Meja rias itu ada di kamar kakak perempuan saya.

That dressing table is in my older sister's room.

Breakdown of Meja rias itu ada di kamar kakak perempuan saya.

• itu: that
• di: in
• kamar: the room
• saya: my
• ada: to be
• kakak perempuan: the older sister
• meja rias: the dressing table

Questions & Answers about Meja rias itu ada di kamar kakak perempuan saya.

What does itu mean here? Is it “that” or “the”?

Itu literally means “that”, but in many cases it also works like “the” in English.

• Meja rias itu can be translated as:
  • “that dressing table” (if you’re contrasting it with other tables, or it’s physically a bit farther away), or
  • “the dressing table” (a specific one that both speakers know about).

In Indonesian, putting itu after a noun (meja rias itu) usually marks it as specific/known, similar to the English definite article “the”.

Can I leave out itu and just say Meja rias ada di kamar kakak perempuan saya? How does the meaning change?

Yes, you can say Meja rias ada di kamar kakak perempuan saya, and it’s grammatically fine.

• With itu – Meja rias itu ada di kamar kakak perempuan saya.
  → You’re talking about a particular dressing table that is already known in the conversation.

• Without itu – Meja rias ada di kamar kakak perempuan saya.
  → More like “A/there is a dressing table in my older sister’s room.” It feels less strongly tied to a specific, already-identified piece of furniture.

Context can still make it clear which one you mean, but itu pushes the interpretation toward a specific, known item.

Why do we need ada before di kamar? Why not just say Meja rias itu di kamar kakak perempuan saya?

Ada is a verb meaning “to exist / to be (located)”. In sentences about location, ada + di is the standard pattern:

• ada di = “is / exists at/in”

So:

• Meja rias itu ada di kamar kakak perempuan saya.
  = “That dressing table is (located) in my older sister’s room.”

You can hear people say:

• Meja rias itu di kamar kakak perempuan saya.

in casual speech, and it’s understood. But including ada is more complete and standard, especially for learners. Think of ada as the verb that links the subject to its location.

What’s the difference between Meja rias itu ada di kamar kakak perempuan saya and Ada meja rias di kamar kakak perempuan saya?

The words are similar, but the focus changes.

1. Meja rias itu ada di kamar kakak perempuan saya.

   • Subject: meja rias itu (“that/the dressing table”)
   • Focus: where that known table is.
   • Natural translation: “That/the dressing table is in my older sister’s room.”

2. Ada meja rias di kamar kakak perempuan saya.

   • Starts with ada → “there is / there are”.
   • Focus: the existence of a dressing table in that room.
   • Natural translation: “There is a dressing table in my older sister’s room.”

So:

• Meja rias itu ada … = “You know that dressing table? It’s in my sister’s room.”
• Ada meja rias … = “By the way, there is a dressing table in my sister’s room.”

Why is it meja rias, with the describing word after the noun, instead of something like “rias meja”?

In Indonesian, the thing being described usually comes first, and the describing word (modifier) comes after:

• meja rias = “dressing table” (literally: table (for) make-up/dressing)
• meja makan = dining table (table for eating)
• kamar tidur = bedroom (room for sleeping)

So the structure is:

[main noun] + [modifier]

not the English order “dressing table” → [modifier] + [noun].

That’s why meja rias (not rias meja) is the correct phrase.

How does kakak perempuan saya mean “my older sister”?

Literally, kakak perempuan saya breaks down as:

• kakak = older sibling (gender-neutral)
• perempuan = female
• saya = I / me → here: my

So the literal order is: “older sibling female my”, which idiomatically means:

“my older sister”

In Indonesian, family terms often encode relative age, so:

• kakak = older sibling (brother or sister)
• adik = younger sibling (brother or sister)

Then perempuan (female) or laki-laki (male) can specify the gender:

• kakak perempuan = older sister
• kakak laki-laki = older brother

Why does saya (my) come at the end, instead of before the noun like in English?

Indonesian usually puts the possessor pronoun after the noun:

• kakak saya = my older sibling
• ibu saya = my mother
• rumah saya = my house

So the pattern is:

[noun] + saya = “my [noun]”

In your sentence:

• kakak perempuan saya = my older sister (literally, “older sibling female my”)

You do not say “saya kakak” to mean “my older sibling”. The pronoun before the noun would usually mean “I …” as a subject, not possession.

What’s the difference between kakak perempuan saya and kakak saya?

Both are correct, but they carry different detail:

• kakak saya
  = “my older sibling” (gender not specified)
  → Could be a brother or a sister.

• kakak perempuan saya
  = “my older sister” (explicitly female).

In many real conversations, context already makes the gender clear, so people often just say kakak saya. But if you specifically want to say “older sister”, kakak perempuan saya is clearer and fully natural.

Could I say kakak saya perempuan instead? Does it mean the same as kakak perempuan saya?

No, the function is different.

• kakak perempuan saya = one noun phrase meaning “my older sister”.

• kakak saya perempuan is more like a full sentence/clause:

  • kakak saya = my older sibling
  • perempuan = (is) female

So kakak saya perempuan would mean “my older sibling is female”, used when stating a fact about your sibling, not as part of a larger noun phrase like “in my older sister’s room”.

To say “in my older sister’s room”, use di kamar kakak perempuan saya, not di kamar kakak saya perempuan.

What’s the difference between perempuan, wanita, and cewek?

They can all refer to females, but usage and tone differ:

• perempuan

  • Neutral, common, used in everyday speech and writing.
  • Works well here: kakak perempuan saya.

• wanita

  • Often a bit more formal / official (e.g. organizations, signs, formal texts).
  • kakak wanita saya is grammatically possible but sounds odd; kakak perempuan is the natural collocation.

• cewek

  • Slang / informal, roughly like “girl / chick”.
  • You might hear kakak cewek saya in very casual speech, but it’s not appropriate in all contexts.

For a learner, perempuan is the safest general word here.

Can this sentence also mean “The dressing tables are in my older sister’s room” (plural)?

Indonesian usually does not mark plural on the noun, so in principle:

• meja rias could mean “dressing table” or “dressing tables”, depending on context.

However, in this specific sentence:

• meja rias itu strongly suggests a single, specific table (“that / the dressing table”).

To clearly talk about multiple specific tables, you’d typically say:

• Meja-meja rias itu ada di kamar kakak perempuan saya.
  = “Those dressing tables are in my older sister’s room.”

What does di in di kamar do, and could I say di dalam kamar instead?

Di is a preposition meaning “in / at / on”, marking location:

• di kamar = “in the room / in (someone’s) room”

You can say di dalam kamar too:

• di dalam kamar kakak perempuan saya = literally “inside the room of my older sister”

di vs di dalam:

• di kamar → perfectly natural and very common; often just “in the room”.
• di dalam kamar → a bit more explicit about “inside” the room (as opposed to, say, at the doorway).

In most everyday situations here, di kamar kakak perempuan saya is enough and most natural.