Sabun membantu membersihkan tangan dari bakteri.

Soap helps clean hands from bacteria.

Breakdown of Sabun membantu membersihkan tangan dari bakteri.

• membantu: to help
• dari: from
• sabun: the soap
• tangan: the hand
• membersihkan: to clean
• bakteri: bacterial

Questions & Answers about Sabun membantu membersihkan tangan dari bakteri.

What are the main words in this sentence and their basic meanings?

The key words are:

• sabun = soap
• membantu = helps
• membersihkan = to clean (something)
• tangan = hand / hands
• dari = from
• bakteri = bacteria

So the structure is literally: “Soap helps clean hands from bacteria.”

Why do we use membantu membersihkan and not just membersihkan?

Both are possible, but the nuance is different:

• Sabun membersihkan tangan dari bakteri.
  = Soap cleans hands from bacteria.
  (Focus: soap does the cleaning.)

• Sabun membantu membersihkan tangan dari bakteri.
  = Soap helps (to) clean hands from bacteria.
  (Focus: soap helps the process of cleaning.)

In everyday usage, membantu membersihkan can sound a bit more descriptive or explanatory, emphasizing that soap supports the cleaning action (for example, together with water and rubbing).

Why do we say membantu membersihkan, not membantu untuk membersihkan?

You can say:

• Sabun membantu untuk membersihkan tangan dari bakteri.

It’s grammatically correct, but in modern Indonesian untuk is often dropped after membantu when the following verb is clear.

So:

• membantu membersihkan = more natural, shorter, common
• membantu untuk membersihkan = also correct, a bit more formal or wordy

Both mean “helps to clean.”

What is the difference between membersihkan and bersih?

• bersih = clean (adjective)

  • tangan bersih = clean hands

• membersihkan = to clean (verb, transitive: it takes an object)

  • membersihkan tangan = to clean (the) hands

So:

• bersih describes a state
• membersihkan describes an action done to something

How is the word membersihkan formed?

The base word is bersih (clean).

To make the verb “to clean (something)”, Indonesian uses the prefix meN- and the suffix -kan on the root:

• bersih → (root: bersih) → membersihkan = to clean something

You don’t say membersih by itself; the correct verb is membersihkan.

Why is tangan singular in Indonesian when in English we say “hands”?

Indonesian often uses a singular noun even when English uses a plural, especially for body parts:

• cuci tangan = wash your hands
• sikat gigi = brush your teeth

Context tells you it’s probably both hands. If you really want to emphasize plurality, you can say:

• tangan-tangan = hands (in general, or many people’s hands)

But in this kind of sentence, tangan is naturally understood as “hands.”

Do I need to mark bakteri as plural, like bakteri-bakteri?

No. Bakteri in Indonesian already works like an uncountable or mass noun, similar to English “bacteria” in scientific or general use.

• bakteri can mean “bacteria” (in general, plural idea)
• bakteri-bakteri is grammatically possible, but sounds unusual and unnecessary in this context.

So dari bakteri is exactly right for “from bacteria.”

Why is the preposition dari used here instead of di?

• dari = from (source/origin)
• di = at / in / on (location)

In membersihkan tangan dari bakteri, the idea is “clean hands from bacteria” – we are removing bacteria from the hands.

If you say:

• bakteri di tangan = bacteria on the hands / bacteria on your hands

So:

• Membersihkan tangan dari bakteri
  = remove bacteria from the hands
• Membersihkan bakteri di tangan
  = clean the bacteria that are on the hands (a bit awkward; focus shifts)

Could I say Sabun membantu tangan membersihkan dari bakteri?

No, that sounds wrong in Indonesian.

Membantu usually takes either:

1. A person/thing as the object:

   • Sabun membantu kita. = Soap helps us.

2. A verb phrase:

   • Sabun membantu membersihkan tangan. = Soap helps clean hands.

Putting tangan directly after membantu makes it look like “Soap helps the hands (to clean from bacteria),” which is not a natural structure here. Use:

• Sabun membantu membersihkan tangan dari bakteri.

What is the difference between membantu and menolong?

Both can translate as “to help,” but usage is different:

• membantu = help/assist (general, neutral, very common)

  • can be used for people or for things:
    
    • Dia membantu saya. = He helps me.
    • Sabun membantu membersihkan tangan. = Soap helps clean hands.

• menolong = to help, usually more personal, often in more serious situations (saving, rescuing, giving significant aid)

  • generally used with people:
    
    • Dia menolong orang itu. = He helped / rescued that person.

For soap, membantu is the natural choice, not menolong.

Is this sentence formal, informal, or neutral?

Sabun membantu membersihkan tangan dari bakteri. is neutral-standard Indonesian. It’s fine in:

• school textbooks
• health posters
• everyday explanations

A more casual version might be:

• Sabun bantu bersihin tangan dari bakteri.
  
  • bantu instead of membantu
  • bersihin (colloquial) instead of membersihkan

Why are there no words like “the” or “your” in this sentence?

Indonesian does not have articles like the or a/an, and it often leaves out possessives if they’re clear from context.

• sabun can mean “soap” or “the soap”
• tangan can mean “hand”, “the hand”, or “your hands”, depending on context

If you wanted to make “your hands” explicit, you could say:

• Sabun membantu membersihkan tanganmu dari bakteri. (informal “your”)
• Sabun membantu membersihkan tangan Anda dari bakteri. (polite/formal “your”)

But in many general statements (posters, ads, instructions), just tangan is enough.