Breakdown of Jangan buang makanan di dalam tong hijau.
Questions & Answers about Jangan buang makanan di dalam tong hijau.
Jangan means “don’t” in the sense of telling someone not to do something (a negative command or instruction).
- Jangan buang makanan. = Don’t throw away food.
- It is used with imperatives (commands/requests).
Tidak means “not / no” and is used to negate statements, not to give commands:
- Saya tidak buang makanan. = I don’t throw away food.
- Itu tidak betul. = That is not correct.
You cannot replace jangan with tidak in this sentence; Tidak buang makanan di dalam tong hijau is wrong as a command.
Malay often drops the subject in commands because it’s understood from context.
- Implied subject in Jangan buang makanan di dalam tong hijau. is “you” (singular or plural).
If you want to be explicit, you can say:
- Jangan kamu buang makanan di dalam tong hijau.
- Jangan awak buang makanan di dalam tong hijau. (informal)
- Jangan anda buang makanan di dalam tong hijau. (polite/formal)
But in signs and everyday speech, the short version without you is the most natural.
Buang means to discard / to throw away / to get rid of.
In this context, it’s about disposing of food, not just the physical action of throwing something through the air.
- buang sampah = throw away rubbish
- buang masa = waste time
If you mean “throw” in the sense of tossing/throwing an object (e.g. throw a ball), more specific verbs like lempar or baling are often used:
- lempar bola / baling bola = throw a ball
Here, buang makanan is about disposing of food, which fits the idea of bins.
Yes, you can say Jangan membuang makanan di dalam tong hijau, but there is a nuance:
Jangan buang…
- Uses the root verb.
- Sounds simple, direct, and very natural, especially in speech and on signs.
Jangan membuang…
- Uses the meN- verb form (more “complete” verb).
- Sounds a bit more formal or bookish, and is more common in written or formal instructions.
For a public sign, Jangan buang makanan di dalam tong hijau. is perfectly natural and common.
Makanan literally means “food” in a general, unmarked way. Malay does not have a direct equivalent of English a / the.
In this sentence, makanan is understood as “any food”:
- Jangan buang makanan di dalam tong hijau.
≈ Don’t throw (any) food in the green bin.
To be more specific:
- Jangan buang makanan itu di dalam tong hijau.
= Don’t throw that food in the green bin. - Jangan buang apa-apa makanan di dalam tong hijau.
= Don’t throw any food at all in the green bin.
All relate to location, but with slightly different nuances:
di = at / in / on (basic location preposition)
- di tong hijau = at/in the green bin
dalam = inside (focus on the interior)
- dalam tong hijau = inside the green bin
di dalam = literally “at inside”, usually translated as just in / inside
- di dalam tong hijau = in/inside the green bin, often a bit more explicit or careful.
In practice here:
- Jangan buang makanan di tong hijau.
- Jangan buang makanan dalam tong hijau.
- Jangan buang makanan di dalam tong hijau.
All are understandable and natural; di dalam can feel a bit more explicit or formal/standard in written instructions.
In standard Malay, it should be written as two words:
- di dalam
Di is a preposition (“at/in/on”), and dalam is a word meaning “inside” / “in”.
Writing didalam as one word is non‑standard / incorrect in formal Malay, although you may see it informally online. For correct spelling, always use di dalam.
Tong means “container / bin / barrel / large can”.
On its own, it’s not automatically “trash bin”, but in many everyday contexts in Malaysia, tong on a sign like this usually refers to some kind of bin.
More precise phrases:
- tong sampah = rubbish bin
- tong hijau = the green bin (could be a recycling bin, organic waste bin, etc., depending on the system)
So in this sentence, tong hijau is best translated as “the green bin”.
In Malay, adjectives usually come after the noun they describe.
- tong hijau = bin green = green bin
- makanan sedap = food delicious = delicious food
- kereta baru = car new = new car
So tong hijau follows the normal Malay noun + adjective order.
Malay doesn’t mark a / the the same way English does, so tong hijau can mean either a green bin or the green bin, depending on context.
To make it clearly specific, you can add itu (“that”) or a relative clause:
- di dalam tong hijau itu = in that green bin / in the green bin
- di dalam tong hijau yang di depan itu = in the green bin that is in front
But in a sign or instruction where there is only one obvious green bin, di dalam tong hijau is naturally understood as “in the green bin”.
This sentence is perfectly normal and acceptable for:
- Public signs
- Notices
- Spoken instructions
Direct jangan + verb is standard for rules and prohibitions.
If you want to soften it a little in speech, you can add ya or tolong:
- Tolong jangan buang makanan di dalam tong hijau.
= Please don’t throw food in the green bin. - Jangan buang makanan di dalam tong hijau, ya.
= Don’t throw food in the green bin, okay?
For an official sign, the original version is very typical.
The structure is:
- (Implied subject) + Negative imperative + Verb + Object + Location phrase
In this sentence:
- (implied you) + Jangan (don’t) + buang (throw away) + makanan (food) + di dalam tong hijau (in the green bin)
So in order:
- Jangan – negative command
- buang – action
- makanan – thing being acted on
- di dalam tong hijau – where the action would happen
This order is very typical in Malay.