Kami menunggu di luar perpustakaan.

We are waiting outside the library.

Breakdown of Kami menunggu di luar perpustakaan.

• kami: we
• menunggu: to wait
• perpustakaan: the library
• di luar: outside

Questions & Answers about Kami menunggu di luar perpustakaan.

What’s the difference between kami and kita?

• Kami = we, excluding the listener.
• Kita = we, including the listener. So Kami menunggu di luar perpustakaan means the listener is not part of the group. If the listener is included, say Kita menunggu di luar perpustakaan.

Do I need sedang to express “are waiting” (present continuous)?

No. Indonesian verbs don’t change for tense or aspect. Kami menunggu… can mean “we are/were/will be waiting,” depending on context.

• To make the “right now” sense explicit, add sedang (neutral) or lagi (colloquial): Kami sedang menunggu di luar perpustakaan.

Do I need untuk to say “wait for (someone/thing)”?

No. Menunggu already means “to wait for.” Use it directly with an object:

• Kami menunggu kamu/bus di luar perpustakaan. Use menunggu untuk + verb only for “wait to (do something)”:
• Kami menunggu untuk masuk. (We’re waiting to go in.)

What’s the difference between tunggu, menunggu, and nunggu?

• tunggu: the root; commonly used as an imperative: Tunggu sebentar! (Wait a moment!)
• menunggu: standard active verb form: Kami menunggu…
• nunggu: colloquial contraction of menunggu (informal speech). Related synonyms: menanti (more formal), menantikan (to await/look forward to).

How is menunggu formed from tunggu?

It’s the prefix meN- + root tunggu. With roots starting with t, the t drops and the prefix appears as men-:

• tunggu → menunggu Compare: tulis → menulis, pukul → memukul (p drops), kirim → mengirim (k drops), sapu → menyapu (s drops, becomes ny).

Why is it di luar and not keluar?

• di luar = “outside (of)” as a location (preposition + noun).
• keluar = “to go out” (a verb of movement). Examples:
• Kami di luar perpustakaan. (We are outside the library.)
• Kami keluar dari perpustakaan. (We went out of the library.)

Is di luar dari perpustakaan correct?

In standard Indonesian, say di luar perpustakaan (no dari). You may hear di luar dari in casual speech or in set phrases like di luar dari itu (“besides that”), but it’s best avoided in careful writing for places.

What’s the difference between di luar and di depan?

• di luar = outside (not inside the building).
• di depan = in front of (at the front side/facing the front). This usually implies outside, but it focuses on the front area rather than inside/outside status. If you want unambiguous “not inside,” use di luar.

Can di luar also mean “apart from/except for”?

Yes, in non-spatial uses it can mean “outside of/besides/except for”:

• Di luar jam perpustakaan, gedung ini ditutup. (Outside library hours, this building is closed.)
• Di luar itu, semuanya sudah beres. (Aside from that, everything’s done.) In many “except” contexts, kecuali is also common.

Can I front the place phrase? For example, Di luar perpustakaan, kami menunggu.

Yes. Fronting di luar perpustakaan is fine for emphasis or topic-setting (usually with a comma). The neutral order is subject–verb–place: Kami menunggu di luar perpustakaan.

Do I need articles like “the/a,” or plural markers?

Indonesian has no articles; perpustakaan can be “the library” or “a library” depending on context. Plural is usually inferred or shown with quantifiers: beberapa perpustakaan (several libraries) or by context.

How do I include the person or thing we’re waiting for?

Place the object after menunggu:

• Kami menunggu Budi di luar perpustakaan.
• Kami menunggu bus di luar perpustakaan.
• Kami menunggu giliran di luar perpustakaan. (waiting for our turn)

How do I say “Wait for me outside the library”?

• Neutral/polite: Tunggu saya di luar perpustakaan.
• Informal: Tunggu aku di luar perpustakaan. Softer request: Tolong tunggu saya di luar perpustakaan, ya.

Any pronunciation tips for these words?

• menunggu: me-NUNG-gu (stress typically on the penultimate syllable). The ngg is pronounced [ŋg], like “sing” + “go.”
• luar: lu-ar (two syllables; the vowels are separate).
• perpustakaan: pər-pus-ta-ka-an (schwa-like ə in per-; five syllables). Stress tends to fall on -ka-.

How can I make the sentence more formal or more casual?

• Casual: Kita nunggu di luar perpus. (includes the listener; perpus = colloquial for perpustakaan)
• Neutral: Kami menunggu di luar perpustakaan.
• More formal: Kami menanti di luar perpustakaan. or Kami sedang menunggu di luar perpustakaan.

How do I show past or future time?

Add time/aspect words:

• Past: Kami tadi menunggu…, Kami sudah menunggu…, Barusan kami menunggu…
• Future: Kami akan menunggu…, Nanti kami menunggu… Context and time adverbs do the work, not verb changes.

Is writing diluar wrong?

Yes. As a preposition, di is written separately: di luar. The attached form di- (with a hyphen) is a verbal prefix for passive forms, e.g., ditunggu (“is/are awaited”).