“Gara-gara” is an informal causal connector in Indonesian.
It means “because of”—but specifically used for negative causes, unpleasant reasons, or something bad that happened.
It is more casual and emotional compared to karena.
1. Meaning & Function
“Gara-gara” = because of (something negative)
You use it when the reason causes a problem, trouble, or annoyance.
It often carries a tone of complaint, frustration, or blaming.
Examples:
- Aku telat gara-gara macet parah.
(I’m late because of terrible traffic.) - Gara-gara dia, kita semua dimarahi.
(Because of him, we all got scolded.) - Aku sakit gara-gara kehujanan.
(I got sick because I got rained on.)
2. Register
- Very informal
- Used in daily conversation
- Not used in formal writing
- Somewhat emotional / expressive
In formal Indonesian, the equivalent is “akibat” or “dikarenakan”, but those feel much more serious.
3. Placement in a Sentence
“Gara-gara” can appear:
- at the beginning
Gara-gara hujan, acaranya gagal. - in the middle
Acaranya gagal gara-gara hujan.
4. Easy Summary Table
| Word | Meaning | Register | Usage |
|---|---|---|---|
| karena | because | neutral–formal | general reasons |
| soalnya | because / the thing is | casual | giving casual explanations |
| gara-gara | because of (negative) | casual & emotional | negative causes / frustrations |
5. Example Sentence Pairs
- Aku nggak bisa tidur gara-gara suara berisik.
(I couldn’t sleep because of the loud noise.) - Gara-gara mati lampu, aku nggak bisa kerja.
(Because of the blackout, I couldn’t work.) - Dia marah gara-gara pesannya salah kirim.
(She’s angry because her order was sent wrong.)
10 Practice Questions (Gara-gara)
Fill in the blanks with “gara-gara”.
- Aku telat ______ hujan deras.
- Kita batal pergi ______ kamu bangun kesiangan.
- Dia marah-marah ______ pesanannya salah.
- Aku nggak bisa tidur ______ suara motor berisik.
- Mereka ribut ______ hal kecil.
- Acaranya gagal ______ listrik mati.
- Aku sakit perut ______ makan terlalu pedas.
- Kita kejebak macet ______ ada kecelakaan.
- Dia dimarahi bos ______ lupa kirim email.
- Uangku habis ______ belanja impulsif.
