Lesson 37 Tidak = Not (used with adjectives/verbs)

Click to listen {{ @audio | raw }}

A second reading (by Muhammad Nor Ismat, a native speaker)

Saya tidak faham.
Dia tidak marah.
Saya tidak lapar.
Saya tidak tahu.
Anda tidak boleh masuk.

I don't understand.
He is not angry.
I am not hungry.
I don't know.
You can't enter.

faham = to understand
marah = angry
lapar = hungry
tahu = to know
tidak boleh = cannot
masuk = to enter

Note: The above sentences could also be in the past tense eg. I didn't understand, He was not angry, etc.

Tidak apa (or tidak mengapa) means "It doesn't matter". It is quite often shortened to Tak apa in its spoken form.
Tidak ada (not to have) is often abridged to tiada eg. Dia tiada wang.= He has no money.
Further examples:
Dia tidak sakit. (He is not sick.)
Sepuluh ringgit sahaja? - Tidak mahal! (Only 10 ringgit? It's not expensive!)
Another way of saying this is Hanya sepuluh ringgit? (Literally "Only 10 ringgit?")
Pejabat saya tidak jauh dari sini. (My office is not far from here.)
Saya tidak dengar berita itu. (I didn't hear that piece of news.)
Saya tidak kenal dia. (I don't know him.)
Ini tidak bagus. (This is not good.)
Cerita itu tidak benar. ( That story is not true.)
Itu tidak betul. ( That is not true.)
Note: There is often some confusion for beginners over the use of the word tidak and bukan, both of which mean "not". Generally, when "not" is used with a noun or pronoun (eg. He is not my friend or It was not him) bukan and not tidak is used while tidak is normally used with verbs and adjectives (except for adjectives of colour which take bukan) . As I do not wish to confuse the learner by introducing both tidak (more in Lesson 48) and bukan at the same time I have waited till Lesson 51 to show how bukan is used.

ENGLISH	INDONESIAN	MALAY
I don't understand.	Saya tidak mengerti.	Saya tidak faham.
understand	mengerti/paham	faham
It doesn't matter.	Tidak apa-apa.	Tidak apa.
He has no money.	Dia tidak punya uang.	Dia tidak ada wang.
My office is not far from here.	Kantor saya tidak jauh dari sini.	Pejabat saya tidak jauh dari sini.
Note: "enggak" is often used in the place of "tidak" in Indonesian. Thus "Aku enggak takut" means "I am not afraid". In August 2018 one Malaysian ringgit was worth 3,580 Indonesian Rupiah.