Adjectives in Indonesian

Overview

Indonesian adjectives are straightforward: they do not change form for gender, number, or case. A single form covers all situations. The key rule to remember is that adjectives follow the noun they modify, which is the opposite of English word order. So "big house" becomes rumah besar (house big).

When an adjective serves as the predicate of a sentence (describing what the subject is like), no copula or "to be" verb is needed. Makanan ini enak simply means "This food is delicious." To intensify an adjective, you can place sangat before it or sekali after it — both mean "very."

How It Works

Adjective Position

Pattern	Indonesian	English
Noun + Adjective	mobil baru	a new car
Noun + Adjective	air panas	hot water
Subject + Adjective (predicate)	Mobil itu baru.	That car is new.

Intensifiers

Intensifier	Position	Example	Meaning
sangat	before adjective	sangat besar	very big
sekali	after adjective	besar sekali	very big
terlalu	before adjective	terlalu mahal	too expensive
agak	before adjective	agak kecil	somewhat small
kurang	before adjective	kurang baik	not good enough

Common Adjectives

Indonesian	English
besar	big
kecil	small
bagus/baik	good
buruk/jelek	bad
panas	hot
dingin	cold
mahal	expensive
murah	cheap
cantik	beautiful
enak	delicious

Examples in Context

Indonesian	English	Note
Makanan ini enak.	This food is delicious.	Predicate adjective, no copula
Rumah besar.	A big house.	Adjective follows noun
Hari ini sangat panas.	Today is very hot.	Sangat before adjective
Bagus sekali!	Very good!	Sekali after adjective
Air dingin, tolong.	Cold water, please.	Adjective modifying noun
Dia tinggi.	He/She is tall.	Predicate adjective
Buku ini terlalu mahal.	This book is too expensive.	Terlalu for excess
Cuaca agak dingin.	The weather is somewhat cold.	Agak for moderation
Jalan itu panjang.	That road is long.	Predicate adjective
Kopi ini kurang manis.	This coffee is not sweet enough.	Kurang for insufficiency

Common Mistakes

Putting adjectives before the noun

• Wrong: besar rumah
• Right: rumah besar
• Why: In Indonesian, adjectives come after the noun, not before. This is the opposite of English.

Adding a copula before adjectives

• Wrong: Dia adalah cantik.
• Right: Dia cantik.
• Why: Indonesian does not use a "to be" verb before adjective predicates.

Using sangat and sekali together

• Wrong: sangat besar sekali
• Right: sangat besar or besar sekali
• Why: These are alternative ways to say "very" — pick one, not both.

Practice Tips

1. Describe objects around you using the Noun + Adjective pattern: meja besar (big table), kursi kecil (small chair), buku baru (new book). This trains you to put the adjective after the noun.
2. Practice using intensifiers by describing things on a scale: agak panas (somewhat hot), panas (hot), sangat panas (very hot), terlalu panas (too hot).

Related Concepts

• Basic Adverbs — adverbs that modify adjectives and verbs
• Colors — color adjectives follow the same noun + adjective pattern
• Comparison — comparative and superlative forms of adjectives
• Exclamations and Emphasis — emphatic adjective structures