Tidak vs bukan: which Indonesian "no" do you use?
English has one word for "not". Indonesian has two — and they aren't interchangeable. Here's the rule, the easy mnemonic, and the edge cases that trip up almost every learner.
The rule in one sentence
Tidak negates verbs and adjectives. Bukan negates nouns and pronouns. Almost every "Should I use tidak or bukan?" question collapses to: "What word am I negating?"
Examples — tidak (verbs and adjectives)
- Saya tidak makan. — I don't eat / I'm not eating. (negating the verb makan)
- Dia tidak tinggi. — He's not tall. (negating the adjective tinggi)
- Kami tidak mengerti. — We don't understand.
- Ini tidak mahal. — This isn't expensive.
Examples — bukan (nouns and pronouns)
- Saya bukan guru. — I am not a teacher. (negating the noun guru)
- Itu bukan mobil saya. — That isn't my car.
- Bukan dia, tapi adiknya. — Not him, but his younger sibling. (negating the pronoun dia)
- Ini bukan kopi, ini teh. — This isn't coffee, it's tea.
The mnemonic that finally makes it stick
Bukan sounds a bit like "buka" ("to open") — and you "open" the contrast: not this, but that. Tidak is for everything else. After a week of pausing to ask "noun or not?" before saying no, it becomes automatic.
Edge case 1: "no" as a standalone reply
When someone asks a yes/no question, the answer depends on the verb in the question:
- "Apakah kamu lapar?" ("Are you hungry?") → "Tidak." — adjective lapar
- "Apakah ini punyamu?" ("Is this yours?") → "Bukan." — pronoun punyamu
If unsure, listen to the verb in the question. The negation must match.
Edge case 2: "I haven't" — belum
Indonesian has a third "not" you'll hear constantly: belum = "not yet". It implies the action will happen eventually:
- Saya belum makan. — I haven't eaten yet (but I plan to).
- Saya tidak makan. — I'm not eating (full stop, maybe never).
Indonesians use belum a lot — even for things English speakers would say "no" to. Asked if you've been to Bali? Say belum, not tidak. It's politer (it implies you'd like to go).
Edge case 3: "don't do that" — jangan
For commands, neither tidak nor bukan works. Use jangan:
- Jangan pergi. — Don't go.
- Jangan khawatir. — Don't worry.
Practice these in the app
Each of these has its own card with usage notes in Speak Indo: tidak, bukan, belum, jangan. Browse the full basics vocabulary for more.