Indonesian Demonstratives: ini and itu

Level: Beginner. Indonesian has just two words for “this” and “that”: ini (near) and itu (far). They are easy to use once you accept one habit — when they point out a noun, they come after it, not before.

The rule

A demonstrative is a pointing word: English “this/these” (near the speaker) and “that/those” (further away). Indonesian splits them the same way:

• ini — this / these (near the speaker)
• itu — that / those (away from the speaker)

When a demonstrative describes a noun, it follows the noun, the reverse of English:

• buku ini — this book (literally “book this”)
• rumah itu — that house (“house that”)
• orang ini — this person (“person this”)

Indonesian has no articles (no “a” or “the”) and no gender. Nothing on the noun changes, and there is no separate plural form: buku itu can mean “that book” or “those books” depending on context.

The same two words can also start a sentence as a subject pronoun meaning “this is” or “that is”:

• Ini buku. — This is a book.
• Itu rumah saya. — That is my house.

Forms

The pointing pair also builds the common place words:

The two jobs of ini and itu

Keep these two uses apart — they look almost identical but are different sentences:

1. Modifier (after the noun): buku ini = “this book”. This is just a noun phrase; it is not yet a full sentence.
2. Demonstrative subject (before the noun): Ini buku. = “This is a book.” Here ini is the subject “this”, and Indonesian needs no word for “is”.

So Ini buku ini is a real sentence: “This is this book” — the first ini is “this is”, the second ini points out which book.

Example sentences

1. Buku ini bagus.
   This book is good.
   ini after the noun = this book
2. Rumah itu besar.
   That house is big.
   itu after the noun = that house
3. Ini buku.
   This is a book.
   Ini at the start = this is
4. Itu rumah saya.
   That is my house.
   Itu = that is; no word for is
5. Orang ini guru.
   This person is a teacher.
   orang ini = this person
6. Mobil itu mahal.
   That car is expensive.
   itu = that (far)
7. Saya mau yang ini.
   I want this one.
   yang ini = this one
8. Dia suka yang itu.
   She likes that one.
   yang itu = that one
9. Apa ini?
   What is this?
   Apa ini = what is this
10. Itu apa?
    What is that?
    question with itu at the front
11. Teman saya tinggal di sini.
    My friend lives here.
    di sini = here
12. Kucing itu ada di sana.
    That cat is over there.
    di sana = there, far
13. Taruh tas itu di situ.
    Put that bag there.
    di situ = there, near you
14. Buku-buku ini milik saya.
    These books are mine.
    reduplication marks a clear plural
15. Ini teman saya, Budi.
    This is my friend, Budi.
    introducing a person
16. Makanan ini enak sekali.
    This food is really delicious.
    makanan ini = this food
17. Jalan itu panjang.
    That road is long.
    itu = that
18. Hari ini hari Senin.
    Today is Monday.
    hari ini = today (this day)

Common mistakes

• ❌ ini buku (meaning “this book”) → ✅ buku ini. As a modifier the demonstrative follows the noun; Ini buku is a different sentence (“This is a book”).
• ❌ itu rumah (meaning “that house”) → ✅ rumah itu. Same rule: the pointing word comes after.
• ❌ Ini adalah buku ini → ✅ Ini buku ini or simply Ini buku. Indonesian does not need “is” (adalah) in a simple “this is a …” sentence.
• ❌ dua buku ini for “these two books” wrong order → ✅ dua buku ini. Numbers go before the noun, the demonstrative after: dua buku ini (two book this).
• ❌ using ini for something far away → ✅ use itu. ini is only for what is near the speaker.

A short conversation

— Ini apa? (What is this?) — Ini tas baru saya. (This is my new bag.) — Bagus! Dan tas itu? (Nice! And that bag?) — Tas itu punya teman saya. Dia ada di sana. (That bag belongs to my friend. She’s over there.)

Notice Ini apa? and Ini tas… (demonstrative at the front = “this is”), tas itu (after the noun = “that bag”), and di sana for “over there”.

