Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Kami bersepeda ke kebun bunga ketika cuaca bagus. - We ride bicycles to the flower garden when the weather is good.

In Indonesian kami is the exclusive “we,” meaning “we but not you,” while kita is inclusive, meaning “we including you.” Here the speaker wants to say “we (excluding the listener) rode a bike…,” so kami is correct. If you meant “we, you and I, rode a bike…,” you would use kita.

What does the prefix ber- do in bersepeda?

The prefix ber- on a noun often forms a verb indicating “to do something with or as that noun.”

sepeda = “bicycle”
bersepeda = “to bicycle,” “to ride a bike”
It shows an activity or action involving the root word.

Why is ke used before kebun bunga instead of di?

ke marks motion toward a place: “to”
di marks location or static position: “at,” “in”
Since the sentence describes going somewhere (we rode to the flower garden), we use ke kebun bunga (to the flower garden), not di kebun bunga.

How is kebun bunga structured? Why no preposition between kebun and bunga?

In Indonesian, a noun followed by another noun can form a compound where the first noun is the main place or thing, and the second noun modifies it.

kebun = “garden”
bunga = “flower”
Together kebun bunga literally means “flower garden.” No filler word is needed.

What does ketika mean, and can I use saat or jika instead?

ketika = “when” (temporal conjunction for events happening at the same time)
saat = also “when,” slightly more formal/interchangeable with ketika
jika = “if” or “when” (conditional; use it only when you want a condition, not simply simultaneous timing)
Here, ketika cuaca bagus means “when the weather is nice.” You could replace ketika with saat, but not jika, unless you change the nuance to a condition (“if the weather is nice…”).

Why isn’t there a separate word for the continuous aspect like “are riding”? Isn’t bersepeda just “ride”?

Indonesian verbs don’t change form for tense or aspect. Bersepeda covers both “ride a bike” and “are riding a bike.” Context (like ketika cuaca bagus) indicates when it happened. You don’t need an extra word equivalent to “-ing.”

Why does bagus come after cuaca? I thought adjectives came before nouns in English.

In Indonesian, adjectives normally follow the noun they describe.

cuaca bagus = “weather nice” = “nice weather”
If you reverse them, it would sound unnatural or be ambiguous.

Could the time clause ketika cuaca bagus go at the beginning of the sentence?

Yes. You can place the time clause at the start for emphasis. For example:

Ketika cuaca bagus, kami bersepeda ke kebun bunga.
The meaning stays the same; Indonesian is flexible about putting time or place phrases at the beginning or end.