Yes/No Questions (apakah, intonation)

Level: Beginner. A yes/no question is one you can answer with yes or no. Indonesian makes it the easy way: you keep the sentence exactly as it is and either raise your voice or add one small word.

The rule

A yes/no question (Indonesian pertanyaan ya/tidak) asks the listener to confirm or deny something. Indonesian has two everyday ways to form it, and neither changes the word order:

1. Rising intonation. Say the statement and lift your voice at the end. Kamu lapar. (“You are hungry.”) becomes Kamu lapar? (“Are you hungry?”). In writing, the question mark does this job.
2. The word apakah at the front. Apakah kamu lapar? means the same thing but sounds more formal or careful. apakah marks the whole sentence as a question.

Unlike English, Indonesian adds no helper verb — there is no equivalent of do in “Do you live here?” — and it does not reorder the words. The subject and predicate stay put; only a tone or apakah is added.

There is also a suffix -kah that can attach to the questioned word for a formal, focused question: Laparkah kamu? (“Are you hungry?”). You will meet it in writing, but apakah or plain intonation is all you need to speak.

The three ways at a glance

Answering: ya, tidak and bukan

Indonesian picks the “no” word by what is being denied:

• ya (or iya) — yes, to any positive question: Kamu lapar? — Ya.
• tidak — no, when you negate a verb or adjective: Kamu lapar? — Tidak (, saya tidak lapar).
• bukan — no, when you reject a noun or identity: Dia guru? — Bukan (, dia dokter).
• belum — not yet, when something simply has not happened: Sudah makan? — Belum.

A short Ya or Tidak works, but Indonesian often repeats the key word for a natural answer: Toko itu buka? — Tidak, tutup. (“Is that shop open? — No, it’s closed.”)

How to say it

Indonesian spelling is consistent, but a rising tone carries the question:

• The question melody rises or stays high on the last syllable: lapar? ends up, not down.
• apakah is three light syllables, “ah-pah-kah”, with no heavy stress.
• c is always “ch”: cuaca (“weather”) ≈ “chu-AH-cha”.
• ng is one soft sound as in “singer”: dengar (“hear”) ≈ “DUH-ngar”.

Example sentences

1. Kamu lapar?
   Are you hungry?
   rising intonation
2. Apakah kamu lapar?
   Are you hungry?
   formal, with apakah
3. Apakah ini kopi?
   Is this coffee?
4. Kamu suka kopi?
   Do you like coffee?
5. Apakah dia guru?
   Is he/she a teacher?
6. Mereka di rumah?
   Are they at home?
7. Apakah kamu bisa bahasa Indonesia?
   Can you speak Indonesian?
8. Kamu sudah makan?
   Have you eaten yet?
9. Apakah toko itu buka?
   Is that shop open?
10. Dia datang hari ini?
    Is he/she coming today?
11. Apakah ini tasmu?
    Is this your bag?
12. Kamu tinggal di sini?
    Do you live here?
13. Apakah kamu capek?
    Are you tired?
14. Harga tiketnya naik lagi?
    Has the ticket price gone up again?
15. Kamu dari Prancis, kan?
    You are from France, right?
    kan checks a belief
16. Apakah Anda punya kartu anggota?
    Do you have a membership card?
    formal Anda
17. Enak, kan?
    Tasty, isn't it?
18. Kamu tidak lapar?
    Aren't you hungry?
    negative question

Common mistakes

• ❌ Apa kamu lapar? used in careful writing for yes/no → ✅ Apakah kamu lapar? In formal yes/no questions use apakah; bare apa also means “what”.
• ❌ Dia guru? — Tidak. → ✅ Bukan. A noun (guru) is rejected with bukan, not tidak.
• ❌ Kamu lapar? — Bukan. → ✅ Tidak. An adjective (lapar) is negated with tidak, not bukan.
• ❌ Apakah kamu suka kopi? in a casual chat → ✅ Kamu suka kopi? In everyday speech, a rising tone is enough; apakah can sound stiff.
• ❌ Do kamu tinggal di sini? / inverting words → ✅ Kamu tinggal di sini? Indonesian adds no do and keeps the statement order.

A short conversation

Di warung (at a food stall): — Apakah kamu lapar? — Ya, sedikit. Nasi goreng enak di sini, kan? — Enak sekali. Kamu mau minum? — Belum, nanti saja.

Usage notes

• apakah is register, not grammar. The question means the same with or without it; apakah just raises formality. Textbooks use it; the street drops it.
• kan is a tag. kan (a short form of bukan) checks something you already believe: Kamu dari Jakarta, kan? (“You’re from Jakarta, right?”).
• Drop obvious pronouns. In context, Mau minum? (“Want a drink?”) is a complete, natural question.
• Answers often repeat the word. Especially after a negative question, repeat the predicate (sudah, belum, tutup) rather than relying on a bare ya.

