Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Saya menabung uang untuk membeli sepeda baru.

saya is the neutral/formal first-person pronoun in Indonesian. It’s polite and safe in almost any setting. aku is more informal and typically used among close friends, family, or people of the same age group. If you say “Aku menabung uang…”, it sounds friendly/casual but might be too familiar in a formal context.

What does the prefix men- do in menabung, and why isn’t it just tabung?

The root word tabung literally means “cylinder” or “tube,” but when you add the active-verb prefix meN-, it becomes menabung, meaning “to save (money).” The meN- (here realized as men-) prefix marks it as a transitive verb: someone actively performs the saving.

Why do we say menabung uang instead of just menabung? Is uang necessary?

By itself, menabung often implies saving money, but adding uang (“money”) makes the object explicit. If context already makes it clear you’re saving money, you can drop uang:
• Saya menabung untuk membeli sepeda baru.

What is untuk doing in this sentence?

untuk introduces a purpose clause and means “for” or “in order to.” In English we say “I save money to buy a new bicycle.” In Indonesian it’s “Saya menabung uang untuk membeli sepeda baru.”

Could I use agar instead of untuk here?

Yes. agar also expresses purpose (“so that”), but you then need a subject or modal verb after it:
• Saya menabung uang agar saya bisa membeli sepeda baru.
This is slightly more formal and emphasizes the ability or outcome.

How is membeli formed? Why not just beli?

beli is the root meaning “buy.” With the active-verb prefix mem- (a variant of me- before b,p,f), it becomes membeli, “to buy.” The prefix signals that the subject is performing the buying action. In casual speech you might hear just beli, but grammatically the prefixed form is standard in full sentences.

Why does baru come after sepeda, not before? Can I say baru sepeda?

In Indonesian, adjectives follow the noun they modify. So “new bicycle” is sepeda baru, not baru sepeda. Reversing that order would sound incorrect to native speakers.

How would I say “my new bicycle”?

Possessive pronouns also follow the noun:
• sepeda baru saya (“my new bicycle”)
Informally you can attach -ku for “my”:
• sepeda baru-ku

Are there articles like “a” or “the” in Indonesian that I need to include?

Indonesian doesn’t have articles like English. If you need to specify “a,” you can use sebuah or satu:
• sebuah sepeda baru (“a new bicycle”)
For money, you’d usually mention an amount or say sedikit uang (“a little money”).

Can I move the purpose clause to the front of the sentence?

Yes. Indonesian is quite flexible with clause order. You can say:
• Untuk membeli sepeda baru, saya menabung uang.
This places emphasis on the purpose.