Indonesian Noun – Like also other languages in the world, Indonesian has words categorized as “noun”. Of course it has, otherwise, we, Indonesians can not make sentences.
Indonesian noun functions similar to English , Japanese or others. Usually, it is used as a subject or object or as adverb of places.
There are also several other types of words that act as noun, such as pronoun or noun clause. No different. However, for this article, I will introduce real nouns only and the difference with English noun.
There are two basic Indonesian nouns, singular and plural.
Indonesian Noun (Singular)
To make it quick, words like
- buku = book
- babi = pig
- susu = milk
are examples of Indonesian nouns. The rest are the same.
However, if in English there are two types of noun, countable and uncountable, Indonesian noun doesn’t have such classification. A noun is a noun and there is no specific way to distinguish either it is countable or uncountable. You just need to use your logic, even English speaker logic, to separate which one is countable and which one is not.
For example
- buku . In English it must be written as a book
- babi ==> a pig
- susu ==> milk
“Buku” already contains a singular meaning without additional partikel. “Babi” means one pig.
(If you want to know how to spell those words, please check explanations about how to spell alphabets and vowels. The articles consist of audio that you can learn how to pronounce them)
Indonesian Noun (Plural)
Are there plural in Indonesian noun? Even though it is not exactly the same as English, there is a way to make a word become plural in Indonesian.
For example
- buku = a book (singular) ==> buku-buku = books (plural)
- babi = a pig (singular) ==> babi-babi = pigs (plural)
So, in Indonesian, just repeat the word and you will get the plural form. The plural is indefinite. You don’t know how many “buku” or “babi” by saying “buku-buku” or “babi-babi”. But, you know the meaning is more than 1.
Plural form of Indonesian noun can also be made by adding a number in front of the word.
For example :
- 1 buku = a book
- 2 buku = two books
- 3 babi = three pigs
How about the uncountable ones?
You can not get plural form of uncountable in Indonesia, similar to English. So, it would be wrong if you mention “susu-susu”. It has incorrect meaning.
Other words such as “garam=salt” or “merica=pepper” are uncountable nouns. So, there is no plural form. However, similar to English you can add a measurement in front of the words.
For example
- segelas susu = a glass of milk
- 2 gelas susu = two glass of milk
You can make the “gelas” plural but not the “susu”
Noun in Indonesia is called as “Kata Benda”.
I hope this explanation can be helpful for you. No audio this time because I really don’t think it’s necessary.