Instead of asking mengapa? or the more colloquial kenapa? (why?), you may as well ask karena apa? (because of what?; what for?; why):
- Fuji terkenal karena apa?
- What is [the actress] Fuji known for?
- Meredupnya demokrasi Indonesia: Karena apa, oleh siapa?
- The decline of Indonesian democracy: Why and by whom?
- Saya diberhentikan dari pekerjaan. Karena apa?
- I got fired from my job. What for?
Although karena (apa?) and gara-gara (apa?) are synonyms, there is a subtle, but important difference between karena and gara-gara.
Gara-Gara as a Noun
Gara-gara (apa?) (because of what?) is an interrogative (question word), whereas in the meaning ‘because’, gara-gara is a conjunction (connecting two clauses).
However gara-gara is also a noun, which, in the standard Indonesian dictionary, is defined as ‘a shocking event’, and in the Malaysian standard dictionary it is defined as “disaster, chaos, commotion, and uproar.”
- Kau yang mendatangkan gara-gara ini!
- You caused this commotion!
More commonly, gara-gara is translated as ‘trouble’ and ‘problem’:
- Kenapa kalian membuat gara-gara di sini?
- Why are you causing trouble here?
- Perkara itu akan dapat menimbulkan gara-gara dalam masyarakat.
- This issue could lead to problems within society.
From the examples it is evident, that gara-gara always has a negative connotation.
The Interrogative “Gara-gara apa?”
Gara-gara is much more frequently used as an interrogative (with added apa?) and as a conjuction with the meaning ‘because’ or ‘because of what?’, but only when it leads to an undesired or unpleasant effect:
- Gara-gara apa kamu tidak bisa masak?
- Why couldn’t you cook?
- Gara-gara apa Bapak pilek?
- Because of what did you catch a cold?
- Gara-gara apa kamu diputusin?
- Because of what did she ditch you?
The interrogative gara-gara can also be paired with siapa?
- Ini terjadi gara-gara siapa?
- Because of whom did this happen?
Gara-Gara as a Conjunction
The four above questions can be answered with gara-gara as a conjunction:
- Gara-gara mati lampu, aku tidak bisa masak.
- Because of the power outage, I could not cook.
- Gara-gara kemarin hujan, aku jadi pilek.
- Because of the rain yesterday, I caught a cold.
Frequently, a translation of ‘just because’ is also appropriate:
- Saya diputusin gara-gara memilih golput.
- I got ditched just because I chose not to vote.
- Ini terjadi gara-gara kamu!
- This happened just because of you!
Author: Dr. Uli Kozok, Indonesian language professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and textbook author of https://indonesian-online.com.