Breakdown of Suara langkah di lorong terdengar begitu jernih malam ini.
di
in
suara
the sound
malam ini
tonight
lorong
the hallway
Questions & Answers about Suara langkah di lorong terdengar begitu jernih malam ini.
Why is it suara langkah and not something like langkah suara?
In Indonesian, noun–noun phrases commonly work like head + modifier.
- suara = the main noun (the “head”): sound
- langkah = the specifying noun: footsteps/steps
So suara langkah means the sound of (a) step/footsteps. Reversing it to langkah suara would sound unnatural and would suggest “steps that are sound” rather than “sound of steps.”
Does langkah here mean “step” or “footstep”? Should it be plural?
langkah can mean step or footstep depending on context. In a sentence like this, it naturally refers to footsteps. Indonesian often doesn’t mark plural explicitly if it’s already understood.
If you want to emphasize multiple footsteps, you can say:
- suara langkah-langkah di lorong… (clearer “footsteps” feel)
What exactly does di lorong attach to? Is it “sound in the corridor” or “footsteps in the corridor”?
Functionally, it describes the situation/location of the footsteps/sound: the sound is coming from footsteps in the corridor. Indonesian doesn’t always force you to pick one attachment explicitly, but the natural reading is “footsteps in the corridor,” producing a sound.
What is terdengar grammatically? Is it passive?