HaloBahasa

Sudah, belum, masih: the three-way answer

One question, three possible states. English needs a sentence for each, Indonesian needs a word.

a2Lesson 14 of 345 minWhere people get stuck

By the end of this lesson

  • Answer a sudah question with the right one of three words
  • Use masih and sudah tidak correctly

You met all three in A1 separately. Put together they form a system, and it is worth seeing whole because English has no equivalent.

The square

positive negative
has happened sudah ‘already’ belum ‘not yet’
is ongoing masih ‘still’ sudah tidak ‘not any more’

Four states, four words. English needs a full clause for three of them.

In practice

Sudah makan? ‘Have you eaten?’

Sudah. ‘Yes.’
Belum. ‘Not yet.’
Masih makan. ‘Still eating.’
Sudah tidak lapar. ‘Not hungry any more.’

Masih

Masih jauh? ‘Is it still far?’
Dia masih tidur. ‘She’s still asleep.’
Masih ada? ‘Have you still got any?’

That last one is how you ask whether something is still in stock, and it pairs with habis from the ada lesson.

Sudah tidak, the forgotten corner

Saya sudah tidak tinggal di sana. ‘I don’t live there any more.’
Sudah tidak ada. ‘There isn’t any left.’

In speech this contracts hard: udah nggak, and often just dah nggak.

English speakers reach for tidak alone here, which says you never lived there. The sudah is what carries the “any more”.

The greeting version

Sudah makan? is asked constantly and is not really a question about food. It works like “how’s it going”, and sudah is a perfectly good answer whether or not you have eaten.

Answering with a genuine report of your last meal is a slightly foreign move, though a charming one.

What you’ll actually hear

What the book says: Apakah Anda sudah makan siang?
What you’ll hear: Udah makan?Belum.

Words from this lesson

sudahalready, done
belumnot yet
masihstill
sudah tidaknot any moreThe fourth corner, and the one people forget.