Use di for a static setting, ke for a destination, and dari for a source. The core questions are di mana? “where?”, ke mana? “where to?”, and dari mana? “where from?” Indonesian marks path direction explicitly even where English uses the vague preposition in.
The verb alone does not choose the preposition. Someone can berjalan di taman “walk in the park,” berjalan ke taman “walk to the park,” or berjalan dari taman “walk from the park.” The intended relation between the movement and the place makes the choice.
The quick path test
| Question | Relation | Preposition | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where is it or where does it happen? | setting | di | di perpustakaan |
| Where is it going? | goal/destination | ke | ke perpustakaan |
| Where does it come from? | source/origin | dari | dari perpustakaan |
Rina belajar di perpustakaan setiap sore.
Rina studies at the library every afternoon. (static setting)
Rina berjalan ke perpustakaan setelah makan siang.
Rina walks to the library after lunch. (destination)
Rina baru pulang dari perpustakaan.
Rina has just returned from the library. (source)
di: locate a state or event
Di + place answers “where?” It can translate English at, in, or on because Indonesian does not divide basic static location along the same lines.
Ayah masih di kantor sampai pukul enam.
Dad is still at the office until six.
Kami bertemu di kafe kecil dekat stasiun.
We met at a small cafe near the station.
Piring bersih disimpan di dalam lemari atas.
The clean plates are kept inside the upper cupboard.
Mereka berlari-lari di halaman setelah hujan reda.
They ran around in the yard after the rain stopped. (movement within a setting)
The last sentence contains movement, but halaman is not the endpoint. It is the area inside which the running occurs, so di is correct.
Use relational nouns to add geometry: di atas meja, di bawah kursi, di dalam tas, di depan toko, di belakang sekolah. All words remain separate.
Sepatunya ada di bawah bangku paling ujung.
The shoes are under the bench at the far end.
The full di guide covers static predicates and relational location.
ke: identify the goal of a path
Ke + destination answers “where to?” Use it with going, moving, carrying, sending, turning, or shifting toward an endpoint.
Besok kami terbang ke Makassar untuk menghadiri konferensi.
Tomorrow we are flying to Makassar to attend a conference.
Tolong pindahkan kotak ini ke ruang penyimpanan.
Please move this box to the storage room.
Anak itu masuk ke kamar ketika tamu datang.
The child went into the room when the guests arrived.
Geser kursinya sedikit ke kiri supaya pintunya bisa dibuka.
Move the chair slightly to the left so the door can be opened.
English says “go in the room” or “put it in the bag” in some contexts. Indonesian sees the room or bag as the endpoint of a directional path and uses ke, often with dalam.
Masukkan surat itu ke dalam amplop cokelat.
Put that letter into the brown envelope. (destination inside a container)
Compare a completed static result:
Surat itu sekarang berada di dalam amplop cokelat.
The letter is now inside the brown envelope. (static resulting location)
That goal-versus-setting contrast is more reliable than copying English in.
dari: identify source, origin, or starting boundary
Dari + source answers “where from?” The source may be a place, person, material, time point, or comparison standard.
Bus pagi itu berangkat dari terminal baru.
That morning bus leaves from the new terminal.
Paket ini dikirim dari Surabaya kemarin sore.
This parcel was sent from Surabaya yesterday afternoon.
Saya menerima pesan dari ketua panitia.
I received a message from the committee chair. (personal source)
Meja makan ini dibuat dari kayu jati bekas.
This dining table is made from reclaimed teak. (material source)
Loket pendaftaran buka dari pukul delapan.
The registration counter is open from eight o'clock. (starting time)
English from aligns fairly well with dari, but destination still requires ke, not an unmarked place phrase.
Motion verb does not mean ke automatically
Classify the place phrase, not just the verb.
Kami berjalan di tepi sungai selama satu jam.
We walked along the riverside for an hour. (riverbank is the setting)
Kami berjalan ke tepi sungai untuk melihat matahari terbenam.
We walked to the riverside to watch the sunset. (riverbank is the destination)
Kami berjalan dari tepi sungai menuju tempat parkir.
We walked from the riverside toward the parking area. (riverbank is the source)
Likewise:
Dina berenang di kolam belakang hotel.
Dina swam in the pool behind the hotel. (movement within location)
Dina berlari ke kolam ketika mendengar teriakan.
Dina ran to the pool when she heard a shout. (goal)
The same place can play all three roles in different clauses.
Source-to-goal ranges
Dari X ke Y maps a path from source to endpoint. It works in space, time, ordered series, and change.
Kereta lokal itu berjalan dari Solo ke Yogyakarta enam kali sehari.
That local train runs from Solo to Yogyakarta six times a day.
Petugas memeriksa meja dari depan ke belakang.
The officer checks the desks from front to back.
Jadwal piketnya dipindahkan dari Selasa ke Kamis minggu ini.
The duty schedule was moved from Tuesday to Thursday this week.
Warna langit berubah dari jingga ke ungu dalam beberapa menit.
The color of the sky changed from orange to purple within a few minutes.
For a continuous time range, use sampai or hingga: dari Senin sampai Jumat. Ke profiles a new endpoint, as in moving a meeting from Tuesday to Thursday; sampai profiles the final boundary of a span.
