# Indonesian: seseorang/seorang



## chatkigazouille

Hello!

I was wondering if someone could let me know if "seseorang" or "seorang" would be the more appropriate choice to translate "anyone" in the below sentence. This is a rhetorical question, and the answer is _no_.

Having seen so much evidence for this problem, can *anyone* expose this scandal to the media without being calumniated? Without being labeled as a traitor? For such is the role of the media nowadays.

My try is as follows.

Setelah melihat begitu banyak bukti untuk masalah ini, dapatkah *seorang/seseorang* pun mengekspos skandal ini kepada media tanpa difitnah? Tanpa dilabeli sebagai seorang pengkhianat? Sebab demikianlah peran media pada masa kini.

Currently I use seorang as it goes with "pun", conveying that "no one" can. Appreciate the help!


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## bahasa

The direct translation for "can anyone" is "dapatkah seseorang". But the translation sounds weird. The more common translation is "adakah yang bisa", which means:
- ada = exist
- kah = (modifying the previous word into a question, like "ma" in Mandarin)
- yang = who
- bisa = can

"Seorang" means "a/an" for person --> A doctor = seorang dokter.
In poems, seorang means alone --> hanya kau seorang, "only you, alone"

"pun" always means "also" (formal). Its formal+casual version, "juga," is more commonly used than "pun."


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## chatkigazouille

Thanks for the in-depth response, @bahasa. I got couple follow-up questions:

1. If the sentence is said in a formal setting, would it make it sound less weird with "dapatkah"? Or would it still sound weird? Because I did see that "dapatkah seseorang" is used in, eg. Microsoft guide in Indonesian.

Also, to piggyback on that, the question is rhetorical. The speaker is saying that "no one can expose this scandal without being calumniated" and the context would be obvious.

2. If we use "dapatkah seseorang", could we also add "pun"? Or would that not be correct?

Q: Dapatkah seseorang pun mengekspos skandal ini ...?
A: Tidak seorang pun dapat mengekspos skandal ini ....

Thank you


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## bahasa

1. "Dapatkah seseorang" still sounds Google translated. Slight chance the words come from a native speaker. But they are valid translation. Native speakers would instead say "Adakah yang bisa" or "Apakah ada yang bisa". The informal version is "Ada nggak yang bisa...?" (word-by-word: exist or not who can...?). An interesting fact, when it's a rhetorical sentence, you can also use "memangnya" or "emangnya/emang" (slang), e.g. "memangnya ada yang bisa...?"

2. "Pun" followed by "tidak" can mean "at all." Tidak seorang pun dapat mengekspos skandal ini = No one can expose this scandal at all. So it won't be correct to put "pun" on "dapatkah seseorang pun." And in this case, "seorang" means "one person." So, without a context, nobody = "tidak ada (yang)" or "tidak seorang pun", somebody = seseorang. When Indonesians are learning English, they train to "rephrase" nobody, somebody, anybody, no one, nothing, etc. because it's not a direct translation


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## chatkigazouille

Alright thank you @bahasa.


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