bukan

Bukan is a negation particle in Indonesian that is used to deny or negate a nominal predicate, such as a identity, role, or ownership. It functions to indicate that the subject is not a particular thing or not part of a specified category.

In terms of grammar, bukan typically sits between the subject and a noun or noun phrase. For example, saya bukan guru means “I am not a teacher,” and itu bukan milik saya means “that is not mine.” Bukan is generally used to negate nouns or pronouns, while for verbs or verb phrases, Indonesian most often uses tidak rather than bukan. For instance, saya tidak makan means “I am not eating.” There are formal or emphatic variants such as bukanlah, which can appear in more formal or literary contexts.

Bukan can also be used in contrastive or corrective constructions, especially with melainkan meaning “but rather.” For example, bukan saya yang salah, melainkan teman saya translates roughly to “it’s not me who is wrong, but my friend.” Idiomatic expressions include bukan main, used to intensify a statement, as in repotnya bukan main meaning “it’s extremely troublesome.”

Examples:

- Saya bukan manusia biasa. (I am not an ordinary person.)

- Itu bukan milik saya. (That is not mine.)

- Bukan semua orang bisa melakukannya. (Not everyone can do it.)

- Ini bukan apa yang saya inginkan. (This is not what I want.)

- Dia bukanlah orang kaya. (He is not a rich person.)

Overall, bukan is a core negator for nominal predicates in Indonesian, with distinct use from tidak and with several emphatic or contrastive varieties.