Usage notes

• No “is” needed. To say “This is a book”, just put ini in front: Ini buku. Adding adalah (“is”) is only for formal definitions and is usually dropped in speech.
• Pointing out which one. When itu follows a noun it often does the work of English “the”: Buku itu di meja can be “That book / The book is on the table”, because the listener already knows which book.
• Plural comes from context or reduplication. Buku ini is “this book” or “these books”. To force the plural, reduplicate the noun: buku-buku ini (“these books”). A number also makes it clear: tiga buku ini (“these three books”).
• The place trio. sini / situ / sana are the location cousins of this pair: di sini (here, by me), di situ (there, by you), di sana (there, far from both). ke sana means “to there”, dari sini “from here”.

Compared with…

• Possession also puts the extra word after the noun: buku saya (“my book”), buku ini (“this book”). You can combine them — buku saya ini (“this book of mine”). See Indonesian Possession.
• Adjective order follows the same “noun first” logic: rumah besar (“big house”), rumah itu (“that house”), rumah besar itu (“that big house”). See Indonesian noun and adjective order and the wider Indonesian word order.

How to say it

Indonesian spelling is very regular — each letter has one steady sound. For this lesson’s words:

Quick recap before the quiz.

Practice

Practice

ini and itu practice

Try each one, then press Check. No sign-up, nothing is sent anywhere — it all runs in your browser.

1 How do you say 'this book' (as a thing)?

ini buku buku ini buku itu ini buku ini

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buku ini — A demonstrative modifier follows the noun: buku ini.

2 'That house': rumah ____

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Hint: far from the speaker

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itu — itu = that/those, placed after the noun: rumah itu.

3 Build: 'This is my house.'

rumahInisaya

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Ini rumah saya — Ini at the front = 'this is': Ini rumah saya.

4 Match each phrase to its meaning.

• buku ini Match for buku ini — choose — herethere (far)this bookthis is a book
• Ini buku Match for Ini buku — choose — herethere (far)this bookthis is a book
• di sini Match for di sini — choose — herethere (far)this bookthis is a book
• di sana Match for di sana — choose — herethere (far)this bookthis is a book

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• buku ini → this book
• Ini buku → this is a book
• di sini → here
• di sana → there (far)

After the noun = modifier; at the front = 'this is'; sini/sana are place words.

5 Which means 'that one'?

ini yang ini yang itu itu ini

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yang itu — yang itu = that one; yang ini = this one.

6 'These books' (clear plural): buku-____ ini

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Hint: reduplicate the noun

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buku — Reduplication marks the plural: buku-buku ini.

Quiz

Check yourself

Indonesian demonstratives

12 questions · pick an answer and you'll see straight away if it's right.

0/12 0 answered

1. 1'ini' means…

   A that B this C the D here
   Show answer

   this — ini = this/these (near the speaker).

2. 2'itu' means…

   A this B that C here D my
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   that — itu = that/those (far from the speaker).

3. 3'This book' (as a thing) is…

   A ini buku B buku ini C buku itu D itu buku
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   buku ini — The demonstrative follows the noun: buku ini.

4. 4'That house' is…

   A itu rumah B rumah ini C rumah itu D ini rumah
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   rumah itu — rumah itu — noun first, then itu.

5. 5'Ini buku' means…

   A this book B that book C this is a book D the book
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   this is a book — At the front, ini = 'this is': This is a book.

6. 6Which word for 'is' do you need in 'This is a book'?

   A adalah, always B none in simple speech C ini twice D ada
   Show answer

   none in simple speech — Indonesian needs no 'is' here: Ini buku.

7. 7'here' (near me) is…

   A di situ B di sana C di sini D di itu
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   di sini — di sini = here; situ = there (near you); sana = far.

8. 8'that one': yang ____
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   itu — yang itu = that one.

9. 9How is 'these books' made clearly plural?

   A add -s B buku-buku ini C buku inis D ini buku
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   buku-buku ini — Reduplicate the noun: buku-buku ini.

10. 10Indonesian nouns change for gender and number…

    A always B never C only with ini D only in the plural
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    never — Nouns do not change; context or reduplication shows number.

11. 11'What is this?' is…

    A Apa itu sana? B Apa ini? C Ini apa buku? D Sini apa?
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    Apa ini? — Apa ini? or Ini apa? — both ask 'what is this?'.

12. 12'This food is delicious': makanan ____ enak.
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    Show answer

    ini — makanan ini = this food, demonstrative after the noun.

Recap cheat-sheet

Next

• Back to the Indonesian grammar section
• Related: Indonesian Possession and Indonesian word order
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