50 Useful Indonesian Negations for Conversations

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MasteringBahasa has discussed about Indonesian Verbs, Indonesian Traveling Phrases, Indonesian Conjunctions, and many more topics! Now together we are going to learn Indonesian negations. In Indonesian language, we understand “negation words” as “kata ingkar”. To put it simple, people use negations to say that something is not true or something does not happen. Negations also means something negative.

Let see this short conversation in English which use negations:

John: Are you Philippines?
Budi: No. I am Indonesian

In the short conversation above, we can see that John asked whether Budi’s came from Philippine. However, Budi is not from Philippine, as he is Indonesian. Thus, Budi has to answer that John’s statement is not true. Then he use negation “no” then he state that he is Indonesian.

Anyway, let see the short conversation in Indonesian:

John: Apakah kamu orang Filipina?
Budi: Bukan. Saya orang Indonesia.

According to the Indonesian version from the short conversation, we would like to inform something. In Indonesian, overall there are two Indonesian negations:

Indonesian Negations[/th][th]To be used in[/th][th]English Negations

Tidak[/td] [td]Verbs[/td][td]Not

Bukan[/td] [td]Nouns[/td][td]No / Not

You can learn these too:

Since Indonesian Negations are using only “Tidak” and “Bukan”, while there are bunch of English negations, we decided to make list of Indonesian negations that are equal to English negations:

Indonesian Negations[/th] [th]English Negations

Tidak[/td] [td]No

Bukan[/td] [td]Not

Tidak[/td] [td]Not

Tidak ada[/td] [td]None

Tidak ada[/td] [td]Nothing

Tidak Pernah[/td] [td]Never

Tidak ada orang[/td] [td]No one

Tak satupun[/td] [td]Nobody

Here is the explanation and the example of Indonesian Negation in Sentences:

Tidak (1) = No
Whether you want to decline something, or you want to reject something, use the negation of “Tidak“.
Tidak, terima kasih. Saya sudah membawa air minum sendiri.
No, thank you. I have brought my own drink.
Tidak (2) = Not
The negation of “Tidak” also can be used if you say you do not do something.
Saya tidak menelpon Sally semalam.
I do not called Sally last night.
Bukan = Not
Negation of “Bukan” is used to follow nouns.
Yang saya butuhkan untuk pasien ini adalah infus. Bukan obat penghilang nyeri.
What I need for this patient is an IV. Not an analgesic.
Tidak Ada (1) = None
If you want to imply that something or someone is not there, you can say “Tidak Ada“. In this example, “Tidak Ada” is followed by nouns which describe the negation.
Tidak ada dari para murid kelas satu yang akan mengajukan diri sebagai ketua OSIS*
None of freshmen will promote themselves as Student Council President.
*OSIS : Organisasi Siswa Intra Sekolah = Students’ Inside School’s Organisation: Student Council
Tidak Ada (2) = Nothing
The negation of “Tidak Ada” can be used without any following nouns.
Tidak ada yang penting di ruangan ini.
Nothing important in this room.
Tidak Ada Orang = No one
Direktur meminta saya untuk datang ke ruang rapat namun tidak ada orang disana.
Director asked us to come to the meeting room but no one there.
Tak Satupun Orang = Nobody
Tak satupun orang yang berani datang ke museum angker tersebut.
There is nobody that are brave enough to come to the haunted museum.

You can learn these too:

In this part, now we are going to learn more Indonesian negations. In this article we are going to use English negations as references. Now, we are going to learn English negations which apply suffixes, then learn the equals in Indonesian:

Indonesian Negations[/th] [th]English Negations

Tidak Sopan (1)[/td] [td]Disrespect / Disrespectful

Tidak Sopan (2)[/td] [td]Impolite

Tidak Suka[/td] [td]Dislike

Tidak Berguna[/td] [td]Useless

Tidak Senang[/td] [td]Unhappy

Tidak Jujur[/td] [td]Dishonest

Tidak Pantas[/td] [td]Inappropriate

Tidak Bertanggung Jawab[/td] [td]Irresponsible

Here are our explanations and also examples of the Indonesian negations above:

