Noun + ini

This After the Noun

Level 1

In Indonesian, the word for 'this' (ini) comes after the noun it describes. It is used for both singular and plural objects.

How It Works

The word ini is a demonstrative determiner. Its primary role is to identify a specific noun that is physically or contextually near the speaker.

1. Word Order
The most important rule is that ini follows the entire noun phrase. If you have a noun, an adjective, or a possessor, ini goes at the very end.

  • Buku ini (This book)
  • Buku merah ini (This red book)
  • Mobil saya ini (This car of mine)

2. Singular vs. Plural
Indonesian does not change the form of ini for plural nouns. It remains ini whether you are talking about one item or many.

  • Kucing ini (This cat)
  • Kucing-kucing ini (These cats)

3. Definiteness and Formal Variants
Because Indonesian lacks a direct equivalent to 'the,' ini is often used to make a noun definite. In formal academic or legal writing, you may see the word tersebut used as a formal equivalent to 'this' or 'the' when referring to something previously mentioned.

4. Colloquial Nuances
In casual conversation, ini is often shortened to ni or nih. The variant nih is particularly common when pointing something out directly or presenting an object to someone (e.g., 'Nih, makanannya' - 'Here, this is the food').

Examples (5)

  1. Buku ini sangat menarik.

    This book is very interesting.

    Word by Word: Book this very interesting.

    Ini follows the noun 'buku' to specify which book is being discussed.

  2. Saya suka kucing hitam ini.

    I like this black cat.

    Word by Word: I like cat black this.

    Notice that ini comes after both the noun (kucing) and the adjective (hitam).

  3. Mobil baru saya ini cepat.

    This new car of mine is fast.

    Word by Word: Car new my this fast.

    When a possessor such as saya follows the noun, ini follows that possessor in this noun phrase.

  4. Rumah-rumah ini besar.

    These houses are big.

    Word by Word: Houses this big.

    Ini translates to 'these' when the noun is pluralized.

  5. Nih, kuncinya.

    Here, this is the key.

    Word by Word: This, key-the.

    The colloquial variant 'nih' is often used when presenting an object to someone.

Common Mistakes

  • Joining ini to the noun.

    Bukuini sangat bagus.
    Buku ini sangat bagus.

    Write ini separately after the noun for this book. Ini buku ... can instead identify something as a book, so the position alone does not make that different construction ungrammatical.

  • Joining ini to the preceding adjective.

    Saya suka mobil merahini.
    Saya suka mobil merah ini.

    In this noun phrase, ini is separate and follows merah. Mobil ini merah is also a grammatical sentence meaning this car is red; it is a sentence/phrase contrast, not a malformed sentence.

How It Connects

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

Noun + iniLevel 1This After the Noun

Learn This First

To understand how 'ini' functions after a noun, a learner needs to be familiar with the head-initial word order of Indonesian, where modifiers (like adjectives or demonstratives) follow the noun they modify.

Words in This Pattern