time words:

• Sekarang nenek membacakan dongeng kepada cucu di ruang tamu.
  = Now Grandma is reading a story to her grandchild in the living room.

Without sedang or a time word, the sentence is time-neutral; context decides if it’s past, present, or future.

Is there any difference between dongeng and cerita?

Yes.

• dongeng = fairy tale / folktale / myth / fable
  Stories that are often traditional, fictional, with moral lessons or magical elements.
  e.g. dongeng about animals that talk, kings and queens, legends.

• cerita = story (general)
  Can be true or fictional, any kind of story.

So:

• membacakan dongeng = reading a fairy tale / folktale
• membacakan cerita = reading a story (not specifying what kind)

Your sentence specifically suggests a fairy-tale/folktale type of story.