Saya belajar bahasa Indonesia setiap Sabtu.

Breakdown of Saya belajar bahasa Indonesia setiap Sabtu.

saya
I
setiap
every
belajar
to study
bahasa Indonesia
the Indonesian language
Sabtu
Saturday
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Questions & Answers about Saya belajar bahasa Indonesia setiap Sabtu.

What does setiap mean and how is it used in this sentence?

setiap means “every.” It’s placed directly before a time expression to indicate repetition.
Example: setiap Sabtu = every Saturday.
You can also use the informal variant tiap (tiap Sabtu).

Why is there no word for “on” before Sabtu?

In Indonesian, time expressions like days of the week typically stand alone without a preposition.
English “on Saturday” translates simply as Sabtu or setiap Sabtu.

Why is Sabtu capitalized?
Days of the week are proper nouns in Indonesian, so they begin with a capital letter.
Why do we say bahasa Indonesia instead of just Indonesia?

bahasa means “language.”
bahasa Indonesia = the Indonesian language.
Indonesia alone refers to the country, not the language.

What role does bahasa play in the phrase?
It specifies that what you’re learning is a language. Without bahasa, the meaning becomes unclear or odd.
Why isn’t there a continuous aspect marker (e.g., “am studying”)?

Indonesian often omits aspect markers. The verb belajar can imply habitual or ongoing action by context.
If you want to emphasize that it’s happening right now, add sedang:
• Saya sedang belajar bahasa Indonesia setiap Sabtu.
But for regular activities, sedang is usually dropped.

What is the word order in this sentence?

The default Indonesian order is Subject–Verb–Object–Time:

  1. Saya (Subject)
  2. belajar (Verb)
  3. bahasa Indonesia (Object)
  4. setiap Sabtu (Time)
Can I say Saya belajar Indonesia setiap Sabtu without bahasa?
Native speakers generally include bahasa to avoid confusion. Omitting it sounds like you’re studying the country itself rather than its language.
Can I use tiap Sabtu instead of setiap Sabtu?
Yes. tiap is simply a more informal synonym of setiap. Both mean “every” in this context.
What’s the difference between setiap Sabtu and pada hari Sabtu?

setiap Sabtu = every Saturday (habitual).
pada hari Sabtu = on Saturday (refers to a specific Saturday or generic occurrence without necessarily implying repetition).
Using pada (“on”) is optional and more formal; you’ll hear most Indonesians drop it in casual speech.