Negation: tidak vs bukan

Level: Beginner. Indonesian has two everyday words for “not”, and English speakers mix them up because English uses one. The choice is simple once you know it: look at the word right after the negator.

The rule

A negator is a word that makes a sentence negative, like English not. Indonesian picks between two of them by the word class of what comes next — that is, whether the next word is a noun, or a verb or adjective.

• tidak negates a verb or an adjective (an action, state, or quality): Saya tidak makan. — “I do not eat.” Dia tidak lapar. — “He is not hungry.”
• bukan negates a noun (a person or thing): Dia bukan guru. — “He is not a teacher.” Itu bukan mobil saya. — “That is not my car.”

So the test is: Is the next word a noun? If yes, use bukan. If it is a verb or an adjective, use tidak. There is nothing else to decide for a basic sentence.

The negators at a glance

belum: “not yet”

belum is a third negator worth learning now. It means “not yet” and hints that the thing is still expected to happen. It replaces tidak when that “yet” meaning is there:

• Saya belum makan. — “I haven’t eaten yet.” (I still plan to.)
• Dia belum datang. — “He/She hasn’t arrived yet.”

The natural answer to a sudah…? (“already…?”) question is often belum, not tidak: Sudah makan? — Belum. (“Eaten already? — Not yet.”)

jangan: “don’t!”

jangan is the negator for commands — telling someone not to do something. It is not used for plain statements:

• Jangan lupa! — “Don’t forget!”
• Jangan merokok di sini. — “Don’t smoke here.”

For an ordinary negative statement you still use tidak or bukan; jangan only appears when you are forbidding or warning.

How to say it

Indonesian spelling is consistent — one sound per letter. A few points in this lesson’s words:

• c is always “ch”: bukan is easy, but watch kucing (“cat”) ≈ “KOO-ching”.
• Each vowel is short and pure: tidak ≈ “TEE-dak”, bukan ≈ “BOO-kan”.
• Final -k after a vowel is a light, almost swallowed stop: tidak ends softly, not a hard “k”.
• ng is one soft sound as in “singer”: jangan ≈ “JAH-ngan”.

Example sentences

1. Saya tidak lapar.
   I am not hungry.
   tidak + adjective
2. Dia tidak makan daging.
   He/She does not eat meat.
   tidak + verb
3. Kami tidak sibuk hari ini.
   We are not busy today.
4. Mereka tidak tinggal di sini.
   They do not live here.
5. Rumah ini tidak besar.
   This house is not big.
6. Dia bukan guru.
   He/She is not a teacher.
   bukan + noun
7. Itu bukan mobil saya.
   That is not my car.
8. Ini bukan kopi, ini teh.
   This is not coffee, this is tea.
   bukan for contrast
9. Mereka bukan teman saya.
   They are not my friends.
10. Dia bukan orang Indonesia.
    He/She is not Indonesian.
11. Saya belum makan.
    I haven't eaten yet.
    belum = not yet
12. Dia belum datang.
    He/She hasn't arrived yet.
13. Kami belum siap.
    We are not ready yet.
14. Saya belum pernah ke Bali.
    I have never been to Bali (yet).
15. Jangan lupa!
    Don't forget!
    jangan = don't (command)
16. Jangan merokok di sini.
    Don't smoke here.
17. Jangan khawatir.
    Don't worry.
18. Maaf, saya tidak tahu.
    Sorry, I don't know.
    tidak + verb tahu
19. Dia tidak suka kopi.
    He/She does not like coffee.
20. Ini bukan masalah besar.
    This is not a big problem.
    bukan + noun phrase

Common mistakes

• ❌ Dia tidak guru. → ✅ Dia bukan guru. A noun (guru) is negated with bukan, not tidak.
• ❌ Saya bukan lapar. → ✅ Saya tidak lapar. An adjective (lapar) takes tidak, not bukan.
• ❌ Saya tidak makan (when you mean “not yet”) → ✅ Saya belum makan. Use belum for “not yet”.
• ❌ Tidak pergi! (as a command) → ✅ Jangan pergi! A “don’t!” command uses jangan.
• ❌ Dia bukan suka kopi. → ✅ Dia tidak suka kopi. suka (“to like”) is a verb, so it takes tidak.

A short conversation

— Kamu bukan mahasiswa, ya? Kamu guru? — Benar, saya bukan mahasiswa. Saya guru. — Sudah makan? — Belum. Saya belum makan. Saya tidak lapar tadi, tapi sekarang lapar. — Ayo makan! Jangan lupa minum juga.

Usage notes

• The next word decides, not the English translation. English says “is not” for both bukan guru and tidak lapar; Indonesian splits them by word class.
• bukan can mark a contrast (“not X, but Y”): Ini bukan teh, tapi kopi.
• In speech tidak shrinks. You will hear tak (written, poetic) and the casual nggak / enggak; bukan keeps its full form, sometimes shortened to kan in questions.
• belum pairs with sudah. The yes/no pair for “already?” is sudah (“yes, already”) vs belum (“not yet”), not tidak.

