Saya minum teh di sore hari sambil menikmati matahari terbenam.

Breakdown of Saya minum teh di sore hari sambil menikmati matahari terbenam.

saya
I
minum
to drink
teh
the tea
di
in
sore hari
the afternoon
sambil
while
menikmati
to enjoy
matahari terbenam
the sunset
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Questions & Answers about Saya minum teh di sore hari sambil menikmati matahari terbenam.

What does di sore hari mean, and why is di used here?

di sore hari literally means “in the late afternoon” or “at late-afternoon time.” In Indonesian, di is a preposition used to mark location or time. When talking about parts of the day you often say: • di pagi hari (in the morning)
di siang hari (in the midday/early afternoon)
di sore hari (in the late afternoon)
di malam hari (at night)
You can also use pada sore haripada is slightly more formal—but most speakers say di. You don’t need words like “the” or “a” in front of these time phrases.

What is the role of sambil in this sentence?

sambil means “while” and introduces a second action happening at the same time as the first. The pattern is: [Subject] + [Verb phrase 1] sambil [Verb phrase 2]
Here:
• Verb phrase 1 = minum teh (“drink tea”)
• Verb phrase 2 = menikmati matahari terbenam (“enjoy the sunset”)
So sambil connects the two actions—drinking tea while enjoying the sunset.

Why isn’t there a tense marker like “am,” “is,” or “was” before minum?

Indonesian verbs don’t change form for tense. minum could mean “drink,” “drank,” or “will drink,” depending on context. To make time explicit you rely on time words or auxiliary particles: • sudah (already) → marks past, e.g. saya sudah minum (“I have drunk”)
akan (will) → marks future, e.g. saya akan minum (“I will drink”)
In our sentence, di sore hari tells you when the action occurs, so no extra tense marker is needed.

What exactly is matahari terbenam, and why are there no connecting words?

matahari terbenam is “sunset.” It’s made of two parts: • matahari = “sun”
terbenam = “has set” (from the verb terbenam, “to sink/set”)
In Indonesian you often stack nouns and verbs together without connectors to form phrases. Here, matahari terbenam literally means “the sun that has set,” i.e. “sunset.”

Can I drop saya at the start? Will the meaning change?

Yes. Indonesian often omits the subject if it’s clear from context.
• With saya: Saya minum teh… → “I drink tea…”
• Without saya: Minum teh… → still “(I) drink tea…”
Dropping saya doesn’t change the core meaning, but including it makes the subject explicit.

Why is it just teh instead of “a tea” or “the tea”?
Indonesian doesn’t use articles like “a” or “the.” teh is an uncountable noun here (“tea”). If you wanted to specify “a cup of tea,” you could say secangkir teh, or for “that tea” you could say teh itu. But plain teh is enough when the context is clear.