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Adik perempuan saya memakai gelang biru dan mengecat kuku dengan warna abu-abu muda.

Adik perempuan saya memakai gelang biru dan mengecat kuku dengan warna abu-abu muda.
My younger sister wears a blue bracelet and paints her nails a light gray color.
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Questions & Answers about Adik perempuan saya memakai gelang biru dan mengecat kuku dengan warna abu-abu muda.

What does adik perempuan mean exactly, and why is saya at the end instead of before it?

Adik means younger sibling and is gender‑neutral by itself.
Perempuan means female / woman.

So:

  • adik = younger sibling
  • adik perempuan = younger sister
  • adik laki-laki = younger brother

In Indonesian, possessive pronouns like saya (my) usually come after the noun phrase:

  • adik perempuan saya = my younger sister
  • rumah saya = my house
  • teman baru saya = my new friend

Putting saya before (saya adik perempuan) is not grammatical in normal Indonesian.

Can I say adik saya perempuan instead of adik perempuan saya? Do they mean the same thing?

They are close in meaning but not identical in structure.

  • adik perempuan saya = my younger sister (a fixed noun phrase: younger sibling + female + my)
  • adik saya perempuan = my younger sibling is female

In adik saya perempuan, perempuan acts more like a predicate (describing the subject adik saya), similar to “My younger sibling is female.” You would use this if you were clarifying gender.

In everyday speech, when you simply mean “my younger sister,” the natural form is adik perempuan saya.

What is the difference between memakai and pakai? Why does the sentence use memakai?

The root is pakai (to use, to wear).

  • memakai is the meN- verb form of pakai
  • Both pakai and memakai can mean to wear (clothes, accessories) or to use

General tendencies:

  • memakai: more formal or neutral; common in written Indonesian and careful speech
  • pakai: more casual/colloquial, often used in everyday conversation

In this sentence, memakai gelang biru sounds neutral and slightly more formal, suitable for writing or careful narration. In very casual spoken Indonesian, you might hear:

  • Adik perempuan saya pakai gelang biru...
Why is it gelang biru and not biru gelang? Does the color always come after the noun?

Yes. In Indonesian, adjectives (including colors) almost always come after the noun they describe.

  • gelang biru = blue bracelet
  • baju merah = red shirt
  • mobil hitam besar = big black car

So the pattern is: noun + adjective(s), not the English order.

biru gelang would sound wrong to a native speaker in this context.

What does mengecat mean, and why isn’t it just cat?

The root word cat means paint (as a noun) or can be used informally as a verb to paint.

mengecat is the standard verb form with the meN- prefix:

  • mengecat = to paint (something), to apply paint

You use mengecat when you have an object that is being painted:

  • mengecat dinding = to paint the wall
  • mengecat rambut = to dye hair
  • mengecat kuku = to paint nails

Just saying cat kuku is common in speech too, but mengecat kuku is more complete and standard.

Does kuku mean fingernails only, or also toenails?

Kuku is a general word for nail (on fingers and toes). It can refer to:

  • fingernails
  • toenails
  • even animal claws in some contexts

In this sentence, mengecat kuku is naturally understood as painting fingernails, unless context suggests otherwise. If you need to be very clear:

  • kuku tangan = fingernails
  • kuku kaki = toenails
What is the role of dengan in mengecat kuku dengan warna abu-abu muda? Could we leave it out?

Dengan means with and here it introduces the means or instrument/medium used:

  • mengecat kuku dengan warna abu-abu muda
    = to paint her nails with light gray color

You can often omit dengan and still be understood, especially in casual speech, but the structure might change:

  • mengecat kuku warna abu-abu muda
  • mewarnai kuku abu-abu muda

Using dengan warna makes it very clear that what you are using is a color. It sounds fully explicit and natural in standard Indonesian.

Why is warna (color) included? Could we just say abu-abu muda after kuku?

You can drop warna in informal speech:

  • mengecat kuku abu-abu muda

This would still be understood as painting the nails a light gray color.

However, adding warna:

  • dengan warna abu-abu muda

makes it crystal clear that you’re talking about a color and not some other quality. It also sounds a bit more complete and is common in descriptive sentences in writing or careful speech.

Why is abu-abu written with a hyphen, and what does muda mean here?

Abu-abu literally comes from abu (ash). Duplicating it with a hyphen (abu-abu) forms the color name gray.

Indonesian often uses reduplication (word + hyphen + same word) to form color names or other nouns, for example:

  • hijau-hijau in some dialects/settings
  • kupu-kupu (butterfly; from kupu)

Here abu-abu is a standard, fixed form meaning gray.

Muda means young in general, but with colors it means light/pale:

  • abu-abu muda = light gray
  • biru muda = light blue
  • antonym: tua (old / dark in color), e.g. biru tua = dark blue

So warna abu-abu muda = light gray color.

Is the word order abu-abu muda fixed, or can I say muda abu-abu?

The natural and correct order is:

  • abu-abu muda (gray that is light)

Pattern: base color + qualifier (muda/tua, keunguan, kehijauan, etc.)

Forms like muda abu-abu are not idiomatic for colors. Native speakers say:

  • merah muda = light pink (literally “red young”)
  • hijau tua = dark green
  • abu-abu kebiruan = grayish blue

So stick to abu-abu muda, not muda abu-abu.