Compared with…

• belum vs tidak: both can translate as a negative, but belum means “not yet” and keeps the door open. Choose it whenever the thing is still expected.
• jangan vs tidak: jangan forbids an action (a command); tidak simply states that something is not so. To see how negatives attach to verbless sentences, review Sentences Without ‘To Be’, and for the subject–predicate frame around them, Basic Word Order in Indonesian.

Quick recap before the quiz.

Practice

Practice

tidak vs bukan practice

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

1 'He is not a doctor' = Dia ___ dokter.

tidak bukan belum jangan

Check

Show answer

bukan — dokter is a noun, so it takes bukan.

2 Negate an adjective: 'I am not tired' = Saya ____ lelah.

Check

Hint: lelah is an adjective

Show answer

tidak — An adjective takes tidak: Saya tidak lelah.

3 'I haven't eaten yet' = Saya ____ makan.

Check

Hint: 'not yet'

Show answer

belum — 'Not yet' is belum: Saya belum makan.

4 Order the words: 'That is not my car.'

mobil sayabukanItu

CheckReset

Show answer

Itu bukan mobil saya — A noun (mobil saya) is negated with bukan: Itu bukan mobil saya.

5 Match each negator to its job.

• tidak Match for tidak — choose — don't! (command)negates a nounnegates a verb/adjectivenot yet
• bukan Match for bukan — choose — don't! (command)negates a nounnegates a verb/adjectivenot yet
• belum Match for belum — choose — don't! (command)negates a nounnegates a verb/adjectivenot yet
• jangan Match for jangan — choose — don't! (command)negates a nounnegates a verb/adjectivenot yet

Check

Show answer

• tidak → negates a verb/adjective
• bukan → negates a noun
• belum → not yet
• jangan → don't! (command)

tidak for verbs/adjectives, bukan for nouns, belum for 'not yet', jangan for commands.

Quiz

Check yourself

Indonesian negation: tidak vs bukan

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

0/12 0 answered

1. 1Which negator goes before a noun?

   A tidak B bukan C belum D jangan
   Show answer

   bukan — bukan negates nouns; tidak negates verbs and adjectives.

2. 2'I am not hungry' = Saya ___ lapar.

   A bukan B tidak C jangan D adalah
   Show answer

   tidak — lapar is an adjective, so use tidak.

3. 3'He/She is not a teacher' = Dia ___ guru.

   A tidak B bukan C belum D jangan
   Show answer

   bukan — guru is a noun: Dia bukan guru.

4. 4Which sentence is wrong?

   A Saya tidak lapar. B Dia tidak guru. C Itu bukan mobil saya. D Mereka tidak sibuk.
   Show answer

   Dia tidak guru. — A noun needs bukan: Dia bukan guru.

5. 5'I haven't arrived yet' uses which word?

   A tidak B bukan C belum D jangan
   Show answer

   belum — belum means 'not yet': Saya belum sampai.

6. 6The natural answer to 'Sudah makan?' ('Eaten already?') is…

   A Tidak. B Belum. C Bukan. D Jangan.
   Show answer

   Belum. — sudah pairs with belum: 'Not yet.'

7. 7'Don't smoke here!' = ___ merokok di sini.

   A Tidak B Bukan C Belum D Jangan
   Show answer

   Jangan — A command ('don't') uses jangan.

8. 8Why is 'Saya bukan lapar' wrong?

   A lapar is a noun B lapar is an adjective, so it needs tidak C bukan is not a word D the subject is missing
   Show answer

   lapar is an adjective, so it needs tidak — lapar is an adjective; adjectives take tidak, not bukan.

9. 9What does belum add that tidak does not?

   A a question B the sense of 'not yet / still expected' C a command D politeness only
   Show answer

   the sense of 'not yet / still expected' — belum means 'not yet' and implies the thing may still happen.

10. 10'This is not coffee, this is tea' = Ini ____ kopi, ini teh.
    Check
    Show answer

    bukan — kopi is a noun, and bukan can mark the contrast: Ini bukan kopi.

11. 11Which is correct?

    A Dia bukan suka kopi. B Dia tidak suka kopi. C Dia belum suka kopi. D Dia jangan suka kopi.
    Show answer

    Dia tidak suka kopi. — suka ('to like') is a verb, so it takes tidak.

12. 12'Don't forget!' = ____ lupa!
    Check
    Show answer

    jangan — A 'don't' command uses jangan: Jangan lupa!

Recap cheat-sheet

Next

• Negatives in verbless sentences: Sentences Without ‘To Be’
• The subject–predicate frame: Basic Word Order in Indonesian
• New here? Start with Start Learning Indonesian Here