Cerita ini aneh.

In Indonesian, you often do not need a verb like to be in simple present-tense sentences.

So:

• Cerita ini aneh = This story is strange

Literally, it is closer to:

• story this strange

This is completely normal in Indonesian. In many basic descriptions, the subject is followed directly by an adjective or noun.

Examples:

• Rumah itu besar = That house is big
• Dia sakit = He/She is sick

You can sometimes use words like adalah or ialah, but not usually in a simple sentence like this.

Cerita usually means story.

It can refer to:

• a story in a book
• a tale someone tells
• the plot or content of something

It can also sometimes relate to telling a story in other contexts, but in Cerita ini aneh, it is clearly a noun: this story.

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

So:

• cerita ini = this story
• rumah itu = that house

This is the normal pattern:

• noun + ini = this + noun
• noun + itu = that + noun

So even though English says this story, Indonesian says story this.

Because aneh is the adjective describing cerita ini.

Indonesian sentence structure here is:

• subject + adjective

So:

• Cerita ini = the subject, this story
• aneh = the description, strange

Together:

• Cerita ini aneh = This story is strange

This is a very common Indonesian pattern.

Aneh most often means:

• strange
• odd
• weird
• unusual

The exact English translation depends on context.

For example:

• Perasaan itu aneh = That feeling is strange
• Dia bertingkah aneh = He/She is acting weird

So in Cerita ini aneh, it could also be understood as:

• This story is weird
• This story is odd

Yes, but it means something slightly different in emphasis.

• Cerita ini aneh = This story is strange
  • Focuses on the story
• Ini cerita aneh = This is a strange story
  • Focuses more on this is...

So both can be natural, but they are structured differently:

• Cerita ini aneh

  • subject: cerita ini
  • predicate: aneh

• Ini cerita aneh

  • subject: ini
  • predicate phrase: cerita aneh

Both are possible, but they are not exactly the same sentence pattern.

Yes. Cerita ini is simply:

• cerita = story
• ini = this

Together:

• cerita ini = this story

This same pattern works with many nouns:

• buku ini = this book
• orang ini = this person
• film ini = this movie

So it is not a special expression, just a regular noun phrase.

No, that would not be normal in standard Indonesian.

If you want to say a strange story, you usually say:

• cerita aneh

In Indonesian, adjectives often come after the noun when they are inside a noun phrase.

Examples:

• rumah besar = big house
• film bagus = good movie
• cerita aneh = strange story

So:

• cerita ini aneh = this story is strange
• cerita aneh ini = this strange story

They mean different things:

• Cerita ini aneh = This story is strange

  • full sentence
  • aneh is the predicate

• Cerita aneh ini = this strange story

  • noun phrase, not a full sentence by itself
  • aneh describes cerita inside the phrase

So:

• cerita ini aneh = statement about the story
• cerita aneh ini = phrase referring to a particular strange story

A simple pronunciation guide is:

• cerita → chuh-REE-tah
• ini → EE-nee
• aneh → AH-neh

A rough full pronunciation:

• chuh-REE-tah EE-nee AH-neh

A few notes:

• c in Indonesian is pronounced like English ch
• r is usually tapped or rolled lightly
• e can vary depending on the word, but here a simple learner pronunciation is fine

It is neutral and completely natural.

You could use it in:

• conversation
• writing
• class examples
• everyday speech

It is not especially formal or informal. It is just a plain descriptive sentence.

Yes.

For example:

• Cerita ini aneh sekali = This story is very strange
• Cerita ini sangat aneh = This story is very strange

Both sekali and sangat can intensify the adjective, though they behave a little differently:

• sangat aneh = very strange
• aneh sekali = very strange / so strange

Both are common and natural.