Sometimes, you might be asking about direction or where the place of something is. In English, you might use the sentence, “where is it” to ask about the whereabouts of something you need to know.
You might also use different subject other than it, for instance, the name of the thing, name, or place.
So, how to say where is it in Bahasa Indonesia? Now, we are going to learn it and with brief and clear explanation as well as examples of it in daily conversation. Stay sharp fellas.
The Translation of Where is It in Bahasa Indonesia
In English, the sentence “where is it” can be used to ask someone about the place of something, person, or place. It depends on the subject of that sentence that could change the grammatical structure.
In Bahasa Indonesia, the subject does not change the structure of grammar when using this sentence. So, whatever the subject is, it does not alter the grammar or the auxiliary verb like in English.
In Bahasa Indonesia, if you want to use the sentence “where is it”, you can say dimana itu? This is the equivalent translation of “where is it” in Bahasa Indonesia.
But, normally, it cannot be used that way. In Bahasa Indonesia, you need to ensure about the identity of the subject. If you do not state the identity of the subject, the sentence would be unnatural and make the addressee feel confused.
So, in the next part, we are going to learn about the other alternatives to say “where is it” in Bahasa Indonesia.
The Alternative of Saying Where is It in Bahasa Indonesia
As you have read in the previous part, the sentence where is it cannot be directly translated into dimana itu in Bahasa Indonesia. Therefore, how you should say it in Bahasa Indonesia?
The first alternative is referring the subject as clear as possible. For instance, if you are asking of a place, then you should ask “dimana tempat itu?”, not just dimana itu. This is due to the requirement in Bahasa Indonesia to give clear explanation of the subject in order to deliver the meaning completely.
This must also be applied in using name, person, or things as the subject subject. You have to give the specific name of the subject such as, Jakarta, Pulpen, or Budi, when asking.
For examples:
Dimana Budi? (Where is Budi?)
Dimana toilet? (Where is toilet?)
Dimana gedung itu? (Where is the building?)
If both of the recipients know about the context of the conversation, you can just say dimana? directly. You do not have to specify the subject because without even mentioning it, the interlocutors will understand the things, person, or place you refer to.
Summary
If translated normally with maintaining the meaning, the sentence “where is it” is changed into dimana itu. But this is not going to be acceptable in most occasions. To give a better meaning, you need to specify or mention the subject as clear as possible. But, if both interlocutors already know the context, you can just say dimana and they will understand what you mean.