Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Seorang peternak menunjukkan sapi-sapinya yang sedang makan rumput. - A livestock farmer shows his cows that are eating grass.

Seorang peternak menunjukkan sapi-sapinya yang sedang makan rumput.

A livestock farmer shows his cows that are eating grass.

Breakdown of Seorang peternak menunjukkan sapi-sapinya yang sedang makan rumput.

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Questions & Answers about Seorang peternak menunjukkan sapi-sapinya yang sedang makan rumput.

What does seorang mean, and why is it used instead of just peternak?

Seorang literally comes from satu orang (one person). In practice, it works like:

a classifier / measure word for humans (one person).
often similar to English “a” / “an” when introducing a new person in a story.

So:

peternak = farmer / livestock breeder (no information about number).
seorang peternak = a farmer / one farmer.

Why use it here?

It tells us that we’re talking about one farmer, not several.
It also sounds natural when introducing a new character:
Seorang peternak menunjukkan… = A farmer showed…

Possible variations:

Peternak menunjukkan sapi-sapinya…
Grammatically fine, but feels more like “The farmer showed…” (a specific one already known from context).
Satu orang peternak
More literal/emphatic “one farmer” (e.g. if you’re counting people).

What exactly does peternak mean, and how is it different from petani?

Peternak and petani are both often translated as farmer, but they focus on different things:

Peternak: someone who raises animals (livestock).
- From ternak (livestock) + pe- (person who does X).
- Examples: peternak sapi (cattle farmer), peternak ayam (chicken farmer).
Petani: someone who grows crops/plants on the land.
- A general farmer in the sense of planting rice, vegetables, etc.

So in this sentence, because it’s about sapi-sapinya (his cows), peternak is the natural word. Using petani would suggest a crop farmer, which doesn’t fit as well.

What does menunjukkan mean, and how is it formed?

Menunjukkan means “to show (something to someone)”.

It comes from the root tunjuk (to point) plus:

meN- prefix: makes it an active verb (menunjuk = to point at something).
-kan suffix: often adds a sense of causing or doing something to/for someone, and in this case makes it “to show”.

So:

menunjuk = to point (with your finger, etc.)
menunjukkan = to show (usually more explicitly, often with an object you show to someone)

In this sentence:

Seorang peternak = subject (the farmer)
menunjukkan = verb (showed)
sapi-sapinya = object (his cows)

Implicitly, there’s also someone he’s showing them to, but it’s not mentioned.

What does sapi-sapinya mean exactly, and why is it repeated and then has -nya?

Sapi-sapinya has two important parts:

sapi-sapi = repeated noun → indicates plural
- sapi = cow
- sapi-sapi = cows (more than one cow)
-nya at the end:
- can mean “his/her/their” (possessive),
- or “the” with a sense of specific/known.

In this context, sapi-sapinya is best understood as:

his cows (a specific set of cows belonging to the farmer)

So the full meaning is something like:

his cows / the cows he owns.

Compare:

sapi = (a) cow / cows (number not clear)
sapi-sapi = cows (clearly plural, but not necessarily anyone’s in particular)
sapi-sapinya = his/her/their cows (specific group of cows)

Could we say sapi-sapinya without the repetition, like just sapinya? What’s the difference?

Yes, sapinya is also grammatical, but there’s a nuance difference:

sapi-sapinya: strongly suggests more than one cow, and that they are his/her/their specific cows.
sapinya: only clearly marks specificity/possession; number is not explicit.
- It could be the cow or the cows, depending on context.

So:

Seorang peternak menunjukkan sapi-sapinya…
→ we know he is showing his cows (plural).
Seorang peternak menunjukkan sapinya…
→ could be his cow (singular) or his cows (plural); you would rely on context.

In everyday speech, Indonesians often don’t bother marking plural if it’s obvious, so sapinya could still be used and understood as plural. Sapi-sapinya just makes plural more explicit.

What is the role of yang in sapi-sapinya yang sedang makan rumput?

Yang introduces a relative clause that describes sapi-sapinya.

Structure:

sapi-sapinya = the noun being described (his cows)
yang sedang makan rumput = clause that describes those cows
(that are currently eating grass)

Function of yang:

similar to English “that / which / who” in relative clauses.
connects a noun to a clause that gives more information about it.

So:

sapi-sapinya yang sedang makan rumput
≈ his cows that are eating grass / his cows which are eating grass.

