Saya melihat matahari terbenam di kaki gunung.

I see the sunset at the foot of the mountain.

Breakdown of Saya melihat matahari terbenam di kaki gunung.

• saya: I
• di: at
• matahari terbenam: the sunset
• melihat: to see
• kaki gunung: the foot of the mountain

Questions & Answers about Saya melihat matahari terbenam di kaki gunung.

Could you provide a word-by-word breakdown of the sentence?

Saya = I
melihat = (to) see
matahari = sun
terbenam = set; to be set (here used as “sunset”)
di = at/in/on (location marker)
kaki = foot
gunung = mountain

What does the prefix ter- mean in terbenam?

The ter- prefix on verbs indicates a state, passive occurrence, or unintentional action. In terbenam, it means “to be set” or “have set,” so matahari terbenam literally means “the sun that has set,” i.e. sunset.

Why is there no article like “the” before matahari or “sunset”?

Indonesian doesn’t use articles (“a/an” or “the”). Nouns stand alone, and definiteness is inferred from context or specified with demonstratives (like itu for “that” or ini for “this”).

How does the preposition di work in di kaki gunung?

Di marks location and translates as “at,” “in,” or “on.” Di kaki gunung means “at the foot of the mountain.” There’s no equivalent of English “of” here because kaki gunung is a compound noun phrase.

Could I move di kaki gunung to the front? For example, Di kaki gunung saya melihat matahari terbenam?

Yes. Indonesian is flexible with word order. Fronting the locative phrase is natural and simply shifts emphasis:

Di kaki gunung saya melihat matahari terbenam.

What’s the difference between kaki gunung and lereng gunung?

• Kaki gunung = “foot of the mountain,” i.e. the base.
• Lereng gunung = “slope of the mountain,” i.e. the inclined side.

Is melihat the only way to say “see” here? Could I use menyaksikan instead?

You can use menyaksikan (“to witness”), which sounds more formal or emotive—implying you actively witnessed the event. Melihat is more neutral, simply “to see” or “to watch.”

How do I express that the action was ongoing, like “I was watching the sunset”?

Insert sedang before the verb for continuous aspect:

Saya sedang melihat matahari terbenam di kaki gunung.

How would I add a time expression, such as “yesterday”?

Time words like kemarin (“yesterday”) can go at the start, after the subject, or at the end:

• Kemarin saya melihat matahari terbenam di kaki gunung.
• Saya kemarin melihat matahari terbenam di kaki gunung.
• Saya melihat matahari terbenam di kaki gunung kemarin.

All three are correct; Indonesian word order is flexible.