Arrive, leave, and return
Some motion verbs package part of the path themselves. Tiba/sampai means “arrive,” and the resulting location normally uses di. Berangkat introduces a source with dari and a destination with ke. Pulang can take either source or goal.
Pesawat kami tiba di Denpasar menjelang tengah malam.
Our plane arrived in Denpasar near midnight.
Rombongan berangkat dari hotel menuju bandara pukul lima.
The group left the hotel for the airport at five.
Mira pulang dari kampus lalu langsung pergi ke rumah bibinya.
Mira came home from campus and then went straight to her aunt's house.
Why tiba di, not tiba ke? Arrival already includes reaching a goal; di Denpasar locates the resulting state. With pergi, the path still needs its goal marked by ke.
Map-based dialogue
Imagine the station west of the town square, the museum north of the square, and a cafe inside the museum courtyard.
Nadia: Kita sekarang di stasiun, kan?
Nadia: We're at the station now, right? (current setting)
Reno: Iya. Dari stasiun, kita berjalan ke alun-alun dulu.
Reno: Yes. From the station, we first walk to the town square. (source, then destination)
Nadia: Setelah itu, museumnya di sebelah utara alun-alun?
Nadia: After that, is the museum north of the town square? (static location)
Reno: Betul. Kita masuk ke halaman museum melalui gerbang kecil.
Reno: Correct. We enter the museum courtyard through the small gate. (destination)
Nadia: Kafenya ada di dalam halaman itu atau di gedung utama?
Nadia: Is the cafe inside that courtyard or in the main building? (two static alternatives)
Reno: Di halaman. Nanti kita kembali ke stasiun dari pintu selatan.
Reno: In the courtyard. Later we return to the station from the south gate. (setting, goal, source)
The dialogue does not choose by verb translation. It keeps asking whether each place is the current setting, the next endpoint, or the starting point.
Spelling: free words versus attached affixes
Locative di, directional ke, and source dari are separate: di rumah, ke rumah, dari rumah. Passive di- and derivational or ordinal ke- attach.
Artikel itu dibaca di ruang tunggu.
The article was read in the waiting room. (dibaca = passive di-; di ruang = location)
Kami turun di halte kedua lalu berjalan ke pasar.
We got off at the second stop and then walked to the market. (kedua = attached ordinal ke-; ke pasar = destination)
Pintu kedua dibuka dari dalam.
The second door was opened from the inside. (ordinal, passive, and source)
Spelling reveals grammar: dibaca is an action undergone; di baca incorrectly separates a prefix. Kedua is “second”; ke dua does not write the ordinal correctly.
Common Mistakes
1. Mapping English in to di after directional motion
❌ Anak itu masuk di ruang musik saat latihan dimulai.
Incorrect path marking—the room is the endpoint of entering.
✅ Anak itu masuk ke ruang musik saat latihan dimulai.
The child entered the music room when rehearsal began.
2. Choosing ke because the verb involves movement
❌ Kami berjalan ke taman selama dua jam tanpa tujuan tertentu.
Incorrect relation—the park is the area of wandering, not a named endpoint.
✅ Kami berjalan di taman selama dua jam tanpa tujuan tertentu.
We walked in the park for two hours without a particular destination.
3. Using di for a source
❌ Saya menerima paket di Rina tadi pagi.
Incorrect source marking—Rina is the sender, not the location of the receiving event.
✅ Saya menerima paket dari Rina tadi pagi.
I received a parcel from Rina this morning.
4. Joining free locatives
❌ Kami berangkat darirumah lalu pergi kekantor.
Incorrect boundaries—dari and ke remain separate prepositions.
✅ Kami berangkat dari rumah lalu pergi ke kantor cabang.
We left home and then went to the branch office.
5. Separating attached prefixes
❌ Buku ke dua itu di baca di kelas.
Incorrect ordinal and passive spelling—ke- and di- attach in these words.
✅ Buku kedua itu dibaca di kelas sebelah.
The second book was read in the next classroom.
Key Takeaways
- Di marks a static setting, ke a destination, and dari a source.
- A motion verb can take di when the place is the area of movement.
- English in can correspond to ke when a container or room is the endpoint.
- Dari X ke Y extends from physical paths to time, order, and change.
- Separate free prepositions, but attach passive di- and ordinal or derivational ke-.
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Start learning Indonesian →Related Topics
- di: Static LocationA1 — Use the separate preposition di for static location at, in, or on a place, and distinguish it from destination ke and passive di-.
- ke: Direction and DestinationA1 — Use free ke for movement toward destinations and endpoints, contrasting it with static di and attached ordinal or derivational ke-.
- dari: Source, Origin, Material, and ComparisonA1 — Use dari to express where something begins, comes from, is made from, or serves as a point of comparison.
- Spatial Relators with atas, bawah, depan, and belakangA1 — Build precise locations, destinations, and sources with di, ke, or dari plus the relational nouns atas, bawah, depan, and belakang.
- sejak, hingga, and sampaiA2 — Mark the beginning or end of a period with sejak, sampai, and hingga, and combine those boundaries with aspect to show whether a situation continues.
- Writing di and ke: Prefix or PrepositionA1 — Choose solid or separate spelling for di and ke by identifying whether each form is an affix or a preposition.