Compared with question words

A yes/no question expects ya, tidak or bukan. A question-word question asks for information with apa (what), siapa (who), di mana (where), kapan (when), mengapa (why) or bagaimana (how), and cannot be answered with yes or no. Note that apa alone can mean “what”, while apakah marks a yes/no question. For the two “no” words, review Sentences Without ‘To Be’; for the statement order these questions keep, see Basic Word Order in Indonesian.

Quick recap before the quiz.

Practice

Practice

Yes/no questions practice

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

1 How do you ask 'Are you hungry?' in everyday speech?

Do kamu lapar? Kamu lapar? Lapar kamu do? Kamu lapar do?

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Kamu lapar? — Keep the statement and raise your tone: Kamu lapar? No do, no reordering.

2 Add the formal marker: '____ kamu suka kopi?' (Do you like coffee?)

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Hint: the front-of-sentence question word

Show answer

Apakah — apakah marks a formal yes/no question: Apakah kamu suka kopi?

3 Match each 'no' word to its job.

• tidak Match for tidak — choose — negates a verb or adjectivenot yetrejects a noun / identityyes
• bukan Match for bukan — choose — negates a verb or adjectivenot yetrejects a noun / identityyes
• belum Match for belum — choose — negates a verb or adjectivenot yetrejects a noun / identityyes
• ya Match for ya — choose — negates a verb or adjectivenot yetrejects a noun / identityyes

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• tidak → negates a verb or adjective
• bukan → rejects a noun / identity
• belum → not yet
• ya → yes

tidak for verbs/adjectives, bukan for nouns, belum for not-yet, ya for yes.

4 'Dia guru?' — reject it correctly:

Tidak, dia dokter. Bukan, dia dokter. Belum, dia dokter. Ya, dia dokter.

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Bukan, dia dokter. — guru is a noun, so reject identity with bukan.

5 Answer 'not yet': 'Sudah makan?' — '____.'

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Hint: it has not happened yet

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Belum — belum means not yet.

Quiz

Check yourself

Indonesian yes/no questions quiz

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

0/12 0 answered

1. 1The two everyday ways to ask a yes/no question are…

   A add do / reorder words B rising intonation / apakah C change the verb / add -nya D use apa / siapa
   Show answer

   rising intonation / apakah — Either raise your tone or add apakah; nothing moves.

2. 2'Apakah' mainly adds…

   A a new meaning B formality; it marks a yes/no question C a past tense D a negative
   Show answer

   formality; it marks a yes/no question — apakah marks a formal/written yes/no question.

3. 3'Is this coffee?' formally is…

   A Do ini kopi? B Apakah ini kopi? C Kopi ini apa? D Ini kopi do?
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   Apakah ini kopi? — Apakah + statement: Apakah ini kopi?

4. 4Reject a noun ('He is not a teacher') with…

   A tidak B bukan C belum D jangan
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   bukan — A noun is rejected with bukan: bukan guru.

5. 5Negate an adjective ('I'm not tired') with…

   A bukan B tidak C belum D ya
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   tidak — An adjective is negated with tidak: tidak capek.

6. 6'Sudah makan?' answered 'not yet' is…

   A Tidak B Bukan C Belum D Jangan
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   Belum — belum = not yet.

7. 7The tag that checks a belief ('…right?') is…

   A kah B apa C kan D ya
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   kan — kan (short for bukan) seeks confirmation: Enak, kan?

8. 8What does Indonesian add to match the English 'do' in questions?

   A tidak B nothing C apa D lah
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   nothing — Nothing is added and nothing moves; only tone or apakah.

9. 9Which is a casual, natural yes/no question?

   A Apakah kamu mau minum sesuatu? B Mau minum? C Minum kamu apakah? D Do kamu minum?
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   Mau minum? — In speech the pronoun and apakah are often dropped: Mau minum?

10. 10Make a yes/no question with the marker: '____ toko itu buka?'
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    Apakah — Apakah toko itu buka? — is that shop open?

11. 11'Ini tasmu?' rejected correctly is…

    A Tidak, ini tas Rani. B Bukan, ini tas Rani. C Belum, ini tas Rani. D Jangan, ini tas Rani.
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    Bukan, ini tas Rani. — tas is a noun, so use bukan to reject the identity.

12. 12Answer yes: 'Kamu suka kopi?' — '____, suka.'
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    Ya — A positive question takes Ya (or Iya).

Recap cheat-sheet

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