Anak perempuan saya melukis gambar epal, oren, dan anggur di buku komik kosong.

My daughter draws pictures of apples, oranges, and grapes in an empty comic book.

Breakdown of Anak perempuan saya melukis gambar epal, oren, dan anggur di buku komik kosong.

• di: in
• kosong: empty
• dan: and
• saya: my
• gambar: the picture
• melukis: to draw
• epal: the apple
• oren: the orange
• anggur: the grape
• anak perempuan: the daughter
• buku komik: the comic book

Questions & Answers about Anak perempuan saya melukis gambar epal, oren, dan anggur di buku komik kosong.

What does each word in “Anak perempuan saya melukis gambar epal, oren, dan anggur di buku komik kosong.” literally mean?

Word‑by‑word:

• anak – child
• perempuan – female / woman / girl
• anak perempuan – daughter (literally “female child”)
• saya – I / me / my (here: my)

• anak perempuan saya – my daughter

• melukis – to draw (a picture)

• gambar – picture / image / drawing
• epal – apple
• oren – orange (the fruit; also “orange” as a colour)
• dan – and

• anggur – grapes

• di – at / in / on (location preposition)
• buku – book
• komik – comic
• buku komik – comic book
• kosong – empty / blank

So literally: “My daughter draws pictures of apple, orange, and grapes on (in) a blank comic book.”

Why is it “anak perempuan saya” and not “saya anak perempuan” for “my daughter”?

Malay possession works like: [thing owned] + [owner].

• anak perempuan saya
  
  • anak perempuan = daughter
  • saya = my
    → my daughter

If you say saya anak perempuan, it means:

• saya = I
• anak perempuan = a daughter / a girl child

So saya anak perempuan = “I am a girl / I am (someone’s) daughter.”
It’s a statement about yourself, not a noun phrase meaning my daughter.

Correct pattern for “my X” is always:

• rumah saya – my house
• kereta saya – my car
• anak perempuan saya – my daughter

Can “anak” alone mean “daughter”, or do I always need “anak perempuan”?

anak by itself means child, without specifying gender.

To specify:

• anak perempuan – daughter (female child)
• anak lelaki / anak laki-laki – son (male child)

In everyday speech, if context is clear, people sometimes say anak saya (“my child”) and you find out from context whether it’s a son or daughter. But if you want to clearly say daughter, use anak perempuan.

Is there a single Malay word for “daughter” besides “anak perempuan”?

Yes, but usage is different:

• puteri / putri –
  
  • Literally “princess” or “daughter (of a king / noble)”.
  • In modern, everyday family talk, puteri is mostly poetic or formal.
  • You might see: Puteri sulung saya – my eldest daughter (formal / poetic tone).

For normal conversation about your family, anak perempuan is the standard and most natural way to say daughter.

What is the difference between “melukis” and “lukis”? Why use melukis here?

Base verb: lukis – draw (the root form)
With prefix: me- + lukis → melukis – to draw (normal finite verb form)

In sentences with an explicit subject, Malay usually uses the meN- form:

• Saya melukis. – I draw / I am drawing.
• Anak perempuan saya melukis gambar… – My daughter draws pictures…

You’d use bare lukis mainly in:

• Imperatives: Lukis epal! – Draw an apple!
• Dictionaries, labels, or short notes: Cara lukis wajah – How to draw a face
• Some fixed phrases or after certain auxiliaries in casual speech.

So here, because it’s a normal sentence with a subject, melukis is the natural choice.

Why do we say “melukis gambar epal, oren, dan anggur” instead of just “melukis epal, oren, dan anggur”? Is “gambar” necessary?

gambar makes it explicit that she is drawing pictures of those things.

• melukis gambar epal – draw a picture of an apple
• melukis epal – literally “draw apple”; usually understood as “draw an apple (picture)”, but it sounds less complete/natural in careful Malay.

Including gambar:

1. Removes any ambiguity with other verbs that might one day take similar objects.
2. Sounds more idiomatic and clear in a teaching / textbook sentence.

In casual speech, some people might drop gambar, especially when context is obvious, but melukis gambar X is very standard and safe.

There are no plural endings. How do we know if it’s “an apple, an orange, and some grapes” or “apples, oranges, and grapes”?

Malay normally does not mark plural on the noun itself. epal, oren, anggur can be singular or plural depending on context.

Your sentence could be translated in several natural ways:

• My daughter is drawing an apple, an orange, and some grapes.
• My daughter is drawing apples, oranges, and grapes.

