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The original was posted on /r/indonesian by /u/KIDE777 on 2023-06-05 21:28:43+00:00.

Allow me to share a crazy fact:

  1. Aku suka bunga.
  2. Aku bunga suka.
  3. Bunga aku suka.
  4. Bunga suka aku.
  5. Suka aku bunga.
  6. Suka bunga aku.

Believe it or not, all of these sentences are correct and can sound natural in Indonesian.

It’s like you’re doing a factorial! You might be tempted to rise and exclaim, “Objection, Your Honor! The first order is the correct one!” But I assure you, it’s true. I swear. Most Indonesian learning resources will teach you the first sentence as the correct structure. However, if you’re exposed to native Indonesian speakers long enough, you’ll notice that they often use the other structures as well. And if you’re an Indonesian native speaker, you may realize that with the right tone (plus maybe a sprinkle of accent), you can nail all of those sentences.

A few days ago, someone in this subreddit asked whether Bahasa Indonesia is a topic-prominent language or not. I’ve been pondering that question for a week now, and I’ve found that Indonesian definitely is. If you don’t know, a topic-prominent language organizes its syntax to emphasize the topic-comment structure of the sentence. I borrowed that definition from Wikipedia, by the way. In Bahasa Indonesia, it goes like this: you put the topic first, then follow it with a comment about the topic. And when the comment part has a topic too (let’s call it a subtopic if you want), you put that word/phrase forward. The more important the word/phrase is, the more it is placed to the left. I will give you a real-life sentence.

So, one day I overheard someone scolding a kid, “Bohong kamu sama kakakmu. Bohong kamu sama bapakmu. Bohong kamu sama ibumu. Mau bohongi siapa lagi, nak?”

The usual subject-verb-object structure of his sentence would be “Kamu bohong sama kakakmu. Kamu bohong sama bapakmu. Kamu bohong sama ibumu. Siapa lagi yang mau kamu bohongi, nak?” but it wouldn’t have the same impact.

You see, this guy really wanted to emphasize “bohong” (to lie) to this kid. The topic is about lying. So instead of “You lied to your older sibling. You lied to your father. You lied to your mother.” the guy said in this topic-comment structure, “Lying, you did that to your older sibling. Lying, you did that to your father. Lying, you did that to your mother.” Basically, he was conveying the message that “lying is something you keep doing” to the kid.

Even when he asked the cynical question, he started with “mau bohongi” (will lie) instead of the interrogative phrase “siapa lagi” (who else). So he was saying, “Whom else will you lie to, my child?” but emphasizing the act of lying. He put “kamu” (you) at the end of the question because the context was clear enough. In fact, he didn’t even need that word. “Mau bohongi siapa lagi?” would have worked perfectly fine.

Back to those six sentences.

  1. Aku suka bunga. “I like flowers.” This is the usual declaration sentence. I simply inform you, maybe out of nowhere, that I like flowers.
  2. Aku bunga suka. Something like “As for me, if it’s flowers, I like them.” Suppose your friend said, “Aku suka kelinci, tapi ga suka bunga” (I like bunnies but I don’t like flowers). Meanwhile, you are the opposite of that friend, you like flowers and dislike bunnies. In this case, you may say “Aku bunga suka, tapi kelinci ga suka” (As for me, if it’s flowers, I like them, but if it’s bunnies, I dislike them). “Aku” is the main topic because you want to emphasize the contrast between your preference and your friend’s preference. “Suka bunga tapi ga suka kelinci” (like flowers but dislike bunnies) is the actual comment, but since you want to emphasize the contrast of your preference between flowers and rabbits, you put “bunga” (and kelinci) forward. But wait, it’s a shame to dislike cute bunnies! So you don’t want to outright say you dislike bunnies, and you just say “Aku bunga suka” (As for me, if it’s flowers, I like them), implying that you dislike bunnies.
  3. Bunga aku suka. Something like “When it’s flowers, I like them.” Here, the topic is “bunga” (flowers) as you want to emphasize it. It’s like saying, “I won’t comment about other things, but at least I will say this about flowers: I like them.”
  4. Bunga suka aku. This one is very rare. It can be misunderstood as “flowers like me,” which is a weird thing to say unless you’re a dryad or something. It’s similar to number 3, but as you’re implying that you not only have something that you like but also something else that you dislike, so you put “suka” forward.
  5. Suka aku bunga. The topic is “suka” (to like). It could be a denial of an accusation that you don’t like flowers, so you’re saying, “Who said I don’t like flowers?” or “You got the wrong information; I do like flowers.” This structure can also be used to emphasize the verb, like in the scolding story above.
  6. Suka bunga aku. The interpretation depends on what the topic is. If the topic is just “suka,” it’s similar to number 5 but with more emphasis on “bunga,” implying that you also like other things. But if the topic is “suka bunga,” it’s like a stronger agreement or confirmation. “Aku suka bunga” (I like flowers). “Beneran?” (Really?) “Iya. Suka bunga aku” (Yes, I do like flowers).

More examples (topics are in bold):

  • Tipu-tipu kau sama aku. (Deceive, you to me. = You are deceiving me.)
  • Ga punya nyali kau! (Don’t have guts, you! = You don’t have guts!)
  • Matamu kamu taruh di mana? (Your eyes, you put, where? = Where do you put your eyes?)
  • Ga ada waktu. (Doesn’t exist, time. = Time doesn’t exists. = There’s no time.)
  • Ga ada waktu buat main-main. (Doesn’t exist, time, to play around. = There’s no time to play around.)
  • Ga ada waktu buat main-main gue sekarang. (There’s no time to play around, me now. = Now I don’t have time to play around.)

In conclusion, the Indonesian language offers a fascinating flexibility in sentence structures, allowing various emphases and nuances to be conveyed. So don’t be surprised if you encounter different ways of expressing the same idea in Indonesian, as people navigate the topic-comment structure to highlight what matters most in their conversations.

p.s. I’m too shy to record myself trying out these examples, also ofc, CMIIW