Saya memakai obat kumur.

I use mouthwash.

Breakdown of Saya memakai obat kumur.

• saya: I
• memakai: to use
• obat kumur: the mouthwash

Questions & Answers about Saya memakai obat kumur.

What does memakai mean here, and why is it written as memakai instead of pakai?

Memakai means to use or to wear, depending on context. In Saya memakai obat kumur, it means I use mouthwash.

The base word is pakai = to use / wear.
Adding the prefix me- makes it a more standard verb: memakai.

So:

• pakai = use, wear
• memakai = to use, to wear

In everyday speech, Indonesians often say Saya pakai obat kumur too. That sounds natural and casual.

Why is obat kumur two words?

Because it is a noun phrase made of:

• obat = medicine, remedy
• kumur = to rinse the mouth / gargle

So obat kumur literally means something like rinsing medicine, which is the Indonesian term for mouthwash.

Many Indonesian compound nouns are written as two separate words, so this is normal.

Is Saya memakai obat kumur a natural sentence in Indonesian?