Tidak Sopan (1) = Disrespect / Disrespectful
We say that someone is being rude to other people with “Tidak Sopan“.
Anak itu selalu berlaku tidak sopan terhadap orang yang lebih tua.
That boy always acts disrespectful to older people.
Tidak Sopan (2) = Impolite
Negation of “Tidak Sopan” can also be used whether someone is acting not polite to someone else, especially the elders and those who are honored.
Guru memberitahu kami bahwa kami dilarang bersikap tidak sopan di hadapan presiden Joko Widodo.
Our teacher told us that we are forbidden to act impolite in front of the president Joko Widodo.
Tidak Suka= Dislike
We use negation “Tidak Suka” to mention that we or someone else don’t like something or someone.
Saya sudah mengerti kalau Dadang tidak suka es krim rasa Vanilla.
I understand that Dadang dislike vanilla ice cream.
Tidak Berguna = Useless
“Tidak Berguna” is used if someone or something has no contribution in any work.
Pisau ini tidak berguna karena sudah tumpul.
This knife is useless because it is blunt.
Tidak Senang = Unhappy
When we or someone else feels not pleasant with something, we can say “Tidak Senang“.
Sepertinya kepala sekolah tidak senang karena tim Kimia kita hanya mendapat medali perunggu.
It seems that the headmaster is unhappy because our Chemistry team only got bronze medal.
Tidak Jujur = Dishonest
When you know someone is lying or cheating, you can say that he/she is “Tidak Jujur“.
Anwar selalu tidak jujur di hadapan perempuan yang ia sukai. Dia sering mengatakan bahwa ayahnya adalah seorang direktur Pertamina.
Anwar is always dishonest in front of the girl that he likes. He often says that his father is the director of Pertamina.
Tidak Pantas = Inappropriate
If you notice that someone is acting rude, wearing something or doing something not polite, you may say that he/she is acting, wearing, or doing “Tidak Pantas“.
Gaya pakaian dia tidak pantas untuk digunakan di lingkungan kampus.
Her clothing style is inappropriate to be used in campus environment.
Tidak Bertanggung Jawab = Irresponsible
Whether someone is not responsible with his/her task, you may say that he/she is “Tidak Bertanggung Jawab“.
Ketua kelompok 9 tidak bertanggung jawab karena meningalkan kelompoknya.
9th group leader is irresponsible since he left his group.

You can learn these too:

Examples of Negation Phrases in Bahasa

Now we have learned negations in Indonesian language. The same with English negations right? Since we are here to help you to learn Indonesian language especially in your daily conversation, here we provide two short conversation which apply some Indonesian negations in it. Let’s check them!

1. Short Conversation 1 Examples

Situation: Three students named Arbi, Kasman, and Mayerfas, are talking about their teacher who is going to retire.

Arbi: Hei!
(Hey!)
Kasman: Hei, itu Arbi!
(Hey, that’s Arbi!)
Mayerfas: Salam. Arbi.
(Good day, Arbi.)
Arbi: Apakah kalian sudah mendengar bahwa bahwa pak Rasus akan segera pensiun sebagai guru?
(Have you heard that Mr. Rasus will soon be retired from being a teacher?)
Mayerfas: Tidak. Aku belum mendengar tentang hal itu.
(No. I have not heard about that.)
Kasman: Benarkah? Aku sempat mendengarnya tapi aku kurang yakin.
(Really? I have heard it but I am not sure.)
Mayerfas: Pak Rasus adalah guru yang paling baik di sekolah. Dia tidak pernah menghukum muridnya yang tidak mengerjakan tugas. Beliau juga tidak pernah terlambat. Beliau juga bukan tipe guru yang akan membuat guru lain membencinya.
(Mr. Rasus is the kindest teacher in school. He never punished his student who missed their homework. He also never lates. He also not a type of teacher that will makes other teacher hate him.)
Kasman: Dia juga belum terlalu tua untuk pensiun. Mengapa beliau ingin pensiun? Apakah ada guru yang ia tidak suka di sekolah?
(He also not too old to retire. Why does he want to retire? Is there any teacher that he dislikes in school?)
Arbi: Bukan, bukan itu alasannya. Ini bukan karena sesuatu di sekolah kita yang menyebabkan beliau untuk pensiun terlalu dini.
(No, that is not the reason. It is not about something in our school that forces him to retire too soon.)
Mayerfas: Lalu apa alasannya? Kau membuatku penasaran.
(Then what is it? You make me curious.)
Arbi: Pak Rasus akan melanjutkan kuliah ke S2. Beliau tidak akan kuliah di Indonesia. Beliau ingin kuliah di Inggris, jurusan Sastra Inggris.
(Mr. Rasus will continue his study to master degree. He will not study in Indonesia. He wants to study in United Kingdom, in English Literature program.)
Kasman: Really? That is amazing!
(Benarkah? Itu luar biasa!)

