Pemutih itu terlalu kuat untuk kain tipis, jadi Ibu memakainya sedikit saja.

Pemutih means bleach or whitener.

It comes from the root putih = white. With the prefix pe- / peN-, Indonesian can form a noun meaning something that causes a result or is used for a purpose. So pemutih is literally something like a whitener.

In everyday use, pemutih commonly refers to laundry bleach.

In Indonesian, demonstratives like ini and itu usually come after the noun.

So:

• pemutih itu = that bleach
• kain ini = this cloth

This is a very common pattern in Indonesian:

• rumah itu = that house
• buku ini = this book

So pemutih itu is normal Indonesian word order.

Terlalu kuat means too strong.

That is different from sangat kuat, which means very strong.

The difference is important:

• sangat kuat = very strong, but not necessarily a problem
• terlalu kuat = stronger than is appropriate; excessive

In this sentence, terlalu kuat shows that the bleach is so strong that it is unsuitable for thin fabric.

Untuk often means for.

In this sentence, terlalu kuat untuk kain tipis means too strong for thin fabric.

So untuk marks what the strength is being evaluated against.

You can think of the structure as:

• terlalu + adjective + untuk + noun
• too + adjective + for + noun

Examples:

• terlalu panas untuk anak kecil = too hot for a small child
• terlalu berat untuk saya = too heavy for me

In Indonesian, adjectives usually come after the noun.

So:

• kain tipis = thin fabric
• rumah besar = big house
• air dingin = cold water

This is the standard pattern:

• noun + adjective

So kain tipis is the normal way to say thin fabric or delicate cloth.

Ibu can mean several related things depending on context:

• mother / mom
• Mrs.
• a polite way to address an adult woman

When capitalized as Ibu, it often functions like a title or a respectful form of address, or it refers to Mother/Mom almost like a name.

In this sentence, Ibu most naturally means Mother/Mom.

Memakainya can be broken into three parts:

• meN- = an active verb prefix
• pakai = use, wear
• -nya = it / him / her, depending on context

So memakainya means to use it here.

In this sentence, -nya refers back to pemutih itu.

So:

• Ibu memakainya = Mother used it

Here pakai means use, not wear, because the object is bleach.

This happens because of how the meN- prefix changes shape depending on the first sound of the root.

The root is pakai. When meN- is added to a root beginning with p, the p usually disappears, and the prefix becomes mem-.

So:

• meN- + pakai → memakai

Other similar examples:

• pilih → memilih
• pukul → memukul

This is a normal sound change in Indonesian morphology.

Sedikit means a little or a small amount.

Saja adds the sense of only, just, or no more than.

So sedikit saja means:

• just a little
• only a little
• a small amount only

It emphasizes that she used a limited amount because the bleach was very strong.

Compare:

• sedikit = a little
• sedikit saja = just a little / only a little

Jadi here means so, therefore, or as a result.

It links the first clause to the second:

• the bleach was too strong for thin fabric
• jadi Mother used only a little

So it marks a result or consequence.

In conversation, jadi is very common for connecting ideas:

• Saya lelah, jadi saya pulang. = I was tired, so I went home.

Not always.

The ending -nya can refer to:

• him
• her
• it
• sometimes a previously mentioned thing in a more general sense

In memakainya, it means it because the thing being referred to is pemutih.

So the exact English translation depends on context. Here, it is the natural choice.

No, because -nya in memakainya points back to the most relevant earlier noun, which is pemutih itu.

So the sentence means she used only a little of the bleach, not a little of the fabric.

Also, the logic of the sentence supports that reading:

• the bleach is too strong
• therefore she used only a little of it

Yes. Pakai is a very common Indonesian verb that can mean both use and wear, depending on the object.

For example:

• memakai baju = to wear clothes
• memakai sabun = to use soap
• memakai komputer = to use a computer

So in Ibu memakainya, the meaning is clearly use it, because the object is bleach.

Indonesian does not have articles that work like English a/an/the.

Whether something is definite or indefinite is usually understood from context, or shown with words like:

• itu = that / the one we are talking about
• ini = this
• sebuah, seekor, etc. = a certain counted item

So:

• pemutih itu gives a definite sense, similar to that bleach or the bleach
• kain tipis just means thin fabric or thin cloth, depending on context

English requires articles much more often than Indonesian does.