Hujan turun pelan-pelan di sore hari.

Rain falls slowly in the afternoon.

Breakdown of Hujan turun pelan-pelan di sore hari.

• di: in
• sore hari: the afternoon
• pelan-pelan: slowly
• hujan: the rain
• turun: to fall

Questions & Answers about Hujan turun pelan-pelan di sore hari.

Why is turun used with hujan? I thought turun means “to go down.”

In Indonesian, turun hujan is the idiomatic way to say “to rain” (literally “rain descends”). Think of hujan turun as “it rains.” You could use jatuh (“to fall”) and say hujan jatuh, and people would understand, but turun is the standard verb in weather expressions.

What does pelan-pelan mean, and why is it repeated?

Pelan means “slow” or “quiet.” When you reduplicate it as pelan-pelan, it becomes an adverb meaning “slowly,” “gently,” or “lightly.” Reduplication in Indonesian often softens or stretches an action over time, so hujan turun pelan-pelan implies a gentle, gradual rain rather than a sudden downpour.

Could I just say hujan turun pelan instead of pelan-pelan?

You could, but it sounds less natural. Pelan-pelan is the common adverbial form here. Using only pelan may make your listener pause; reduplication is the usual way to form this kind of adverb in Indonesian.

Why is di used before sore hari? I thought di marks place.

In Indonesian, di marks both location and time. As a time preposition, di sore hari means “in the late afternoon.” You also see di pagi hari (“in the morning”) and di malam hari (“in the evening/night”).

Is hari necessary in sore hari? Can I just say di sore?

In casual speech some people say simply sore. However, the full expression di sore hari is more standard and clear, especially in writing. Dropping hari can sound colloquial or unfinished.

What’s the difference between sore and petang?

Both refer to late afternoon/early evening. Sore commonly covers roughly 3 PM–6 PM, whereas petang often leans toward 5 PM–7 PM. They overlap a lot and are largely interchangeable, though regional preferences may vary.

Why doesn’t the sentence use an “it” as in English “It is raining”?

Indonesian doesn’t need a dummy pronoun like “it” for weather. The noun hujan (rain) is the subject, so you just say hujan turun (“rain falls”) without adding anything extra.

How would I express “It rained lightly in the late afternoon” (past tense)?

Indonesian verbs don’t change form for tense. You add a time marker:

• Tadi sore hujan turun pelan-pelan. (“This afternoon, it rained lightly.”)
• Kemarin sore hujan turun pelan-pelan. (“Yesterday afternoon, it rained lightly.”)