Anyway you can learn these too!

2. Short Conversation 2

Situation: A traveler from America named Arnold is visiting Candi Cangkuang. He is asking local villager about Candi Cangkuang in Indonesian Language.

Arnold: Permisi pak.
(Excuse me, sir)
Asep: Wah, ada *bule bisa ngomong Bahasa Indonesia! Ya, ya, ada apa, mister?
(Wow, there is a *bule that speaks Indonesian! Yes, yes, can I help you, mister?)
*bule: pronouns for travelers with white skins.
Arnold: Saya disini ingin melihat-lihat Candi ini, pak. Bisakah anda menceritakan mengenai Candi ini?
(I am here to see this temple, sir. Can you please tell me about this temple?)
Asep: Wah, wah. Saya tidak akan berkata tidak untuk anda yang tampan ini.
(Well, well. I will never say no for you as you are handsome.)
Arnold: Saya tidak suka dipanggil tampan, tapi terima kasih.
(I don’t like to be called handsome, but thanks)
Asep: Wah, wah. Candi Cangkuang ini adalah Candi Pertama di tatar Sunda, mister. Tidak pernah ada candi yang dibangun sebelum Candi ini,
(Well, well. This Cangkuang Temple is the first temple in the Sundanese land, mister. There is never any temple that is built before this temple.)
Di kawasan Candi ini, pengunjung dilarang untuk bersikap tidak sopan disini. Seperti berkata kasar atau membuang sampah sembarangan.
(In this temple area, visitors are forbidden to act impolite. For example, to say something rude or throwing their rubish carelessly.)
Arnold: Apakah tidak ada orang yang berlaku tidak sopan disini?
(Is there no one who acts impolite here?)
Asep: Beberapa kali, namun penjaga candi menghukum mereka dan mereka harus meminta maaf kepada para dewa.
(Sometimes there are, but the temple keeper punished them and they have to apologize to the gods.)
Ada tiga pulau disini. Dan hanya pulau ini yang memiliki candi, Candi Cangkuang ini. Tidak ada candi lain di pulau lainnya.
(There are three islands here. And only this island that has temple, this Cangkuang Temple. There is no other temples in the other islands.)
Arnold: Apakah ada pengunjung yang tidak suka dengan pemandangan Candi ini?
(Are there any visitors that dislikes the scenery from this temple?)
Asep: Terkadang pengunjung beragama Hindu tidak suka kenyataan bahwa candi ini telah direkonstruksi. Namun, pemandangan dari candi ini sangatlah indah, tidak ada orang yang berani untuk tidak menyukainya.
(Sometimes Hindu visitors dislikes the fact that this temple had been reconstructed. But the scenery from this temple is amazing, no one are brave enough to dislikes them.)

We hope the articles plus the examples helps you. Thank you so much for joining us, please kindly share this article to your twitter and Facebook to help your friends to master Indonesian language! Bye bye! Sampai bertemu lagi!

Here are more explanation about Negation in Indonesian:

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