The Usage of 'yang' — Indonesian Grammar

functions primarily as a relative pronoun, similar to the English words who, which, or that. It serves as a grammatical bridge to connect a noun with a descriptive word, phrase, or clause that follows it.

Connecting Nouns to Adjectives

While adjectives can often be placed directly after a noun, using between them adds specificity. It emphasizes the quality of the noun, often translating to "that is". This is particularly useful when distinguishing a specific object from others.

Saya mau apel yang merah.
I want the red apple (the apple that is red).
Rumah yang besar itu mahal.
That big house is expensive.

Creating Relative Clauses

When you need to describe a noun using a verb or a full action, is required. It links the subject to the action they are performing or receiving. In this context, it acts exactly like who or that in English.

Orang yang duduk di sana adalah teman saya.
The person who is sitting there is my friend.
Makanan yang dimasak ibu sangat enak.
The food that mother cooked is very delicious.

Meaning "The One"

can be used without a preceding noun if the context is already clear. In these cases, it turns an adjective or verb into a noun phrase, equivalent to saying "the one" or "the ones" in English.

Yang mana mobil kamu?
Which one is your car?
Saya suka yang ini.
I like this one.
Yang muda harus menghormati yang tua.
The young ones must respect the old ones.

Used for Emphasis

Speakers often use to place strong focus on the subject of a sentence. This structure emphasizes that it is this specific person or thing that performed the action, and not someone else.

Dia yang menulis surat ini.
He is the one who wrote this letter.
Bukan saya yang salah.
It is not me who is wrong.

In the course

Sentences from Lingora’s Indonesian course

55 of the course's 500 sentences use this, the first in lesson 6. A few of them, with the words “The Usage of 'yang'” is about in bold:

Dia punya mobil yang lambat dan murah.
She has a slow, cheap car.
Lesson 110
Kamu punya dua anak yang cantik. Berapa umur mereka?
You have two very beautiful children. How old are they?
Lesson 264
Anda orang pertama yang menyadarinya!
You (pol.) are the first person to notice!
Lesson 337

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