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Anjing saya pelan-pelan mendekati kucing kecil di halaman belakang.

Anjing saya pelan-pelan mendekati kucing kecil di halaman belakang.
My dog slowly approaches the small cat in the backyard.

Breakdown of Anjing saya pelan-pelan mendekati kucing kecil di halaman belakang.

sebuah
a
di
in
anjing
the dog
kucing
the cat
kecil
small
pelan-pelan
slowly
halaman belakang
the backyard
saya
my
mendekati
to approach
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Questions & Answers about Anjing saya pelan-pelan mendekati kucing kecil di halaman belakang.

Why is there no word for the or a in the Indonesian sentence?

Indonesian normally does not use articles like the, a, or an. Nouns are generally bare:

  • anjing = dog / a dog / the dog (context decides)
  • kucing kecil = small cat / a small cat / the small cat

If you really need to emphasize definiteness, you can use other strategies (like itu = that), but in most cases the context is enough. So:

  • Anjing saya pelan-pelan mendekati kucing kecil di halaman belakang.
    can mean:
  • My dog slowly approached a small cat in the backyard.
    or
  • My dog slowly approached the small cat in the backyard.

The Indonesian sentence stays the same; only the English translation changes.

Why do we say anjing saya instead of saya anjing for my dog?

In Indonesian, the possessed noun comes first, and the possessor comes after it:

  • anjing saya = my dog
  • literally: dog my

The reverse order saya anjing would sound like I am a dog or I, the dog, which is wrong here.

Other examples:

  • rumah saya = my house
  • mobil mereka = their car
  • teman kamu = your friend
What is the function of pelan-pelan, and why is it repeated?

Pelan means slow. Reduplicating it to pelan-pelan has two common effects:

  1. It often turns it into an adverb-like expression: slowly, gently.
  2. It can add a nuance of gradually, carefully, or taking one’s time.

So:

  • pelan = slow (adjective)
  • pelan-pelan = slowly, little by little, gently

You will also see:

  • perlahan / perlahan-lahan = slowly (slightly more neutral/formal than pelan-pelan)

In your sentence, pelan-pelan describes how the dog is approaching: slowly, carefully.

Could we put pelan-pelan in a different position in the sentence?

Yes, Indonesian word order for adverbs is fairly flexible. All of these are possible, with slightly different emphasis:

  1. Anjing saya pelan-pelan mendekati kucing kecil di halaman belakang.
    (Neutral; how the dog acts is highlighted early.)

  2. Anjing saya mendekati kucing kecil di halaman belakang pelan-pelan.
    (More focus at the end on the way it approaches; still acceptable.)

  3. Pelan-pelan, anjing saya mendekati kucing kecil di halaman belakang.
    (Stylistic; almost like saying Slowly, my dog approached...)

What you have (option 1) is very natural and clear.

What is the difference between mendekati and mendekat?

Both are related to the root dekat (near).

  • mendekat

    • often intransitive: to come closer / to get near
    • focus is on the subject moving closer
    • Example: Anjing saya mendekat ke kucing itu.
      = My dog comes/gets closer to that cat.

  • mendekati

    • transitive: to approach (something/someone)
    • takes a direct object: the thing being approached
    • Example: Anjing saya mendekati kucing kecil itu.
      = My dog approaches the small cat.

In your sentence:

  • mendekati kucing kecil
    clearly focuses on the dog approaching the cat as the object of the action.
Could we say Anjing saya pelan-pelan mendekat ke kucing kecil instead of using mendekati?

Yes, that is also grammatical and natural:

  • Anjing saya pelan-pelan mendekat ke kucing kecil di halaman belakang.

Nuance:

  • mendekat ke
    • noun
      = come closer to that noun (using ke as to)
  • mendekati
    • noun
      = approach that noun directly as the object

Meaning-wise, they are very similar here. Mendekati feels a bit more compact and slightly more formal/written. In everyday conversation, many speakers freely use both.

Why is it kucing kecil and not kecil kucing for small cat?

In Indonesian, adjectives usually come after the noun they describe:

  • kucing kecil = small cat
  • rumah besar = big house
  • baju merah = red shirt
  • orang tua = old person (or parent, depending on context)

So the pattern is:

  • noun + adjective

Putting the adjective first (kecil kucing, besar rumah) is wrong in standard Indonesian.

What does halaman belakang literally mean, and is it the normal way to say backyard?

Literally:

  • halaman = yard / courtyard / yard area around a house
  • belakang = back / behind

So halaman belakang = back yard → backyard.

Yes, halaman belakang is a normal way to say backyard. For extra clarity, people often say:

  • halaman belakang rumah = the backyard of the house
  • di halaman belakang rumah saya = in my backyard
Why is the preposition di used in di halaman belakang, not ke halaman belakang?
  • di = at / in / on (location; where something is)
  • ke = to / towards (direction; movement towards a place)

In your sentence, di halaman belakang describes the place where the action is happening, not the destination of movement:

  • The dog is approaching the cat, and this is happening in the backyard → di halaman belakang.

If you wanted to focus on moving to the backyard itself, you would use ke:

  • Anjing saya berjalan ke halaman belakang.
    = My dog walks to the backyard.
How do we know if the sentence means was slowly approaching or is slowly approaching?

Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense (past, present, future). Time is usually understood from context or by adding time words.

Your sentence by itself could be translated as:

  • My dog slowly approaches the small cat in the backyard.
  • My dog is slowly approaching the small cat in the backyard.
  • My dog slowly approached the small cat in the backyard.

To make past tense clear, you can add a time marker, for example:

  • Tadi malam anjing saya pelan-pelan mendekati kucing kecil di halaman belakang.
    = Last night my dog slowly approached the small cat in the backyard.

For ongoing action, you can add sedang:

  • Anjing saya sedang pelan-pelan mendekati kucing kecil di halaman belakang.
    = My dog is (currently) slowly approaching the small cat in the backyard.
Could I say anjingku instead of anjing saya? What is the difference?

Yes:

  • anjing saya and anjingku both mean my dog.

Difference in tone:

  • anjing saya

    • neutral, more formal or standard
    • good for writing, polite speech, or when you want to sound neutral

  • anjingku

    • more informal, personal, and often more affectionate
    • common in casual speech, texting, or storytelling

So:

  • Anjingku pelan-pelan mendekati kucing kecil di halaman belakang.
    sounds slightly more intimate or conversational than Anjing saya ...
Is this sentence formal or informal, and how might it look in more casual spoken Indonesian?

The given sentence is neutral-standard Indonesian. It is fine in writing, in class, and in most everyday situations.

In casual spoken Indonesian (especially in big cities), people might make it more colloquial, for example:

  • Anjingku pelan-pelan ngedeketin kucing kecil di belakang rumah.

Changes here:

  • anjingku instead of anjing saya (more informal/affectionate)
  • ngedeketin (colloquial variant of mendekati)
  • belakang rumah instead of halaman belakang (very common phrase: di belakang rumah = behind the house / at the back of the house)

Your original sentence, however:

  • Anjing saya pelan-pelan mendekati kucing kecil di halaman belakang.

is perfectly natural and good standard Indonesian.