How to make "question sentence" in Indonesian language ?

Generally, in order to make question sentence in Indonesian, we don't need to change the sentence at all, just add one word, then, it's done. It's much easier than English. In English, you have to move the "to be" or "modal" to the introduction of the sentence and change the verb into to infinitive. That won't happen in Indonesian language. ^_^

There are two ways to make Indonesian question sentence. I can promise you that it won't take too long to master this.


1. Affirmative question

-Just add question mark "?" at the end of a sentence, its function is to ask about confirmation. remember to raise your voice into a little higher pitched sound in the end of the sentence.

For example :

• Itu buku saya ? ( Is that my book ? ) the answer : Iya/ tidak ( yes/ no ) 
• Kamu mau makan ini ? ( Do you want to eat this ? ) the answer : Iya, saya mau makan ini/ tidak mau
• Pak Dito ada di Jepang ? ( Is Mr.dito in Japan ? )  the answer : ada/ tidak ada

-Add suffix "-kah" connected to the most emphasized word in the sentence.

For example :

• Itukah sepeda Anda ? ( is that your bicycle ? )
• Sehatkah mereka ? ( Are they healthy ? )
• Akankah cerita ini sedih ? ( Will this story be sad ? )
• Di rumahkah Pak dito ? ( Are you at home , Mr.dito ? )
• Sudahkah kamu mandi ? ( Have taken a shower ? )

-The last one is to add "Apa/ Apakah" at the beginning of a sentence.

For example :

• Apakah itu buku saya ? ( Is that my book ? )
• Apa kamu mau makan ini ? ( Do you want to eat this ? )
• Apakah Pak Dito ada di Jepang ? ( Is Mr.dito in Japan ? )
• Apakah kamu sudah baca buku ini ? ( Have you read this book ? )

2. Interrogative Pronoun


How to make an interrogative question in Indonesian ? It's quite easy like the first way, just add the question word at the beginning of the sentence, don't forget to slightly raise your voice again at the end of the sentence. To ask about a thing, use "yang" word after the interrogative question.

-Apa/ Apakah* ( What )
-......apa ? ( What kind ) ( fill it with noun )
-Siapa/ Siapakah* ( Who )
-Kapan/ Kapankah* ( When )
-Bagaimana/ Bagaimanakah* ( How ) ( Often followed by "cara", cara means way, procedure, method )
-Mengapa/ Kenapa/ Mengapakah*/ Kenapakah* ( Why )
-Di mana/ Di manakah* ( Where ) ( position )
-Ke mana/ Ke manakah* ( Where ) ( direction )
-Berapa/ Berapakah* ( How much/ many )
-Yang mana/ Yang manakah* ( Which one )

*"-kah" either can be omitted or not
*The bold words are usually used in daily conversation
 
For example :

• Apa yang dibawa orang itu ? ( What do that person carry ? )
• Bagaimana cara mereka pergi ke sana ? ( How do they go there ? )
• Kenapa ada orang ini di sini ? ( Why is there a person here ? )
• Berapa orang yang di sini ? ( How many people are here ? )
• Yang mana ibu kamu ? ( Which one is your mother ? )
• Kapan saya bisa pergi ke Jepang ? ( When can i go to Japan ? )
• Berapa lama kita harus menunggu ? ( How long do we have to wait ? )
• Di mana mereka membeli kamera itu ? ( Where did they buy that camera ? )