Without yang, the sentence would be ungrammatical:

✗ sapi-sapinya sedang makan rumput (fine as a full sentence: His cows are eating grass)
But as a modifier after sapi-sapinya, you need yang:
- ✓ sapi-sapinya yang sedang makan rumput.

What does sedang mean here? Is it like English “-ing”?

Sedang is an aspect marker that usually indicates an action is in progress at a particular time, similar to English “is/are …ing”.

In this sentence:

sedang makan rumput ≈ are eating grass / are in the middle of eating grass.

Some nuances:

You can often translate sedang as “currently”, “in the process of”.
It’s optional in many contexts. Indonesians may say:
- sapi-sapinya makan rumput → His cows eat grass / His cows are eating grass, depending on context.

Other similar words:

lagi: also often used like “currently”, casual speech.
- sapi-sapinya lagi makan rumput (very natural colloquial Indonesian)
tengah: can also mean in the middle of, slightly more formal/literary in this use.

So sedang adds a clear progressive sense but is not always required.

Why is it makan rumput and not memakan rumput?

Both makan rumput and memakan rumput are grammatically correct. The difference is mainly style and emphasis:

makan rumput:
- very common, everyday phrasing.
- makan = to eat.
- rumput = grass.
- Neutral, natural in both spoken and written Indonesian.
memakan rumput:
- from root makan with me- prefix.
- sounds a bit more formal or more “textbook”.
- sometimes emphasizes the act of consuming something, or is preferred in formal writing.

In this sentence, makan rumput is perfectly normal, natural Indonesian.
If you say sedang memakan rumput, it might sound a bit more formal or descriptive, like in a written report or a documentary narration.

Why isn’t rumput pluralized? Should it be rumput-rumput if many cows are eating it?

In Indonesian, plural is often not marked, especially for:

mass nouns (like water, rice, grass) and
when plural is already obvious from context.

Rumput (grass) is usually treated as a mass noun:

rumput = grass (not “a grass”)
We usually don’t say rumput-rumput unless we really mean individual clumps/types of grass and want to emphasize plurality.

So:

sapi-sapinya yang sedang makan rumput
= his cows that are eating grass (no need to mark grass as plural).

Rumput-rumput would be unusual here and might sound like you’re highlighting multiple patches/types of grass in a slightly unnatural way for this context.

Is the word order fixed? Could we move sedang or yang around?

The core order here is quite fixed:

sapi-sapinya yang sedang makan rumput

Breaking it down:

sapi-sapinya → noun
yang → relative clause marker
sedang makan rumput → verb phrase describing the noun

You cannot move yang away from the noun it modifies:

✗ sapi-sapinya sedang yang makan rumput
✗ sapi-sapinya makan yang rumput

These are ungrammatical.

Within the verb phrase:

sedang normally comes before the verb:
- ✓ sedang makan rumput
- ✗ makan sedang rumput (incorrect)

So the natural order is:

[Noun] + yang + [Aspect marker] + [Verb] + [Object]
→ sapi-sapinya yang sedang makan rumput

Does -nya in sapi-sapinya always mean “his/her/their”? Could it have other meanings?

-nya is very flexible in Indonesian. In sapi-sapinya, the most natural reading is “his/her/their cows”, but in general -nya can mean:

Possessive: his / her / their / its
- bukunya = his/her/their book
- sapinya = his/her/their cow(s)
Definite article-like (“the” / “that specific one”)
- rumahnya besar
  → the house is big / his house is big (depends on context).
Object pronoun (him/her/it) when attached to verbs
- melihatnya = see him/her/it.

In sapi-sapinya yang sedang makan rumput, context strongly favors:

the farmer’s cows → his cows.

If the broader story had already established some particular cows (not necessarily his), -nya could also work more like “those specific cows”, but with seorang peternak it very naturally suggests ownership.

What is the overall formality level of this sentence? Would it sound natural in everyday conversation?

This sentence is in neutral, standard Indonesian:

All words (seorang, peternak, menunjukkan, sapi-sapinya, yang, sedang, makan, rumput) are common and standard.
It would sound natural in:
- everyday conversation,
- storytelling,
- written descriptions (e.g., a textbook, an article, a storybook).

In very casual speech, you might hear alternatives like:

Ada peternak nunjukin sapi-sapinya yang lagi makan rumput.
(using ada, nunjukin, lagi for a more colloquial feel)

But as written, the sentence is appropriate for both spoken and written contexts without sounding stiff or overly formal.