Jangan buang puntung rokok di halaman rumah.

Do not throw cigarette butts in the yard.

Breakdown of Jangan buang puntung rokok di halaman rumah.

• di: in
• rumah: the house
• jangan: do not
• buang: to throw
• halaman: the yard
• puntung rokok: the cigarette butt

Questions & Answers about Jangan buang puntung rokok di halaman rumah.

What exactly does jangan mean, and how is it different from tidak?

Jangan is the negative used for commands and requests: it means “don’t …”.

• Jangan buang… = Don’t throw away…
• Jangan merokok = Don’t smoke.

Tidak is the general negator for statements, not for telling someone not to do something:

• Saya tidak merokok. = I don’t smoke.
• Itu tidak baik. = That is not good.

Using tidak in a command (*Tidak buang puntung rokok…) is ungrammatical. For “don’t”, always use jangan (or janganlah for softer tone).

Why is there no word for “you” in the sentence? Who is being told not to do this?

Malay often drops the subject pronoun when it’s obvious from context, especially in commands.

• Jangan buang puntung rokok di halaman rumah.
  Literally: Don’t throw cigarette butts in the yard.
  The “you” is understood: (You) don’t throw…

If you really want to include “you”, you can, but it’s not necessary:

• Jangan kamu buang puntung rokok di halaman rumah. (can sound scolding)
• Tolong jangan buang puntung rokok di halaman rumah. (more natural / polite; still implies “you”)

What does buang mean here? Is it “throw” or “throw away”? Could I use lempar instead?

Buang most commonly means “to throw away / to discard / to get rid of”. In this sentence, it’s about disposing of the cigarette butts, not just physically throwing them.

• buang sampah = throw away rubbish
• buang air kecil = urinate (euphemism; literally “discard small water”)

Lempar means “to throw (something through the air)”, not necessarily as rubbish:

• lempar bola = throw a ball

So:

• Jangan buang puntung rokok di halaman rumah.
  = Don’t discard cigarette butts in the yard. (best choice)

Jangan lempar puntung rokok di halaman rumah is understandable, but it emphasizes the physical act of throwing, not the idea of rubbish disposal.

Does puntung rokok mean one cigarette butt or many? Where is the plural marker?

Malay usually does not mark plural with a separate word like “s”. Context tells you whether it’s singular or plural.

• puntung rokok can mean “a cigarette butt” or “cigarette butts”.
• In a general rule or sign, it is naturally understood as plural: “cigarette butts”.

If you need to be clearly plural, you can say:

• puntung-puntung rokok (reduplication: “cigarette butts”)
• semua puntung rokok (“all cigarette butts”)
• banyak puntung rokok (“many cigarette butts”)

But in the original sentence, puntung rokok is already fine for “cigarette butts” in general.

What does puntung rokok literally mean, and do I always need rokok after puntung?

• puntung = stub / butt / the end of something burnt or used up
  (e.g. the end of a cigarette, a burnt-out piece of wood)
• rokok = cigarette

So puntung rokok is literally “cigarette butt”.

You can say just puntung, but then it’s unclear what kind of butt:

• puntung rokok = cigarette butt
• puntung kayu = piece of burnt wood
• puntung lilin = candle stub

In real usage, puntung rokok is the normal, clear way to say “cigarette butt”.

What is the role of di in di halaman rumah? Why not ke halaman rumah?

Here di is a preposition, meaning “at / in / on”, indicating location:

• di halaman rumah = in the yard of the house / in the house yard

ke is used for movement toward a place: “to”.

Compare:

• Jangan buang puntung rokok di halaman rumah.
  = Don’t throw cigarette butts in the yard (location where they end up).
• Dia berjalan ke halaman rumah.
  = He/she walks to the yard (movement).

So here di is correct because we’re talking about where the butts are thrown, not where someone is going.

What does halaman rumah mean exactly? Is it specifically “front yard”?

• halaman = yard / compound / courtyard / grounds
• rumah = house

So halaman rumah is “the yard/compound of the house” – it can be front yard, back yard, side yard, or the general outdoor area around the house. Context decides.

Note: halaman can also mean “page” (of a book), but in combination with rumah, it clearly means yard/compound, not “house page”.

There is no word for “my/your/our” in halaman rumah. How do I know whose yard it is?

In Malay, possession is often left implicit when it’s obvious from context.

• di halaman rumah = in the yard of the house
  Depending on context, it can mean:
  • our house yard
  • this house’s yard
  • the yard of the house here

If you want to make it explicit, you can add a possessive:

• di halaman rumah saya = in my house yard
• di halaman rumah kamu / awak = in your house yard
• di halaman rumah kami = in our house yard

On warning signs or general rules, the shorter di halaman rumah is natural and understood as the yard of the (relevant) house.

Is this sentence polite, neutral, or rude? How can I make it sound softer?

As written, Jangan buang puntung rokok di halaman rumah. is neutral. It’s suitable for:

• a sign
• a general reminder
• a firm instruction

To soften it, you can add polite markers like tolong or ya:

• Tolong jangan buang puntung rokok di halaman rumah.
  = Please don’t throw cigarette butts in the yard.
• Jangan buang puntung rokok di halaman rumah, ya.
  = Don’t throw cigarette butts in the yard, okay?

To make it more formal (e.g. a written notice):

• Dilarang membuang puntung rokok di halaman rumah.
  = It is prohibited to discard cigarette butts in the yard.

Can Jangan buang… be used on its own like “Don’t throw it away”?

Yes. Jangan buang by itself is natural when the object is clear from context:

• Someone is holding a paper you still need; you say:
  Jangan buang! = Don’t throw (it) away!
• You’re pointing at some documents in the bin:
  Jangan buang yang itu. = Don’t throw that one away.

So the pattern is:

• Jangan buang (object) (location).
  In your example, the object is puntung rokok and the location is di halaman rumah.

Is di here a preposition or a prefix? I’ve seen di- used in passive verbs like dibaca.

Here di is a separate word acting as a preposition:

• di halaman rumah = at/in the yard of the house

When di- is a prefix, it attaches directly to a verb to form the passive:

• baca (to read) → dibaca (is read / was read)
• buat (to do/make) → dibuat (is done/made)

So you can distinguish them by spacing:

• di halaman (with a space) = preposition “at/in”
• dibaca (no space) = verb with passive prefix “is read”

How would I say the opposite idea, like “Throw cigarette butts in the bin, not in the yard”?

You can combine a positive command with a negative one:

• Buang puntung rokok dalam tong sampah, jangan di halaman rumah.

Breakdown:

• Buang puntung rokok = Throw cigarette butts away
• dalam tong sampah = in the rubbish bin
• jangan di halaman rumah = not in the yard

This sounds very natural as a clear instruction.