Some students ask me weather is it easier to translate Mandarin to English or to Bahasa? Well, my answer is 50-50. Just like what I am going to explain today. This word 吗 'ma' has no translation in English, but it has in Bahasa. In Bahasa you can translate it to -kah?
Here are some examples:
他 是 你 爸爸 吗?
Ta shi ni baba ma?
In bahasa:
Dia adalah papa-mu kah?
In English
Is he your dad?
So, if you are trying to translate a question start with:
Are you, do you, is she/he, does she/he,
Kalau kamu mau menterjemahkan sebuah kalimat tanya dengan menggunakan kata:
Apakah
The tips is:
You only need to translate the sentence in positive form and add ma 吗 at the end of the sentences.
Kamu cukup menterjemahkan kalimat tersebut dengan format kalimat positif, dan tambahkan 吗 diakhir kalimatnya. Semudah itu saja..
Try to translate these sentences:
1. Are you David?
2. Is she your big sister?
3. Do you like to eat rice?
Coba deh terjemahin kalimat di bawah ini:
1. Apakah kamu David? (kamu adalah David kah)
2. Apakah dia kakak mu? (Dia kakak mu kah?)
3. Apakah kamu suka makan nasi? (Kamu suka makan nasi kah?)
Easy peasy right...