Question Words (apa, siapa, di mana)

Level: Beginner. Indonesian question words (the “wh-” words) let you ask for a thing, a person, a place, a time, a reason, a way, an amount or a choice. The good news: you do not reshuffle the whole sentence — the question word usually just takes the slot of the missing answer.

The rule

A question word asks for the one piece of information you are missing. In Indonesian the main ones are:

• apa — what (things)
• siapa — who (people, and names)
• mana — where, with a preposition: di mana (at), ke mana (to), dari mana (from)
• kapan — when
• mengapa / kenapa — why
• bagaimana — how
• berapa — how much / how many
• yang mana — which (one)

Most of the time the question word sits where the answer would go: Kamu mau apa? (“You want what?”) mirrors the reply Saya mau teh (“I want tea”). You can also move it to the front, often with yang: Apa yang kamu mau? Both are correct; the in-place version is the everyday one.

Indonesian verbs do not change for questions, and there is no “do” helper as in English. The question word — plus a slight rise in the voice — does all the work.

The question words at a glance

How to say it

Indonesian is read as written, with even, pure vowels:

• Stress is light and usually on the second-to-last syllable: siapa ≈ “see-AH-pa”, bagaimana ≈ “ba-gai-MA-na”.
• ng is a single sound as in “singer”: mengapa ≈ “muhng-A-pa”.
• e is sometimes a short “uh” (schwa): berapa ≈ “b’-RA-pa”, mengapa starts “muhng-”.
• c (not in these words but common) is “ch” as in “church”; every vowel is pronounced fully.

Example sentences

Common mistakes

• ❌ Nama kamu apa? → ✅ Siapa nama kamu? To ask a person’s name, standard Indonesian uses siapa, not apa.
• ❌ Kamu pergi di mana? → ✅ Kamu pergi ke mana? Movement needs ke (to), not di (at).
• ❌ Kamu tinggal ke mana? → ✅ Kamu tinggal di mana? Staying/living is a location, so use di.
• ❌ Apa umur kamu? → ✅ Berapa umur kamu? Age is an amount; use berapa.
• ❌ Berapa ini? (for “what is this”) → ✅ Apa ini? Berapa asks a number, apa asks a thing.

A short conversation

— Halo! Siapa nama kamu? — Nama saya Budi. Kamu tinggal di mana? — Saya tinggal di Jakarta. Kapan kamu pindah ke sini? — Bulan lalu. Bagaimana kabar kamu?

Usage notes

• In place or fronted. Kamu beli apa? and Apa yang kamu beli? both mean “What did you buy?” The in-place form is the most common in speech.
• No verb change, no “do”. The verb stays the same as in a statement; a rising tone marks the question.
• Possessive -mu / kamu. kabarmu and kabar kamu both mean “your news”; -mu is a short attached form.
• Colloquial forms you will hear: kenapa (why), gimana (how), ngapain (doing what). They are informal; mengapa and bagaimana are the standard written forms.

Compared with yes/no questions

A question word asks for a specific piece of information. A yes/no question asks whether a whole statement is true, using rising intonation or the marker apakah: Kamu lapar? / Apakah kamu lapar? (“Are you hungry?”). Note that apa at the very front can also mark a yes/no question (Apa kamu lapar?) — there it is not “what”. See Yes/No Questions in Indonesian for that pattern, and review who does the asking in Indonesian personal pronouns.

Quick recap before the quiz.

Practice

Quiz

Recap cheat-sheet

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