Kami tawar-menawar dengan penjual.

In Indonesian, both kami and kita can mean we, but they are not interchangeable.

• kami = we, but not including the person being spoken to
• kita = we, including the person being spoken to

So Kami tawar-menawar dengan penjual means we bargained with the seller, where the listener is not part of we.

If you said Kita tawar-menawar dengan penjual, it would mean that the listener was also involved in the bargaining.

Tawar-menawar means to bargain, to haggle, or to negotiate a price.

It usually refers to the back-and-forth process between buyer and seller, especially in markets or informal buying situations.

So this sentence suggests not just a single offer, but an exchange like:

• one side offers a price
• the other side responds
• they go back and forth

That is why tawar-menawar feels more like haggling than just making one offer.

This is a common Indonesian pattern called reduplication.

In tawar-menawar, the repetition gives the idea of a reciprocal or ongoing exchange. It is not just tawar in a simple sense; it suggests a bargaining interaction between two sides.

The hyphen is the normal way to write this reduplicated form:

• tawar-menawar

Indonesian uses reduplication for several purposes, such as:

• plurality
• repetition
• variety
• reciprocal or interactive meaning

Here, it helps express the bargaining process itself.

Yes, you may hear menawar in real usage, and it can mean to bid or to bargain/offer a lower price.

But there is a nuance:

• menawar often focuses on one side making an offer
• tawar-menawar emphasizes the back-and-forth bargaining process

So:

• Kami menawar dengan penjual = We made an offer / tried to bargain with the seller
• Kami tawar-menawar dengan penjual = We bargained / haggled with the seller

The sentence with tawar-menawar is especially natural if you want to stress that both sides were negotiating.

Dengan usually means with.

In this sentence, it links the action to the person involved:

• dengan penjual = with the seller

So the structure is:

• Kami = we
• tawar-menawar = bargained / haggled
• dengan penjual = with the seller

Indonesian dengan can also mean using or by means of in other contexts, but here it simply means with.

Penjual means seller.

It comes from the root jual, which means to sell.

The prefix peN- often forms nouns for people who do an action:

• jual = sell
• penjual = seller

Some similar examples:

• beli = buy → pembeli = buyer
• ajar = teach → pengajar = teacher/instructor
• tulis = write → penulis = writer

So penjual is literally the one who sells.

Indonesian usually does not use articles like the or a/an the way English does.

So penjual can mean:

• a seller
• the seller

The exact meaning depends on context.

In your sentence, English may translate it as the seller if both speaker and listener know which seller is meant, but Indonesian often leaves that unstated.

That is very normal.

Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense the way English verbs do.

So tawar-menawar by itself does not specifically mean:

• bargain
• bargained
• are bargaining
• will bargain

The time is usually understood from context, or from time words such as:

• kemarin = yesterday
• sekarang = now
• besok = tomorrow
• tadi = earlier
• sudah = already
• sedang = in the middle of / currently

So Kami tawar-menawar dengan penjual could mean different times depending on context, although in translation it may often become We bargained with the seller.

Yes. The sentence follows a very common Indonesian word order:

• Kami = subject
• tawar-menawar = verb/predicate
• dengan penjual = prepositional phrase

So it is basically:

Subject + Verb + Prepositional phrase

This is very natural Indonesian word order.

Most commonly, tawar-menawar is used for negotiating prices, especially in markets, shops, or informal sales situations.

However, it can sometimes be used more broadly for negotiating terms, depending on context. Still, for learners, the safest interpretation is:

• tawar-menawar = bargain/haggle over a price

If you want a broader word for negotiation in general, Indonesian also uses:

• bernegosiasi = to negotiate

So:

• tawar-menawar is especially common for price bargaining
• bernegosiasi is broader and more formal

A simple learner-friendly pronunciation is:

ta-war me-na-war

Roughly:

• tawar sounds like TAH-wahr
• menawar sounds like muh-NAH-wahr

A few helpful points:

• Indonesian pronunciation is usually quite regular
• each vowel is generally pronounced clearly
• the r is typically tapped or lightly rolled

So the full sentence is approximately:

KAH-mee TAH-wahr muh-NAH-wahr duh-NGAHN pun-JOO-ahl

That is only an approximation, but it can help you get started.