If a noun is combined with other words it is called Noun Phrase in which the word order is different than English.
Unlike in English the word order in bahasa Indonesia is ‘the primary word is placed in the front, followed by the defining word’, whilst in English the defining words precede the primary word. For example:
- Blue book – Buku biru
- Coffee with milk – Kopi susu
The word “book” is called the ‘noun’, and the word “blue” is the ‘adjective’. In English the adjective comes before the noun. But in Indonesian the noun may come first and the adjective follows.
This also applies in noun phrases that express possession:
- nama Anda your name
- toko Anda your shop
- gedung saya my building
Note: *Anda gedung, literally “you are a building”!
RAINBOW RULE
The easy way to remember how word order works in Indonesian noun phrases is to use the RAINBOW RULE. It is the mirroring word order when translating a long noun phrase from English to Indonesian and vice versa.
