Saya memakai benang gigi.

Yes—memakai can mean to wear, but it also very commonly means to use.

So in Saya memakai benang gigi, memakai means to use dental floss, not to wear it.

A few examples:

• Saya memakai baju merah. = I’m wearing a red shirt.
• Saya memakai komputer. = I use a computer.
• Saya memakai benang gigi. = I use floss / I floss.

Context tells you which meaning is intended.

Benang means thread or string, and gigi means teeth or tooth.

So benang gigi literally means tooth thread, which is the normal Indonesian term for dental floss.

Even though gigi can mean either tooth or teeth depending on context, the whole phrase naturally means dental floss.

Both saya and aku mean I, but they differ in tone.

• Saya = more neutral, polite, standard
• Aku = more casual, personal, intimate

So:

• Saya memakai benang gigi. sounds neutral and standard.
• Aku memakai benang gigi. is also correct, but more casual.

In learning materials, saya is often used first because it works well in many situations.

It can mean either, depending on context.

Indonesian verbs do not automatically show tense the way English does. So Saya memakai benang gigi could mean:

• I use floss
• I am using floss
• I floss

If you want to make right now clearer, you can say:

• Saya sedang memakai benang gigi. = I am flossing / I am using dental floss right now.

If you want to describe a habit, context usually makes that clear:

• Saya memakai benang gigi setiap malam. = I floss every night.

Yes, you can also say menggunakan.

• Saya memakai benang gigi.
• Saya menggunakan benang gigi.

Both are correct and mean I use floss.

The difference is mainly tone:

• memakai is very common and everyday
• menggunakan can sound a bit more formal or neutral

In casual daily speech, memakai is very natural.

Yes. Saya memakai benang gigi is understandable and correct, but some speakers may also say things like:

• Saya membersihkan gigi dengan benang gigi. = I clean my teeth with floss.
• Saya floss gigi. = colloquial, influenced by English, heard in informal speech

If you want a safe, standard phrase, Saya memakai benang gigi is fine.

Because benang gigi is a fixed noun phrase meaning dental floss, not literally a full phrase like thread of my teeth.

Indonesian often leaves out possessive words when they are obvious from context. If you wanted to say my teeth specifically, that would be:

• gigi saya = my teeth / my tooth

But in benang gigi, gigi is simply part of the expression dental floss.

Sometimes, yes.

In Indonesian, subjects are often omitted when the context is clear. So in conversation, someone might simply say:

• Memakai benang gigi.

But as a full, clear sentence for learners, Saya memakai benang gigi is better.

Including saya makes the subject explicit and sounds more complete.

Mostly, yes. This sentence follows a simple Subject + Verb + Object pattern:

• Saya = subject
• memakai = verb
• benang gigi = object

So:

• Saya memakai benang gigi.
• I use floss.

This is one reason the sentence is relatively easy for English speakers to understand.

Use tidak before the verb:

• Saya tidak memakai benang gigi. = I do not use floss / I am not flossing.

A useful rule:

• tidak negates verbs and adjectives
• bukan usually negates nouns

So here, because memakai is a verb, tidak is the correct choice.

A simple way is to add apakah at the beginning:

• Apakah Anda memakai benang gigi? = Do you use floss?

In casual speech, Indonesian often just uses intonation:

• Anda memakai benang gigi?
• Kamu memakai benang gigi?

You can also change the pronoun depending on who you are talking to:

• Anda = polite/formal you
• kamu = casual you

It comes from the root pakai, which means use or wear.

When the meN- prefix is added, pakai becomes memakai.

This is a very common Indonesian pattern:

• root: pakai
• verb form: memakai

You may also see:

• dipakai = used / worn
• pemakaian = usage / use

For beginners, the important thing is simply to recognize memakai as a very common active verb meaning to use / to wear.

Yes, they could, and it is understandable and natural enough.

That said, because flossing is not a topic people mention constantly in everyday conversation, you may also hear more descriptive phrasing, such as:

• Saya membersihkan sela-sela gigi dengan benang gigi. = I clean between my teeth with floss.

But Saya memakai benang gigi is perfectly fine as a straightforward learner sentence.