To make plurality explicit, you add words:

• seekor / sebiji / sebuah, etc. – numeral classifiers (here: sebiji for individual fruits)
  
  • sebiji epal – one apple
• beberapa epal – several apples
• banyak epal – many apples
• epal-epal – apples (plural by reduplication; often with a nuance of variety or emphasis)

Examples:

• Anak perempuan saya melukis gambar beberapa epal dan oren.
  – My daughter is drawing pictures of several apples and oranges.

How is tense shown in this sentence? How do I know if it means “drew”, “is drawing”, or “draws”?

Malay verbs do not change form for tense. melukis is neutral for time. The sentence can be interpreted as:

• My daughter draws pictures… (habit)
• My daughter is drawing pictures… (right now)
• My daughter drew pictures… (past)

Tense comes from context or from extra time words:

• semalam – yesterday
• tadi – earlier, just now
• sekarang – now
• selalu – always / often
• sedang – marker for ongoing action (roughly “is doing”)

Examples:

• Anak perempuan saya sedang melukis gambar epal…
  – My daughter is drawing pictures of apples… (right now)
• Semalam anak perempuan saya melukis gambar epal…
  – Yesterday my daughter drew pictures of apples…

Why is the preposition “di” used with “buku komik kosong”? Could we use “pada” instead, or drop the preposition?

di is the standard preposition for location: in / on / at.

• di buku komik – on/in a comic book
• di meja – on the table
• di sekolah – at school

Here, di buku komik kosong = on (or in) a blank comic book (i.e., on its pages).

About pada:

• pada is more general: on, to, at, in, for (often more abstract or formal).
• With a physical surface like a book or paper, di is more natural.
• melukis pada buku komik is understandable but sounds more formal/literary and less everyday.

Dropping the preposition would be wrong; melukis buku komik would mean “draw a comic book” (as the direct object), not “draw in/on the comic book.” So here you need di.

How is the phrase “buku komik kosong” structured? Why is “kosong” at the end, and do we need “yang”?

Malay noun phrase order is generally:

[noun] + [describing words (nouns/adjectives) + adjectives]

In this case:

• buku – book (main noun)
• komik – comic (describes type of book)
• kosong – empty / blank (describes the state of the book)

So: buku komik kosong = comic book (that is) blank.

About yang:

• yang introduces a relative clause or emphasizes a description:
  
  • buku komik yang kosong – the comic book that is empty / which is blank.
• In simple adjective‑like descriptions, you can omit yang:
  
  • buku kosong – an empty book
  • meja besar – a big table

Both buku komik kosong and buku komik yang kosong are grammatically correct.

• Without yang: shorter, more neutral for an attribute.
• With yang: a bit more specific/contrastive, like you’re picking out that blank one from others.

Does “kosong” here mean “empty” or “blank”? How else is “kosong” used?

In this context, kosong is best understood as “blank” (pages not yet used, no drawing/printing).

Common uses of kosong:

• gelas kosong – an empty glass (no liquid)
• perut kosong – an empty stomach
• kertas kosong – blank paper
• bilik kosong – empty / vacant room
• jawapan kosong – no answer (left blank)

So buku komik kosong = a blank / unused comic book (likely with panels but no drawings yet).

Why is there a comma before “dan” in “epal, oren, dan anggur”? Is that always required in Malay lists?

Malay punctuation is similar to English:

• Items in a list are separated by commas.
• The last two items are joined with dan (and).

So:

• epal, oren dan anggur – apples, oranges and grapes
• epal, oren, dan anggur – apples, oranges, and grapes

The comma before dan is optional and style‑dependent, like the English “Oxford comma”. Both forms are acceptable in modern Malay:

• Formal texts may prefer no comma before dan.
• Many writers also use the comma before dan, especially in longer or more complex lists.

Your sentence is correct as written; you could also write “epal, oren dan anggur”.

How would I say “my little daughter” or “my eldest daughter” using this structure? Where do those extra words go?

Adjectives and further descriptors typically come after the noun phrase anak perempuan, but before the possessor saya, or they can form a smaller phrase with anak.

Common patterns:

1. my little daughter

   • anak perempuan kecil saya – my small/little daughter
     More natural options often use other words:
   • anak perempuan bongsu saya – my youngest daughter
   • anak perempuan saya yang kecil – my daughter who is still little

2. my eldest daughter

   • anak perempuan sulung saya – my eldest daughter
     
     • sulung = eldest

In everyday speech, word order is somewhat flexible, but these are natural:

• Anak perempuan sulung saya melukis gambar…
  – My eldest daughter draws pictures…
• Anak perempuan bongsu saya suka melukis.
  – My youngest daughter likes to draw.