Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Saya menginap di hotel dekat pantai. - I stay overnight at a hotel near the beach.

menginap means “to stay overnight” or “to lodge temporarily.” You use it when you spend at least one night somewhere, like a hotel. tinggal, on the other hand, means “to live” or “to reside” and implies a longer-term arrangement (days, months, years).

Why is it di hotel instead of ke hotel?

The preposition di marks location (“at” or “in”). Since you are staying at the hotel, you use di hotel. ke marks movement toward a place (“to”). If you were saying “I am going to a hotel,” you would use ke hotel.

Why are there no articles like a or the in Indonesian?

Indonesian does not have articles. Context determines definiteness or indefiniteness. Saya menginap di hotel can mean “I stayed at a hotel” or “I stayed at the hotel,” depending on what you already know.

How do I specify “a hotel” if I want to be clear it’s not “the hotel”?

You can add sebuah (or satu) before hotel. For example:
Saya menginap di sebuah hotel dekat pantai.
This clearly means “I stayed at a hotel near the beach.”

What does dekat pantai mean, and why isn’t there a second di before dekat?

dekat pantai means “near the beach.” In di hotel dekat pantai, dekat pantai directly modifies hotel (like an adjective). You only need one di, attached to hotel. If you wanted to use dekat as its own locative phrase, you could say di dekat pantai (“at/near the beach”) but not when it’s part of the noun phrase.

Could I say Saya menginap di hotel di dekat pantai?

While grammatically possible, it’s redundant and uncommon. Native speakers drop the extra di and simply say Saya menginap di hotel dekat pantai.

Why is there no yang before dekat pantai?

yang is the relative pronoun meaning “that” or “which.” You could say hotel yang dekat pantai, but in Indonesian it’s perfectly natural to omit yang when the meaning is clear. So hotel dekat pantai works fine.

Why is Saya used instead of aku or gue?

Saya is a formal and polite first-person pronoun. aku is informal and friendly; gue is very casual slang (common in Jakarta). Your choice depends on the level of formality and who you’re speaking to.

Can I move di hotel dekat pantai to the front of the sentence?

Yes. Indonesian has flexible word order for emphasis. For example:
Di hotel dekat pantai, saya menginap.
This puts the spotlight on the location.

Can I say Saya inap di hotel dekat pantai instead of Saya menginap?

In casual conversation or informal writing, people often drop the prefix and say inap. But in formal speech or writing, menginap is the standard, conventional form.