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Describing People

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Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds

In Indonesian, you don't need a verb like 'is' to describe someone; just place the adjective directly after the subject.

  • No 'to be' verb: Just say 'Dia tinggi' (He is tall).
  • Negation: Use 'tidak' before the adjective: 'Dia tidak tinggi' (He is not tall).
  • Questions: Add 'kah' or just use intonation: 'Apakah dia tinggi?' (Is he tall?).
Subject + Adjective (e.g., Saya + pintar)

Meanings

Indonesian uses adjectives as predicates without a copula (verb 'to be'). This means you connect the subject directly to the quality.

1

Direct Description

Attributing a quality to a person.

“Dia cantik.”

“Ibu saya baik.”

2

Comparative Description

Comparing two people using 'lebih'.

“Dia lebih tinggi dari saya.”

“Adik lebih pintar.”

3

Superlative Description

Describing the most extreme quality.

“Dia paling kuat.”

“Dia paling baik.”

Basic Descriptive Structure

Form Structure Example
Affirmative Subject + Adjective Dia ramah.
Negative Subject + tidak + Adjective Dia tidak ramah.
Question Apakah + Subject + Adjective? Apakah dia ramah?
Comparison Subject + lebih + Adjective + dari + Object Dia lebih ramah dari saya.
Superlative Subject + paling + Adjective Dia paling ramah.
Intensified Subject + sangat + Adjective Dia sangat ramah.

Reference Table

Reference table for Describing People
Form Structure Example
Affirmative S + Adj Dia pintar.
Negative S + tidak + Adj Dia tidak pintar.
Question Apakah + S + Adj? Apakah dia pintar?
Comparative S + lebih + Adj + dari + O Dia lebih pintar dari saya.
Superlative S + paling + Adj Dia paling pintar.
Very S + sangat + Adj Dia sangat pintar.
Too S + terlalu + Adj Dia terlalu pintar.
Not as S + tidak + se- + Adj Dia tidak sepintar saya.

Formalitätsspektrum

Formell
Beliau sangat cerdas.

Beliau sangat cerdas. (Describing a colleague/friend)

Neutral
Dia sangat pintar.

Dia sangat pintar. (Describing a colleague/friend)

Informell
Dia pinter banget.

Dia pinter banget. (Describing a colleague/friend)

Umgangssprache
Dia pinter gila.

Dia pinter gila. (Describing a colleague/friend)

Adjective Modifiers

Adjective

Intensifiers

  • sangat very
  • cukup quite

Comparison

  • lebih more
  • paling most
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Beispiele nach Niveau

1

Dia tinggi.

He is tall.

2

Ibu saya baik.

My mother is kind.

3

Dia tidak malas.

He is not lazy.

4

Apakah dia lucu?

Is he funny?

1

Dia sangat pintar.

He is very smart.

2

Teman saya cukup ramah.

My friend is quite friendly.

3

Dia tidak terlalu tinggi.

He is not too tall.

4

Apakah mereka rajin?

Are they diligent?

1

Dia lebih tinggi dari kakaknya.

He is taller than his older brother.

2

Dia yang paling cantik di sini.

She is the most beautiful here.

3

Dia memang orang yang jujur.

He is indeed an honest person.

4

Dia tidak sombong sama sekali.

He is not arrogant at all.

1

Dia cukup ambisius dalam pekerjaannya.

He is quite ambitious in his work.

2

Sikapnya sangat profesional dan tenang.

His attitude is very professional and calm.

3

Dia terlalu perfeksionis untuk tim ini.

He is too perfectionist for this team.

4

Dia tidak secerdas yang saya kira.

He is not as smart as I thought.

1

Dia sosok yang sangat karismatik.

He is a very charismatic figure.

2

Dia tidak sekadar ramah, tapi juga tulus.

He is not just friendly, but also sincere.

3

Dia paling menonjol di antara rekan-rekannya.

He is the most prominent among his colleagues.

4

Dia sangat rendah hati meskipun sukses.

He is very humble despite his success.

1

Dia adalah perwujudan dari sifat yang rendah hati.

