Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Anak-anak melihat kuda di kebun binatang.

anak-anak = children (plural of anak = child)
melihat = to see / see / saw (Indonesian verbs don’t change for tense)
kuda = horse / a horse / the horse / horses (no singular/plural marking here)
di = in / at / on (a general preposition for location)
kebun binatang = zoo (literally: kebun = garden / plantation, binatang = animal → animal garden)

So the structure is basically: children – see – horse – at zoo.

Why is anak-anak doubled? Why not just anak?

In Indonesian, one very common way to show plural (more than one) is reduplication: repeating the noun:

anak = child
anak-anak = children

So anak-anak clearly means “children.”

However, Indonesian often allows context to show plural, so you could sometimes see anak used to mean “children” if the context is clear. In this sentence, though, anak-anak is the standard, explicit plural form.

How can kuda mean both “horse” and “horses”? How do I know if it’s singular or plural?

Indonesian nouns normally don’t change form for singular vs plural:

kuda can mean:
- a horse
- the horse
- some horses
- the horses

You understand whether it’s singular or plural from context, extra words, or numbers:

seekor kuda = one horse (classifier ekor for animals)
beberapa kuda = several horses
banyak kuda = many horses

In Anak-anak melihat kuda di kebun binatang, knowing there are children and they’re at the zoo, it’s natural in English to translate as The children saw (some) horses at the zoo, even though Indonesian just says kuda.

Does di kebun binatang go with kuda or with melihat? Is it “see at the zoo” or “horse at the zoo”?

Grammatically, di kebun binatang is a prepositional phrase of place, and it can logically be understood in both ways:

The children saw (something) at the zoo.
The children saw a horse that is at the zoo.

In practice, with a sentence this simple, native speakers will usually understand it as both at once:

The children saw horses, and this happened at the zoo.
The horses in question are the ones at the zoo.

If you want to emphasize one reading more clearly, you can add words:

Emphasize place of seeing:
- Anak-anak melihat kuda ketika mereka sedang berada di kebun binatang.
  (The children saw horses when they were at the zoo.)
Emphasize that the horses belong to the zoo:
- Anak-anak melihat kuda-kuda di kebun binatang itu.
  (The children saw the horses at that zoo.)

How do we know if this means “The children see” or “The children saw”? There’s no tense in melihat.

Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense. Melihat can mean:

see
are seeing
will see
saw
have seen

The tense is shown by time words or by context:

Kemarin anak-anak melihat kuda di kebun binatang.
→ Yesterday the children saw horses at the zoo.
Sekarang anak-anak melihat kuda di kebun binatang.
→ Now the children are seeing horses at the zoo.
Besok anak-anak akan melihat kuda di kebun binatang.
→ Tomorrow the children will see horses at the zoo.

So Anak-anak melihat kuda di kebun binatang by itself is tense-neutral. In English you usually pick the most natural tense:

The children saw horses at the zoo (if you’re telling a story about the past), or
The children see horses at the zoo (in a description of what usually happens).

What is the base form of melihat? Why does it have me- at the beginning?

The root (base form) is lihat = see.

Indonesian has a very common verbal prefix meN- (usually written as me- in dictionaries), used to form active verbs from roots:

me-
- lihat → melihat (to see)
me-
- baca → membaca (to read)
me-
- tulis → menulis (to write)

So melihat is the active verb form used when the subject is the one doing the action.

Compare:

Anak-anak melihat kuda.
→ The children see/saw the horse(s).

with a passive-style structure:

Kuda itu dilihat anak-anak.
→ The horse was seen by the children.

Here di- is a passive prefix; me- marks the active.

When should I use di? Does it always mean “in”?

di is a basic preposition of location. Depending on context, it can translate as:

Some examples:

di rumah = at home / in the house
di meja = on the table
di Jakarta = in Jakarta / at Jakarta

In di kebun binatang, the most natural English would be at the zoo, but “in the zoo” is also possible. Indonesian doesn’t force the same detailed choice that English does; di is more general.

Why is there a hyphen in anak-anak? Is it always written like that?

Yes, when you show plural by reduplication in writing, you usually:

write the word twice
join the two copies with a hyphen

Examples:

anak-anak = children
buku-buku = books
guru-guru = teachers

In casual online writing, people sometimes drop the hyphen (anak anak), but standard written Indonesian prefers the hyphen: anak-anak.

Is kebun binatang one word or two words? Can I say just kebun or just binatang for “zoo”?

Kebun binatang is two words, but together they form a fixed expression that means “zoo.”

kebun = garden / plantation / yard
binatang = animal

Literally, kebun binatang is “animal garden,” but it is understood as zoo.

You generally cannot use just kebun or just binatang to mean zoo:

kebun alone = garden/plantation, not zoo
binatang alone = animal(s)

So you need the full kebun binatang for “zoo.”

Why doesn’t the sentence use words like “the” or “a”, like in English?

Indonesian does not have articles like English a/an and the.

anak-anak could be “children,” “the children,” or “some children”
kuda could be “a horse,” “the horse,” “horses,” or “the horses”

If you need to specify definiteness, Indonesian often uses other strategies, such as:

itu (that / those, often functions like a kind of “the”)
- anak-anak itu = those children / the children
- kuda itu = that horse / the horse

But in many situations, Indonesian simply leaves it vague and context clarifies it. English translations have to add “a” or “the” because English requires them; Indonesian doesn’t.

Is the word order always Subject–Verb–Object like in this sentence?

Yes, Subject–Verb–Object (SVO) is the basic, most neutral word order in Indonesian, and this sentence follows that:

Anak-anak (Subject)
melihat (Verb)
kuda (Object)
di kebun binatang (Place phrase)

Very often, the place phrase comes after the object, as here. You can move it to the front for emphasis or style:

Di kebun binatang, anak-anak melihat kuda.
→ At the zoo, the children saw horses.

But the simple, unmarked pattern is exactly what you see in the original sentence.

Could I say Anak-anak melihat kuda-kuda di kebun binatang? What’s the difference from kuda?

Yes, you can say kuda-kuda. That is the reduplicated plural form:

kuda = horse / horses (number unspecified)
kuda-kuda = clearly plural, “horses”

Difference in nuance:

Anak-anak melihat kuda di kebun binatang.
→ The children saw (a) horse / horses at the zoo (number not specified, context will decide).
Anak-anak melihat kuda-kuda di kebun binatang.
→ The children saw horses at the zoo (definitely more than one horse).

In many everyday situations, Indonesians are happy with just kuda, letting context show that there was more than one. The reduplicated plural is used when you want to be explicit or emphasize plurality.