Tutup wadah makan itu longgar.

Here, tutup is a noun meaning lid or cover.

That is important because tutup can also be a verb meaning to close / to shut in other sentences.

In this sentence, it is a noun because it is followed by a noun phrase and then an adjective:

• Tutup wadah makan itu = the lid of that food container
• longgar = loose

So the structure is describing a thing, not giving a command.

Literally:

• wadah = container
• makan = eat / eating

So wadah makan is something like food container, lunch container, or meal container.

This kind of noun combination is very common in Indonesian. The second word helps describe the first word.

Depending on context, wadah makan could refer to:

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

It is a natural phrase.

Because Indonesian often leaves out the verb to be in simple descriptive sentences.

So:

• Tutup wadah makan itu longgar.

naturally means:

• The lid of that food container is loose.

This is normal Indonesian grammar. In many cases, you do not need an equivalent of is / am / are before an adjective.

Compare:

• Rumah itu besar. = That house is big.
• Tas saya berat. = My bag is heavy.

Because longgar is the predicate adjective in the sentence.

The basic pattern here is:

• subject + adjective

So:

• Tutup wadah makan itu = subject
• longgar = adjective describing the subject

Indonesian often puts descriptive words after the noun when they are part of the predicate.

Most naturally, itu modifies the noun phrase right before it:

• wadah makan itu = that food container

So the whole sentence is most naturally understood as:

• The lid of that food container is loose.

In other words:

• tutup = lid
• wadah makan itu = that food container

This noun stacking is very common in Indonesian.

In context, some speakers may also feel the whole noun phrase is definite, so in natural English it may come out simply as the lid of the food container is loose.

Indonesian often shows possession by simply putting nouns next to each other.

The order is usually:

• thing possessed + owner / related noun

So:

• tutup wadah makan itu = lid + food container that = the lid of that food container

This is different from English, where you would usually use:

• the lid of that food container
• or that food container’s lid

Indonesian does not need of or ’s here.

Yes, sometimes.

Although itu literally often means that, in real usage it can also help mark something as specific or already identifiable. Because of that, English translations sometimes use the instead of that, depending on context.

So this sentence could be understood as either:

• The lid of that food container is loose
• or, in some contexts, The lid of the food container is loose

The exact English choice depends on the situation.

Here, longgar means loose, not tight, or not fitting snugly.

With a lid, it suggests that the lid does not fit firmly.

Longgar can also be used in other contexts, for example:

• Bajunya longgar. = The clothes are loose.
• Aturannya longgar. = The rules are lax / not strict.

So the core idea is not tight or not strict enough, depending on context.

Good question, because tutup can indeed be a verb meaning close.

But this sentence does not read naturally as a command because of the full structure:

• Tutup wadah makan itu works well as a noun phrase: the lid of that food container
• longgar then describes that noun phrase

If it were a command, you would expect a different structure and meaning. Also, longgar does not naturally fit as a normal adverb for close in this sentence.

So the sentence is understood as a description, not an instruction.

Yes, if the context already makes it clear which container you mean.

• Tutupnya longgar. = The lid is loose.

Here, -nya can mean something like its, the, or a context-known referent.

This version is more natural when the food container has already been mentioned or is obvious from the situation.

You could, and people would understand it, but it is usually less natural than simple noun stacking.

More natural:

• Tutup wadah makan itu longgar.

Less compact:

• Tutup dari wadah makan itu longgar.

In Indonesian, dari is often not needed when one noun is related to another in this way. Native usage often prefers the shorter noun-to-noun structure.

Both can be possible, but they are not exactly the same in feel.

• wadah makan often refers to a container used for eating or holding a meal/lunch
• wadah makanan more literally means a container for food

In everyday speech, wadah makan is very natural for something like a lunch box or food container. Indonesian often uses a base word like makan in this kind of modifier position.

So wadah makan is not strange at all.

A simple way to see it is:

• [noun phrase] + [adjective]

So:

• Tutup wadah makan itu = noun phrase / subject
• longgar = adjective / predicate

That gives:

• The lid of that food container is loose.

This is a very common Indonesian sentence pattern, and it is worth getting used to because you will see it often.