apa pun yang ...

Free-choice Relative

Level 6

Apa pun yang is the standard Indonesian way to say 'whatever' or 'anything that'. It combines the interrogative apa (what) with the particle pun (even/any) and the relativizer yang to create a universal, open-ended statement.

How It Works

The construction apa pun yang is a sophisticated tool for advanced Indonesian discourse. It is built from three distinct parts:

  • Apa: The base interrogative 'what'.
  • Pun: An indefiniteness marker here, similar to '-ever' in English.
  • Yang: The relativizer that connects the 'whatever' to a following description or action.

Syntactic Constraints:
1. Verbal Clauses: When 'apa pun' acts as the object of the verb in the relative clause, use a patient-first construction, such as object voice in apa pun yang kamu baca, or a di- passive in apa pun yang dibaca. However, if 'apa pun' is the subject of the relative clause, the active meN- prefix is preserved (e.g., apa pun yang membahagiakanmu).
2. Noun Phrases: The nominal-predicate model apa pun keputusannya means whatever the decision is and does not insert yang. This is a separate pattern from a full relative description containing a noun within it.

Orthography:
In formal Indonesian (Bahasa Baku), apa pun must be written as two separate words. While you will frequently see it written as one word (apapun) in social media or casual texts, the separate spelling is the only one accepted in professional, academic, or legal contexts.

Examples (4)

  1. Apa pun yang terjadi, kita harus tetap tenang.

    Whatever happens, we must remain calm.

    Word by Word: What-ever that happen, we must remain calm.

    Here, 'apa pun yang' acts as the subject of the clause 'terjadi' (happen).

  2. Saya akan mendukung apa pun yang kamu putuskan.

    I will support whatever you decide.

    Word by Word: I will support what-ever that you decide.

    Note the use of the base verb 'putuskan' without the 'me-' prefix because it follows the pronoun 'kamu' in an object relative clause.

  3. Apa pun yang dia katakan tidak bisa dipercaya.

    Whatever he says cannot be trusted.

    Word by Word: What-ever that he say not can be-trusted.

    The entire phrase 'Apa pun yang dia katakan' serves as the subject of the main sentence.

  4. Berikan saya informasi apa pun yang Anda miliki.

    Give me any information that you have.

    Word by Word: Give me information what-ever that you have.

    In this context, it emphasizes 'any information at all' without limits.

Common Mistakes

  • Writing 'apa pun' as a single word.

    Apapun yang terjadi...
    Apa pun yang terjadi...

    EYD V writes apa pun separately. Certain fixed conjunctions, including walaupun and meskipun, are written together.

  • Joining pun to the following relative marker.

    Apa punyang terjadi, kita harus tenang.
    Apa pun yang terjadi, kita harus tenang.

    Write pun and yang separately. Apa pun alasannya is a distinct whatever-the-reason pattern with a nominal predicate. A yang clause can also contain a noun within a larger description, so do not ban yang whenever a noun appears somewhere after it.

  • Using an active meN- verb when the relative head is the object.

    Apa pun yang kamu memilih...
    Apa pun yang kamu pilih...

    In this pronoun-actor object-voice model, kamu precedes pilih without the active meN- prefix. A di- passive can also focus the affected participant; object voice is not the only possible relative construction.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

apa pun yang ...Level 6Free-choice Relative

Learn This First

To understand 'apa pun yang...', a learner must first know the question word 'apa', how the particle 'pun' creates indefinite meanings (like 'anything' or 'whatever'), and how 'yang' functions to introduce relative clauses that describe the preceding noun or pronoun.

Words in This Pattern

apa pun