Bukan or tidak? Actions, qualities and identities

Look at what comes after not

For an ordinary negative statement, use tidak with a verb or adjective and bukan with a noun phrase. Saya tidak makan denies an action: I am not eating / I do not eat. Itu bukan makanan denies an identity: that is not food. Makan is a verb; makanan is a noun.

tidak makan · bukan makanan

not eating · not food

The root is related, but the job changes

Menulis means write; penulis means writer; tulisan means writing or handwriting. Dia tidak menulis = that person is not writing. Dia bukan penulis = that person is not a writer. Ini bukan tulisan saya = this is not my writing. Choose by the whole phrase, not simply its first letters.

tidak menulis · bukan penulis

not writing · not a writer

Quality, ownership and absence

Use tidak for a quality: makanan ini tidak enak (this food is not tasty). Use bukan to deny ownership expressed by a noun phrase: ini bukan buku saya (this is not my book). Tidak ada means there is no / there are no. Vocabulary: nasi rice; jelas clear; tinta ink; guru teacher; surat letter; bekerja work; enak tasty; mahal expensive. These drills ask for neutral negation; emphatic corrections can use bukan differently.