Breakdown of Saya melihat burung kuning di belakang kaca.
Questions & Answers about Saya melihat burung kuning di belakang kaca.
Saya means I and is the standard polite form in Malay. It’s safe in almost all situations (formal and informal).
Other common forms:
- aku – informal, used with close friends, family, or when talking to yourself.
- gua / gue – very informal / slang (more common in Indonesian/colloquial speech).
In a textbook-style sentence like Saya melihat burung kuning di belakang kaca, Saya is the most appropriate choice.
The base verb is lihat (to see).
melihat is the meN- form of the verb, which often:
- makes it sound more complete or formal, and
- is commonly used in standard written Malay.
In many everyday contexts, you might also hear:
- Saya lihat burung kuning… – still acceptable in speech.
- Saya nampak burung kuning… – more like I noticed / I happened to see.
- Saya tengok burung kuning… – more like I look at / I watch a bird.
In textbooks, melihat is the neutral, standard choice for to see.
The sentence follows a basic SVO (Subject–Verb–Object) order, like English:
- Saya – subject (I)
- melihat – verb (see/saw)
- burung kuning – object (yellow bird)
- di belakang kaca – prepositional phrase (behind the glass)
So the structure is: Saya (S) melihat (V) burung kuning (O) di belakang kaca (PP), very close to English word order.
In Malay, adjectives usually come after the noun:
- burung = bird
- kuning = yellow
- burung kuning = yellow bird
Some more examples:
- rumah besar = big house
- kereta merah = red car
- baju baru = new shirt
Putting the adjective before the noun (kuning burung) would be incorrect.
On its own, burung is number-neutral: it can mean a bird or birds.
The exact meaning depends on context. If you want to be clear:
- seekor burung kuning = a (single) yellow bird
- beberapa ekor burung kuning = several yellow birds
- banyak burung kuning = many yellow birds
In your sentence, burung kuning could be a yellow bird or yellow birds, depending on the context already given.
kuning means yellow (the color).
You can also say:
- berwarna kuning = (is) yellow in color
So:
- burung kuning = yellow bird
- burung berwarna kuning = bird that is yellow in color
Both are correct. burung kuning is shorter and very natural in everyday speech.
Literally:
- di = at / in / on / in/at (location preposition)
- belakang = back / behind
- kaca = glass (as a material, or a pane of glass)
So di belakang kaca = behind the glass (on the other side of some glass surface, like a window, display case, aquarium, etc.).
It usually does not mean “behind a drinking glass (cup)” unless context makes that clear.
di is a location preposition meaning roughly at / in / on.
- di belakang = at the back / behind
- di belakang kaca = behind the glass
Without di, belakang kaca sounds like a noun phrase (the back of the glass) rather than a location phrase (behind the glass).
So you need di to indicate location.
Malay verbs do not change form for tense. melihat is the same for:
- I see
- I am seeing
- I saw
- I will see
The tense is understood from context or from time words:
- Tadi saya melihat… = I saw earlier / just now
- Sekarang saya melihat… = I am seeing now
- Esok saya akan melihat… = I will see tomorrow
Without extra words, Saya melihat burung kuning di belakang kaca can be translated based on context as I saw / I see / I am seeing a yellow bird behind the glass.
To emphasize an ongoing action, Malay often uses sedang:
- Saya sedang melihat burung kuning di belakang kaca.
= I am (currently) seeing / looking at a yellow bird behind the glass.
sedang marks the progressive aspect (ongoing action).
You can add itu to make it more definite, like that / the:
- burung kuning itu = that yellow bird / the yellow bird
So:
- Saya melihat burung kuning itu di belakang kaca.
= I see/saw the yellow bird behind the glass.
Malay doesn’t have a direct the / a system like English, so itu and context are used instead.
Not exactly.
- kaca = glass (material), or a pane of glass
- tingkap / jendela = window (the whole structure)
So:
- di belakang kaca = behind the glass (behind a pane/sheet of glass)
- di belakang tingkap = behind the window
In many real-life contexts, behind the glass will naturally be a window, a display case, an aquarium, etc.
They overlap, but there are nuances:
- melihat – neutral to see, often slightly more formal / standard.
- nampak – to see / notice / catch sight of, more colloquial.
- tengok – to look at / watch, often more intentional (like watching TV, looking at something).
Examples:
- Saya melihat burung kuning… – I see/saw a yellow bird.
- Saya nampak burung kuning… – I happened to see / noticed a yellow bird.
- Saya tengok burung kuning… – I am looking at a yellow bird.
All three are possible in casual speech, but melihat is the standard textbook choice.
Use the classifier ekor for animals:
- seekor burung kuning = one yellow bird
- se- = one
- ekor = classifier for animals
So:
- Saya melihat seekor burung kuning di belakang kaca.
= I see/saw one yellow bird behind the glass.
For more than one:
- dua ekor burung kuning = two yellow birds
- tiga ekor burung kuning = three yellow birds
You can say:
- Aku melihat burung kuning di belakang kaca.
It’s grammatically correct.
However, aku is more informal/intimate. Use aku:
- with close friends
- with family (depending on local norms)
- in songs, poems, diaries, etc.
Use Saya:
- in formal situations
- with strangers
- at work, in class, in writing (unless it’s very casual)
So for neutral examples and with people you don’t know well, Saya is safer.