Yang is probably the most frequent word in the Indonesian language. It has quite a variety of functions and meanings. Basically yang is a connector word that helps link different parts of a clause, or helps link one clause with another, especially by introducing some kind of descriptive information or an elaboration. It often functions like the English relative pronouns “which”, “that” and “who”.
Yang must NOT be pronounced as if it rhymes with “bang”, “sang”, “gang” etc. The correct pronunciation of yang is close to the English word “young”.
- Mobil saya yang baru. My new car.
- Mobil saya yang baru ada di garasi. My new car is in the garage.
- Baju yang merah. The red dress.
- Baju yang merah ada dua. There are two red dresses.
- Rumah yang besar. The big house.
- Saya suka rumah yang besar. I like big house.
- Yang itu. That one.
- Saya akan pergi ke gedung yang itu. I will go to that building.
- Yang mana? Which one?
- Yang mana buku Anda? Which one is your book?
- Yang murah. The cheap one.
- Saya mau membeli sepatu yang murah. I want to buy the cheap shoes.
Making Nouns with ‘yang’
Yang can have a nominalising function. What this means is that yang can be used to turn an adjective or a verb into a noun. It can also be used with “pointer words” (deictics) like itu, di sana etc., to make it clearer what you are “pointing” at. In this guise, yang works like the English phrase “The ____ one” or “the ____ ones”. A few examples will make this clearer.
- bersih. clean
- yang bersih. the clean one.
- merah. red
- yang merah. the red one
- Saya minta yang bersih. Give me the clean one.
- Saya ingin membeli yang merah. I want to buy a/the red one.
- datang. to come.
- yang datang. the one(s) who came.
- Yang datang hanya lima orang. Only five people came (literally: Those who came were only five people.)
- Yang menjual jamu itu orang Jawa. The jamu seller is/was a Javanese.
- itu. that
- yang itu. that one
- di sana. there, over there
- yang di sana. the one over there
- Saya paling suka yang di sana. I like the one over there the best.
- Yang ini berapa? How much is this one?
- di belakang. at the back
- yang di belakang. the one at the back
- Kelihatannya, yang di belakang lebih besar. The one at the back looks bigger.