Jangan mencuri uang.

In Indonesian, jangan is used to make a negative command: don’t ...

So:

• Jangan mencuri uang. = Don’t steal money.

By contrast, tidak is used to negate statements, not commands:

• Saya tidak mencuri uang. = I am not stealing money / I did not steal money.

So if you want to tell someone not to do something, jangan is the normal word.

Mencuri is the verb to steal.

The base word is curi = steal / theft in dictionary form, but Indonesian often adds prefixes to make full verbs used in sentences. Here, meN- + curi becomes mencuri.

So:

• curi = root/base form
• mencuri = to steal

In many real sentences, the prefixed form sounds more natural and complete.

Yes, you may hear Jangan curi uang, especially in casual speech. It means the same thing: Don’t steal money.

However:

• Jangan mencuri uang sounds more standard and grammatically complete.
• Jangan curi uang sounds more informal or conversational.

So if you are learning standard Indonesian, Jangan mencuri uang is a very good model.

Indonesian usually follows a Verb + Object pattern, just like English often does.

So:

• mencuri uang = steal money

This is normal Indonesian word order:

• Saya makan nasi. = I eat rice.
• Dia membaca buku. = He/She reads a book.
• Jangan mencuri uang. = Don’t steal money.

So uang comes after mencuri because it is the thing being stolen.

By itself, uang usually means money in a general sense.

So Jangan mencuri uang most naturally means Don’t steal money in general.

If you want to be more specific, Indonesian often adds another word:

• uang itu = that money
• uangnya = the money / his-her-the money, depending on context

Examples:

• Jangan mencuri uang itu. = Don’t steal that money.
• Jangan mencuri uangnya. = Don’t steal the money / his money / her money.

Indonesian does not use articles like a or the in the same way English does, so context matters a lot.

By itself, it is a fairly direct command. It is not automatically rude, but it can sound strong depending on the situation.

If you want to soften it, you can add polite words such as:

• Tolong jangan mencuri uang. = Please don’t steal money.
• Jangan mencuri uang, ya. = Don’t steal money, okay?

The plain form Jangan mencuri uang is natural when giving a clear warning, rule, or instruction.

A simple learner-friendly pronunciation guide is:

• Jangan ≈ JAHN-gahn
• mencuri ≈ men-CHOO-ree
• uang ≈ oo-AHNG

A few notes:

• j in Indonesian sounds like English j in job
• c sounds like ch in chair
• ng sounds like ng in song
• uang is often pronounced in two syllables, roughly u-ang

So the whole sentence sounds approximately like:

JAHN-gahn men-CHOO-ree oo-AHNG

Sometimes, in context, yes. But on its own, it is more naturally understood as Don’t steal money in a general sense.

If English specifically means the money, Indonesian usually makes that clearer with something like:

• Jangan mencuri uang itu. = Don’t steal that money.
• Jangan mencuri uangnya. = Don’t steal the money.

So the basic sentence is a bit more general unless context already makes the money specific.

Indonesian often leaves out the subject when it is obvious from context.

In a command, the understood subject is usually you, so:

• Jangan mencuri uang. literally has no stated subject
• but it naturally means You, don’t steal money

This is very common in Indonesian. Commands often omit the subject because it is already understood.

Yes. A very common pattern is:

Jangan + verb

Examples:

• Jangan pergi. = Don’t go.
• Jangan tidur. = Don’t sleep.
• Jangan makan itu. = Don’t eat that.
• Jangan mencuri uang. = Don’t steal money.

So this sentence is a very useful model for making negative commands in Indonesian.