Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Saya bangun tidur lalu minum kopi.

bangun means “to wake up” and tidur is “sleep.” The phrase bangun tidur is a common collocation meaning “to wake up (from sleep).” In Indonesian, many action–object expressions follow a verb + noun order, so instead of “wake from sleep,” you say “wake up sleep.”

Why is there no preposition dari before tidur?

Certain verb + noun pairs like bangun tidur, bermain sepak bola (play soccer), or membaca buku (read a book) naturally omit prepositions. You could say bangun dari tidur, but it’s not necessary in everyday speech—bangun tidur is idiomatic and clear on its own.

What role does lalu play in this sentence? How is it different from dan or kemudian?

lalu means “then” or “after that,” signaling sequence. You could use kemudian with almost the same meaning, but kemudian is slightly more formal. If you use dan (“and”), you’re simply connecting two actions without emphasizing that one follows the other.

How do we know if the sentence is past or present tense? There’s no tense marking.

Indonesian verbs don’t change form for tense. Time is inferred from context or added time words.

Habitual: Saya bangun tidur lalu minum kopi setiap pagi. (“I wake up then drink coffee every morning.”)
Past: Saya tadi bangun tidur lalu minum kopi. (“I woke up earlier and then drank coffee.”)

Why is the verb minum not written as meminum?

minum is the root form and is perfectly standard in daily speech. The prefix me- (as in meminum) marks an active verb more formally or in writing, but Indonesians usually just use the bare verb: Saya minum kopi sounds natural, while Saya meminum kopi feels more bookish.

Why is there no article before kopi? How would you say “a cup of coffee”?

Indonesian has no articles like “a” or “the.” kopi can mean coffee in general or a serving of coffee. To specify quantity, use a classifier:

secangkir kopi (“a cup of coffee”)
satu gelas kopi (“one glass of coffee”)

Can you omit saya and just say Bangun tidur lalu minum kopi?

Yes. In informal contexts, subjects are often dropped when they’re understood. Bangun tidur lalu minum kopi is common in spoken Indonesian and still means “(I) woke up then drank coffee” or “(I) wake up then drink coffee,” depending on context.

Could you use setelah instead of lalu? How would that change the sentence structure?

Yes. setelah means “after.” With setelah, you form a subordinate clause first:
Setelah bangun tidur, saya minum kopi.
This puts the waking-up action in a dependent clause, then states the main action.

Why is tidur treated like a noun here instead of a verb?

In bangun tidur, bangun is the verb and tidur functions as a noun meaning “sleep.” Indonesian often uses a verb + noun structure to specify what the action applies to. Although tidur can also be a verb (“to sleep”), here it labels the state you’re waking from.