He is the embodiment of humility.

2

Dia tidak hanya cerdas, tetapi juga bijaksana.

He is not only intelligent but also wise.

3

Dia sangat disegani karena integritasnya.

He is highly respected because of his integrity.

4

Dia paling unggul dalam bidangnya.

He is the most superior in his field.

Leicht verwechselbar

Describing People vs. Tidak vs Bukan

Learners mix up negation for adjectives and nouns.

Describing People vs. Adalah vs No Verb

Learners think they need a linking verb.

Describing People vs. Sangat vs Sekali

Placement of intensifiers.

Häufige Fehler

✗

Dia adalah tinggi.

✓

Dia tinggi.

Do not use 'adalah' with adjectives.
✗

Dia bukan tinggi.

✓

Dia tidak tinggi.

Use 'tidak' for adjectives, not 'bukan'.
✗

Dia tinggi-nya.

✓

Dia tinggi.

Do not add possessive suffixes to adjectives.
✗

Dia sangat tinggi-nya.

✓

Dia sangat tinggi.

Adjectives do not take suffixes.
✗

Dia lebih tinggi dari saya.

✓

Dia lebih tinggi dari saya.

Actually correct, but often confused with 'daripada'.
✗

Apakah dia adalah pintar?

✓

Apakah dia pintar?

Again, no 'adalah'.
✗

Dia tidak sangat pintar.

✓

Dia tidak terlalu pintar.

Use 'terlalu' for negative intensity.
✗

Dia paling tinggi dari semua.

✓

Dia paling tinggi di antara semua.

Use 'di antara' for superlative groups.
✗

Dia sangat ramah sekali.

✓

Dia sangat ramah.

Redundant intensifiers.
✗

Dia tidak se-pintar saya.

✓

Dia tidak sepintar saya.

No hyphen needed with 'se-'.
✗

Dia adalah orang yang sangat ramah.

✓

Dia orang yang sangat ramah.

Adalah is optional here, but often better omitted.
✗

Dia paling unggul daripada yang lain.

✓

Dia paling unggul di antara yang lain.

Superlatives take 'di antara'.
✗

Dia tidak sekadar ramah, tapi tulus.

✓

Dia tidak sekadar ramah, tetapi juga tulus.

Need 'juga' for balance.

Satzmuster

Dia ___.

Dia tidak ___.

Dia lebih ___ dari saya.

Dia paling ___ di sini.

Real World Usage

Social Media constant

Dia cantik banget!

Texting very common

Dia lucu.

Job Interview common

Dia sangat profesional.

Travel common

Pemandunya ramah.

Food Delivery occasional

Kurirnya cepat.

Classroom common

Guru itu pintar.

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💡

Keep it simple

Don't look for a verb. Just say the subject and the adjective.
⚠️

No 'adalah'

Avoid 'adalah' when describing people. It sounds like you are defining them in a dictionary.
🎯

Use 'banget'

In informal speech, 'banget' at the end of the sentence is the perfect way to say 'very'.
💬

Be polite

Indonesians prefer soft adjectives. Use 'baik hati' instead of just 'baik' for kindness.

Smart Tips

Use 'baik hati' instead of just 'baik' to sound more natural.

Dia baik. → Dia baik hati.

Use 'banget' at the end for casual talk.

Dia sangat pintar. → Dia pintar banget.

Always use 'dari' after the adjective.

Dia lebih tinggi saya. → Dia lebih tinggi dari saya.

Rising intonation is enough.

Apakah dia tinggi? → Dia tinggi?

Aussprache

tin-gi

Stress

Stress usually falls on the penultimate syllable.

Question

Dia pintar? ↑

Rising intonation indicates a question.

Einprägen

Eselsbrücke

Think of the Indonesian adjective as a 'sticky note' that just sticks directly to the person's name.

Visuelle Assoziation

Imagine a person standing next to a sign that says 'Tinggi'. No verb needed, just the person and the sign together.

Rhyme

No verb in sight, keep it light, just put the adjective on the right.

