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Ripe Fruit vs. Unripe Fruit

In English, the most common terms for describing the maturity of fruit are ripe and unripe. These words indicate whether a fruit has reached the proper stage for eating.

Common Terms

Indonesian	English	Description
Buah matang	Ripe fruit	Fruit that has fully matured and is ready to eat.
Buah belum matang / tidak matang	Unripe fruit	Fruit that has not yet reached full maturity.
Buah kurang matang	Underripe fruit	Fruit that is slightly immature and needs more time to ripen.
Buah terlalu matang	Overripe fruit	Fruit that has passed its ideal stage of ripeness and may become soft or spoiled.

Example Sentences

• The mango is ripe and ready to eat.
• The banana is still unripe, so it tastes starchy.
• This avocado is underripe and needs another day or two to ripen.
• The papaya became overripe after being left on the kitchen counter.

Quick Comparison

Stage of Ripeness	English Term
Ready to eat	Ripe
Not yet mature	Unripe
Almost ripe but still immature	Underripe
Past the ideal stage	Overripe

Summary

The standard English pair for describing fruit maturity is ripe (matang) and unripe (belum matang/tidak matang). For more precise descriptions, use underripe for fruit that is not quite ready to eat and overripe for fruit that has become excessively ripe.