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Kenapa? vs. Gara-gara apa?

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.

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