Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Meskipun listrik mati, kami tidak panik. - Even though the electricity is out, we do not panic.

Indonesian doesn’t use a copula (“to be”) before adjectives or stative verbs. Listrik is the subject; mati is the predicate (“is out/off”). The structure “Noun + adjective/stative” is normal: e.g., Dia marah = “He/She is angry.”

Does “mati” mean “dead”? Is it natural for electricity?

Yes, and it’s natural. For inanimate things/devices/electricity, mati means “off/out/not functioning.” For humans, mati is blunt; polite is meninggal. Alternatives:

listrik padam (more formal)
idiom: mati lampu (“a blackout”)

Are “listrik mati” and “mati listrik” both correct?

As a clause, use listrik mati (“the power is out”). Subject–predicate.
mati listrik is a noun phrase (“a power outage”). You’d use it like: Saat terjadi mati listrik, kami tidak panik (“When a power outage occurred, we didn’t panic.”) In your sentence pattern, prefer listrik mati.

What’s the difference between “kami” and “kita”?

kami = “we” excluding the listener.
kita = “we” including the listener. So if you’re speaking to someone who is part of the group, kita might be the natural choice.

Why “tidak” and not “bukan”? Could I use “nggak/gak” or “tak”?

tidak negates verbs/adjectives: tidak panik.
bukan negates nouns/pronouns: bukan dokter, bukan masalah.
Colloquial: nggak/gak instead of tidak.
Concise/literary: tak instead of tidak. Example: Kami tak panik.

How is tense expressed? Does this mean “didn’t panic” or “are not panicking”?

Indonesian has no tense marking; context decides. You can add time/aspect words:

Past: Kemarin listrik mati, kami tidak panik.
When-clause: Waktu/Ketika listrik mati, kami tidak panik.
Future: Walaupun listrik mati, kami tidak akan panik. (add akan)

Can I add emphasis like “still” or “at all”?

Yes:

“still”: … kami tetap tidak panik or … kami tetap tenang.
“at all”: … kami tidak panik sama sekali or … kami sedikit pun tidak panik.

Is “listriknya mati” okay? What does the -nya add?

Yes. -nya often adds definiteness or shared context, roughly “the.” Walaupun listriknya mati ≈ “Even though the power (here/that we’re talking about) is out.” Without -nya is also perfectly natural.

Do I need “yang” (e.g., “listrik yang mati”)?

No. Yang would create focus or a relative phrase (“the electricity that is out [as opposed to something else]”). In a simple clause, listrik mati is the normal predicate structure.

Can I use “padahal” instead of “meskipun”?

Not as a direct swap. Padahal introduces a contrasting fact, typically in the second clause:
Kami tidak panik, padahal listrik mati. = “We didn’t panic, even though (surprisingly) the power was out.”
At the start of a sentence with the same structure, padahal sounds odd; use meskipun/walaupun.

Is “meskipun” one word? What about “meski pun”?

Standard spelling is one word: meskipun. The shortened meski is also fine. Likewise: walaupun, biarpun, sekalipun are written as one word.

Can I drop “kami”?

In context you can, especially in conversation: Meskipun listrik mati, tidak panik. But for clarity (especially in writing or stand-alone sentences), keep kami.

Is “panik” an adjective or a verb? Do I need an affix like ber-/me-?

Panik behaves like an adjective that can function predicatively (“to be/feel panicked”), so kami (tidak) panik is natural. Related forms:

kepanikan = “panic” (noun): terjadi kepanikan.
mempanikan (rare/formal) = “to cause panic.”
Very common: membuat panik = “to make [someone] panic.”
Avoid forms like berpanik; they’re not idiomatic.

Is there a more idiomatic way to say the whole sentence?

Two natural variants:

Walaupun listrik mati, kami tetap tenang. (focuses on staying calm)
Meskipun mati lampu, kami tidak panik. (uses the idiom for “blackout”)