Tukang itu bilang pipa lama perlu diganti sebelum air merusak dinding.

Tukang is a broad word for a worker, craftsperson, repair person, or tradesperson. By itself, it does not always mean plumber.

In this sentence, since the topic is pipa (pipe/pipes), a natural English translation might be the plumber or the repairman. But literally, tukang is more general.

If you want to be more specific, Indonesian can say tukang ledeng for plumber.

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

So:

• tukang itu = that worker / the worker
• pipa itu = that pipe

This is different from English, where that comes before the noun.

Also, in many contexts, itu can make the noun feel more definite, so tukang itu can sound like that worker or simply the worker, depending on context.

In Indonesian, adjectives usually come after the noun they describe.

So:

• pipa lama = old pipe
• rumah besar = big house
• air panas = hot water

That is the normal pattern: noun + adjective.

Here, lama means old.

So pipa lama means the old pipe or old pipes, depending on context.

A learner may notice that lama can also relate to a long time, as in sudah lama = for a long time / long ago. But in pipa lama, where it directly follows a noun as an adjective, the natural meaning is old.

Bilang means say / tell.

So tukang itu bilang... means the worker said... or the repairman said...

Compared with mengatakan, bilang is more common in everyday speech and is a bit less formal. In casual and neutral Indonesian, bilang is very common.

For example:

• Dia bilang... = He/She said...
• Dia mengatakan... = He/She stated/said... (more formal)

This is an important grammar point.

• perlu = need to / needs to
• diganti = be replaced

So pipa lama perlu diganti means:

• The old pipe needs to be replaced

The focus is on the pipe as the thing receiving the action.

If you said perlu mengganti pipa, that would mean something more like:

• (Someone) needs to replace the pipe

So:

• pipa perlu diganti = the pipe needs replacing
• perlu mengganti pipa = someone needs to replace the pipe

The prefix di- usually marks the passive voice in Indonesian.

• mengganti = to replace (active)
• diganti = to be replaced (passive)

So:

• Mereka mengganti pipa. = They replace/replaced the pipe.
• Pipa diganti. = The pipe is/was replaced.

In your sentence, diganti shows that the pipe is the thing affected by the action, not the doer.

Indonesian usually does not mark tense the way English does. The basic verb form often stays the same, and time is understood from context.

So bilang, perlu, merusak, and diganti do not automatically tell you whether the action is past, present, or future.

English must choose a tense, but Indonesian often leaves it open unless a time word is added, such as:

• kemarin = yesterday
• sekarang = now
• besok = tomorrow
• sudah = already
• akan = will

So the sentence could be interpreted in a past or present frame depending on context.

Sebelum means before.

It introduces a clause:

• sebelum air merusak dinding = before water damages the wall

So the full sentence means that the replacement should happen before the water causes damage.

It connects two ideas:

1. the old pipe needs to be replaced
2. water might damage the wall

Because here air is the thing doing the action.

• air = water
• merusak = damages
• dinding = wall

So air merusak dinding means water damages the wall.

This is active voice, because the subject (air) is the cause of the damage.

A passive version would be something like:

• dinding dirusak air = the wall is damaged by water

But the active version is more straightforward here.

Yes, air means water in Indonesian.

This often surprises English speakers, because it looks like the English word air, but it is not the same word and is not pronounced the same way.

It is pronounced roughly like ah-eer.

So in this sentence, air merusak dinding means water damages the wall, not air damages the wall.

Indonesian does not have articles exactly like English a/an and the.

That means nouns can often appear by themselves:

• pipa = pipe / a pipe / the pipe / pipes
• dinding = wall / the wall / walls

The exact English choice depends on context.

Sometimes Indonesian uses other words to make something more definite, such as itu, as in tukang itu. But often no article is needed at all.

By itself, dinding does not explicitly show singular or plural.

It could mean:

• wall
• the wall
• walls

Context decides.

In many English translations, the wall sounds most natural here, but walls could also make sense in a different context. Indonesian nouns usually do not change form for plural unless the speaker wants to make it especially clear.

Yes, but it would slightly change the feel.

• pipa lama = old pipe
• pipa yang lama = also the old pipe, but with a bit more emphasis or clarity

In many simple noun-adjective combinations, yang is not needed. So pipa lama is the normal, concise form.

Using yang is more common when the phrase is longer, more descriptive, or when the speaker wants to highlight the adjective.