Pas saya membuka wadah makan, saya melihat sedikit kerak di tutupnya, jadi saya membersihkannya dengan spons.

Pas here means when or at the moment when.

In this sentence, Pas saya membuka wadah makan means When I opened / was opening the food container.

A few useful notes:

• pas is very common in everyday speech
• it is a bit more informal than saat, ketika, or waktu
• in conversation, it sounds natural and normal

So these are similar:

• Pas saya membuka wadah makan...
• Saat saya membuka wadah makan...
• Ketika saya membuka wadah makan...

They all mean roughly the same thing, but pas is more casual.

The root word is buka, meaning open.

membuka is the active verb form, made with the prefix meN-. In standard Indonesian, this is the normal form when the subject is actively doing the action.

So:

• saya membuka wadah makan = I open / opened the food container
• saya buka wadah makan is also possible in casual speech, but it is less formal

Very often:

• membuka = more standard / neutral
• buka = more casual / conversational

Wadah makan literally means food container or container for food.

• wadah = container
• makan = eat / food-related in this kind of phrase

Depending on context, it could refer to:

• a lunch box
• a food storage container
• a meal container

A native speaker might also say things like:

• kotak makan = lunch box / food box
• tempat makan = eating place, or sometimes food container depending on context

So wadah makan is understandable and natural, especially if you want to emphasize container.

Indonesian does not mark tense the way English does.

The sentence can refer to the past because of:

• the context
• the sequence of events
• words like pas and jadi, which help show what happened

So saya membuka, saya melihat, and saya membersihkannya do not have special past forms. The time is understood from the situation.

If needed, Indonesian can make the past clearer with time words such as:

• tadi = earlier / a little while ago
• kemarin = yesterday
• barusan = just now

For example:

• Tadi, pas saya membuka wadah makan...

But it is not required.

Sedikit means a little, a small amount, or a few.

In saya melihat sedikit kerak, it modifies kerak, so the phrase means:

• a little crust
• a bit of residue
• some small amount of buildup

Word order like this is normal in Indonesian:

• sedikit air = a little water
• sedikit gula = a little sugar
• sedikit kerak = a little crust/residue

So sedikit comes before the noun it is quantifying.

Kerak usually means a crust, hard residue, or stuck-on layer.

In the context of a food container, it probably means:

• dried food residue
• hardened buildup
• crusted bits of food

So it is not necessarily a bread crust or something burnt. It can be any thin hard layer left behind on a surface.

That is why using a sponge to clean it makes sense.

Because this di is a preposition, not a verb prefix.

• di tutupnya = on its lid / at its lid
• di here means at, on, or in

As a preposition, di is written separately:

• di meja = on the table
• di rumah = at home
• di tutupnya = on its lid

But di- as a passive prefix is attached to a verb:

• dibuka = opened
• dibersihkan = cleaned

So:

• di tutupnya = correct for location
• ditutupnya would look like a passive or verbal form, so it means something different

In tutupnya, -nya means something like its.

So:

• tutup = lid
• tutupnya = its lid or the lid

In this sentence, -nya refers back to the wadah makan. So di tutupnya means on its lid, meaning the lid of the food container.

A useful thing to know: -nya can sometimes mean:

• his/her/its
• the, when the thing is already known from context

So tutupnya can feel like either its lid or the lid, depending on context.

In everyday Indonesian, tutup is very commonly used as a noun meaning lid or cover.

So:

• tutup botol = bottle cap
• tutup panci = pot lid
• tutupnya = its lid

Penutup also exists, but it can sound more like:

• cover
• closing part
• something that covers something else

In many everyday situations, tutup is the more natural choice for a container lid.

Jadi here means so.

It connects cause and result:

• I saw some residue on the lid,
• jadi I cleaned it with a sponge

So it works like:

• so
• therefore
• as a result

In conversation, jadi is extremely common and natural.

Membersihkannya can be broken down like this:

• bersih = clean
• membersihkan = to clean something
• membersihkannya = to clean it

A key point:

• bersih is basically an adjective: clean
• membersihkan is the transitive verb: to clean something

Examples:

• Meja itu bersih = The table is clean
• Saya membersihkan meja itu = I clean / cleaned the table

Then -nya replaces the object:

• Saya membersihkannya = I cleaned it

In this sentence, -nya most likely refers to the dirty part already mentioned, such as the lid or the residue area, depending on how the meaning was presented.

Yes, absolutely.

These are both natural:

• saya membersihkannya dengan spons = I cleaned it with a sponge
• saya membersihkan tutupnya dengan spons = I cleaned the lid with a sponge

The version with -nya avoids repeating the noun and sounds smooth when the object is already clear from context.

So the difference is mainly:

• membersihkannya = more compact, using it
• membersihkan tutupnya = more explicit, repeating the lid

Yes. Dengan spons is correct and natural.

• dengan = with / using
• spons = sponge

So dengan spons means:

• with a sponge
• using a sponge

In everyday speech, people might also say:

• pakai spons

That also means using a sponge, but dengan spons is perfectly standard.

It is repeated because there are two clauses:

• Pas saya membuka wadah makan
• saya melihat sedikit kerak di tutupnya

Repeating saya is completely normal and often clearer.

Could it be omitted? Sometimes in casual speech, yes, if the subject is obvious. But in standard, clear Indonesian, repeating it is very natural.

So this sentence sounds normal as written.