Story

Budi is tall. Budi is not short. Budi is very smart. See? No 'is' needed!

Word Web

tinggipendekpintarmalasramahlucubaikjujur

Herausforderung

Describe three people in your room using only two words each (Subject + Adjective).

Kulturelle Hinweise

Indonesians value modesty. Calling someone 'pintar' is a compliment, but 'sombong' (arrogant) is a major social taboo.

Indonesian is an Austronesian language, which typically lacks copulas (linking verbs) for adjectival predicates.

Gesprächseinstiege

“

Bagaimana teman Anda?

“

Apakah dia orang yang rajin?

“

Siapa yang paling pintar di kelas?

“

Bagaimana pendapat Anda tentang dia?

Tagebuch-Impulse

Describe your best friend.
Compare yourself to a family member.
Describe your ideal colleague.
Reflect on a person who influenced you.
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Test Yourself

Fill in the blank.

Dia ___ (tall).

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: tinggi
No verb needed.
Choose the correct sentence. Multiple Choice

Which is correct?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Dia tidak pintar.
Use 'tidak' for adjectives.
Fix the sentence. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Dia adalah lucu.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Dia lucu.
Remove 'adalah'.
Order the words. Sentence Building

pintar / dia / sangat

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Dia sangat pintar.
Subject + Intensifier + Adjective.
Match the adjective to its meaning. Match Pairs

Match each item on the left with its pair on the right:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: tall, smart, friendly
Standard definitions.
Make it negative. Sentence Transformation

Dia ramah.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Dia tidak ramah.
Use 'tidak'.
Is this true? True False Rule

Indonesian adjectives change for gender.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: False
Indonesian adjectives are invariant.
Complete the dialogue. Dialogue Completion

A: Apakah dia tinggi? B: ___

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Ya, dia tinggi.
Simple affirmative.

Score: /8

Ubungsaufgaben

8 exercises
Fill in the blank.

Dia ___ (tall).

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: tinggi
No verb needed.
Choose the correct sentence. Multiple Choice

Which is correct?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Dia tidak pintar.
Use 'tidak' for adjectives.
Fix the sentence. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Dia adalah lucu.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Dia lucu.
Remove 'adalah'.
Order the words. Sentence Building

pintar / dia / sangat

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Dia sangat pintar.
Subject + Intensifier + Adjective.
Match the adjective to its meaning. Match Pairs

Match: tinggi, pintar, ramah

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: tall, smart, friendly
Standard definitions.
Make it negative. Sentence Transformation

Dia ramah.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Dia tidak ramah.
Use 'tidak'.
Is this true? True False Rule

Indonesian adjectives change for gender.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: False
Indonesian adjectives are invariant.
Complete the dialogue. Dialogue Completion

A: Apakah dia tinggi? B: ___

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Ya, dia tinggi.
Simple affirmative.

Score: /8

FAQ (8)

No, Indonesian adjectives never change form.

No, 'adalah' is for definitions, not descriptions.

Use 'sangat' before the adjective.

Only if you are negating a noun phrase that contains an adjective.

Use 'Apakah' or just rising intonation.

No, Indonesian is gender-neutral.

'Baik' (good/kind) is very common.

Use 'lebih ... dari'.

Scaffolded Practice

1

1

2

2

3

3

4

4

Mastery Progress

Needs Practice

Improving

Strong

Mastered

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In Other Languages

Spanish low

Es alto.

Indonesian lacks the copula and gender agreement.

French low

Il est grand.

Indonesian lacks the copula and gender agreement.

German low

Er ist groß.

Indonesian lacks the copula and inflection.

Japanese moderate

Kare wa takai desu.

Indonesian does not require a copula even in formal speech.

Arabic moderate

Huwa tawil.

Arabic still requires gender agreement.

Chinese high

Ta hen gao.

Chinese requires a placeholder like 'hen' for simple descriptions.

Learning Path

Prerequisites

Previous
Basic Comparisons

Related Grammar Rules

A1

Adjective Placement
A2

Describing Conditions
A2

Expressing Physical States
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