Questions & Answers about Setidaknya kita masih bisa belajar di perpustakaan.
What does the word setidaknya mean, and can I replace it with something else?
Setidaknya means “at least.” Common alternatives:
- paling tidak – very common and neutral
- setidak-tidaknya – a bit more formal/emphatic
- sekurang-kurangnya – formal/bureaucratic All of them work in this sentence with no change in basic meaning.
Can setidaknya go at the end of the sentence?
Yes. You can put it at the start or the end:
- Setidaknya, kita masih bisa belajar di perpustakaan.
- Kita masih bisa belajar di perpustakaan, setidaknya. Sentence-initial is most common. A comma after sentence-initial setidaknya is optional.
Why is kita used instead of kami?
Indonesian distinguishes two kinds of “we”:
- kita = we, including the listener (inclusive)
- kami = we, excluding the listener (exclusive) Here, kita implies the speaker and the listener can still study. If you said kami, it would mean “we (but not you) can still study.”
Can I drop the subject kita?
Often yes. Indonesian is pro-drop, so Setidaknya masih bisa belajar di perpustakaan can be fine if the subject is clear from context. Without kita, it could also be read as a general statement (“at least [people] can still study at the library”), so use the pronoun if you need clarity.