Saya menaruh saus campuran di meja.

I put mixed sauce on the table.

Breakdown of Saya menaruh saus campuran di meja.

• saya: I
• di: on
• meja: the table
• menaruh: to put
• saus: the sauce
• campuran: mixed

Questions & Answers about Saya menaruh saus campuran di meja.

What does menaruh mean exactly, and how is it different from taruh or meletakkan?

• menaruh = to put / to place (something somewhere).
  
  • It’s the standard/politer form built from the base verb taruh.
• taruh is the base/informal form, often used in casual speech:
  
  • Taruh sausnya di meja. = Put the sauce on the table.
• meletakkan also means to put / to place, but often sounds a bit more formal or careful, sometimes with a nuance of placing something properly:
  
  • Saya meletakkan buku di meja. = I put/placed the book on the table.

In your sentence, Saya menaruh saus campuran di meja, using menaruh is neutral and correct. In spoken Indonesian, many people would also just say Saya taruh....

Is the subject Saya necessary here, or can it be left out?

You can leave Saya out if the context already makes it clear that I am the one doing the action. Indonesian often drops the subject when it’s obvious:

• Saya menaruh saus campuran di meja. = I put the mixed sauce on the table.
• Menaruh saus campuran di meja. = (I) put the mixed sauce on the table.

Both are grammatically fine. Including Saya just makes it explicit and is useful in practice sentences or when you want to emphasize the subject.

What’s the difference between Saya and Aku here?

Both mean I, but they differ in formality and context:

• Saya
  
  • More formal or neutral.
  • Safe in almost all situations: talking to strangers, in class, at work, in writing.
• Aku
  
  • More informal/intimate.
  • Used with close friends, family, romantic partners, or in songs/poems.

Your sentence with Aku:

• Aku menaruh saus campuran di meja.

This is perfectly correct, just more casual and personal than Saya.

Why is it di meja and not di atas meja for “on the table”?

Literally:

• di meja = at the table / on the table
• di atas meja = on top of the table (more explicit)

In everyday Indonesian, di meja is usually understood as on the table unless the context suggests at the table (e.g., sitting by it).

You can say either:

• Saya menaruh saus campuran di meja.
• Saya menaruh saus campuran di atas meja.

Both will be understood as “I put the mixed sauce on the table”, but di atas meja emphasizes the surface more explicitly.

What exactly does saus campuran mean? Is campuran an adjective?

saus campuran literally means mixed sauce / sauce mixture.

• saus = sauce
• campur = to mix
• campuran = mixture / something that has been mixed

Grammatically, campuran is a noun formed from campur with the suffix -an, but in the phrase saus campuran it functions like a descriptor, similar to saying sauce mixture or mixed sauce in English.

So saus campuran can be:

• a sauce made from several mixed ingredients
• a mixture of several sauces

Context will decide which exact nuance fits.

Could I say saus campur instead of saus campuran? Is there any difference?

Both are used, but there’s a nuance:

• saus campur
  
  • Literally: “mixed sauce” (using campur like an adjective).
  • Sounds a bit more casual/colloquial.
• saus campuran
  
  • Literally: “mixture sauce / sauce mixture”.
  • A bit more standard/neutral; also used as a general term for a mixed sauce.

In many everyday situations, you’ll hear saus campur in speech, but saus campuran feels slightly more “proper” or descriptive, which is why it’s natural in your example sentence.

Can the word order change, like Saya menaruh di meja saus campuran?

No, that word order sounds unnatural or wrong in standard Indonesian.

The normal pattern is:

Subject – Verb – Object – (Place / Time)

So:

• Saya (subject)
• menaruh (verb)
• saus campuran (object)
• di meja (place phrase)

Putting the place phrase di meja before the object saus campuran would confuse listeners, because it breaks the expected pattern. You can front the place phrase for emphasis, but then you must phrase it clearly:

• Di meja, saya menaruh saus campuran. (At/on the table, I put the mixed sauce.)

Here, you moved di meja to the front, but you didn’t insert it between the verb and its object.

How do I show tense? How do I say “I put”, “I am putting”, or “I will put” with this sentence?

Indonesian verbs don’t change form for tense. You add time markers. Using your sentence:

• Past (“I put / I have put”)

  • Saya sudah menaruh saus campuran di meja.
    
    • sudah = already (action finished)

• Present progressive (“I am putting”)

  • Saya sedang menaruh saus campuran di meja.
    
    • sedang = in the middle of doing something

• Future (“I will put / I’m going to put”)

  • Saya akan menaruh saus campuran di meja.
    
    • akan = will

Without any marker, Saya menaruh saus campuran di meja is usually understood from context; it could be a simple statement about what you do (habitually or in a narrative).

Is there any article like “a” or “the” before saus campuran?

Indonesian does not use articles like a/an or the. So saus campuran by itself can mean:

• a mixed sauce
• the mixed sauce
• some mixed sauce

The exact English translation depends on context. If you need to be more specific, you can add words like:

• saus campuran itu = that / the mixed sauce
• saus campuran ini = this mixed sauce
• beberapa saus campuran = some mixed sauces (plural)

Is menaruh formal, or is it okay in everyday conversation?

menaruh is neutral and fine in everyday speech. It’s not overly formal.

• In casual conversation, you might hear the base form: taruh
  
  • Saya taruh saus campuran di meja.
• In more careful or slightly formal situations, menaruh or meletakkan are common:
  
  • Saya menaruh / meletakkan saus campuran di meja.

All are acceptable; the difference is mostly a level of formality and style.

How is saus pronounced, and is it a loanword?

Yes, saus is a loanword (ultimately from Dutch/European languages).

Pronunciation:

• saus = roughly like English “sauce”, but spelled s-a-u-s.
• The au is pronounced like the ow in how, but shorter: [saws].

In everyday speech, many Indonesians also say sos (especially informally), but saus is the standard written form.

Can I say di meja itu to mean “on that table”?

Yes.

• di meja = on/at the table (unspecified)
• di meja itu = on/at that table
• di meja ini = on/at this table

So you can say:

• Saya menaruh saus campuran di meja itu.
  = I put the mixed sauce on that table.

Could I say Saya meletakkan saus campuran di meja instead? Does it change the meaning?

You can, and the basic meaning is the same:

• Saya menaruh saus campuran di meja.
• Saya meletakkan saus campuran di meja.

Both mean I put/placed the mixed sauce on the table.

Nuance:

• meletakkan can sound slightly more careful or formal, sometimes used when you deliberately place something.
• menaruh is very neutral and widely used for ordinary “putting” something down.

In most daily contexts, they are interchangeable.

If I want to say “I’m putting the mixed sauce on the table now”, how would I make that clearer in Indonesian?

You can combine several elements:

• the mixed sauce → saus campuran itu
• now → sekarang
• am putting (ongoing) → optionally add sedang

Example:

• Saya sedang menaruh saus campuran itu di meja sekarang.

This strongly suggests:
> I’m (right now) in the process of putting that mixed sauce on the table.

Often you can drop sedang or sekarang and rely on context, but this sentence shows how to be explicit.