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Questions & Answers about Saya ingin kopi seperti biasa.
Is ingin the natural way to order coffee?
It’s grammatical and polite, but a bit formal or bookish in everyday speech. In a café, natives more often use:
- Mau kopi seperti biasa.
- Saya pesan kopi seperti biasa.
- Bisa/boleh minta kopi yang biasa? Ingin states desire; those alternatives sound more like a request.
Can I drop saya, or should I use aku?
Yes, subjects are often dropped when context is clear: Mau kopi seperti biasa.
- Saya = neutral/polite; good with service staff.
- Aku = informal/intimate; fine with friends, less so with staff.
Why is there no article before kopi? How do I say a/the coffee?
Indonesian has no articles. To be specific:
- A coffee / a cup of coffee: secangkir kopi or satu cangkir kopi (colloquial café talk may accept satu kopi).
- The coffee: kopi itu or kopinya (context-dependent). In this sentence, seperti biasa already anchors it as the usual coffee.
Should I say secangkir kopi here?
Only if you want to mention quantity or vessel. All are possible:
- General: kopi
- A cup: secangkir kopi
- In a glass: segelas kopi (iced coffee is often in a glass) For ordering, kopi seperti biasa is already natural.
What exactly does seperti biasa mean? Is yang biasa different?
Seperti biasa = as usual; like you normally have it.
Yang biasa = the usual one. Both work in cafés. Yang biasa is very common and concise: Kopi yang biasa, ya.
Does the position of seperti biasa change the meaning?
Yes.
- Saya ingin kopi seperti biasa. → you want coffee in your usual way/order.
- Seperti biasa, saya ingin kopi. → as usual (habitually), you want coffee.
- Saya ingin kopi, seperti biasa. (with a pause) → comment on the whole clause: as usual, you want coffee.
Can I say seperti biasanya? Is it different?
Yes, seperti biasanya is also correct and common. The -nya nominalizes biasa (“the usual routine”). In most everyday contexts, seperti biasa and seperti biasanya are interchangeable.
Is biasanya the same as seperti biasa?
No. Biasanya means usually (an adverb) and modifies a clause:
- Biasanya saya minum kopi.
Don’t say Saya ingin kopi biasanya to mean as usual; use seperti biasa or yang biasa.
Would a native actually say this at a café?
They could, but more natural options are:
- Kopi yang biasa, ya.
- Saya pesan yang biasa.
- Mau kopi seperti biasa. Adding ya softens the tone and sounds friendly.
How can I make the request more polite?
Use a softening verb and/or an address term:
- Mbak/Mas, boleh minta kopi yang biasa?
- Tolong, kopi yang biasa.
- Bisa pesan kopi seperti biasa, ya? Mbak/Mas are common polite forms to address staff.
Is ingin kopi OK without minum? What about ingin minum kopi?
Both are fine:
- Ingin kopi: want the item coffee.
- Ingin minum kopi: want to drink coffee. For ordering, natives often shorten to mau kopi or pesan kopi.
How do I say just “the usual,” with no noun?
Use yang biasa:
- Staff: Mau pesan apa?
- You: Yang biasa, ya.
Is seperti formal? Are there casual alternatives?
Seperti is neutral. Casual alternatives:
- kayak (very common): Kopi kayak biasa. In Malaysian contexts you’ll hear macam biasa.
What about little particles like ya and saja?
- ya softens/affirms: Kopi yang biasa, ya.
- saja = just/only: Kopi yang biasa saja, ya. (just the usual, please) They make the request friendlier and more natural.
How is ingin pronounced, and are there colloquial variants?
Pronounce ingin as [i-ŋin] (the ng is a single nasal sound). Colloquial variants include pengen/pingin (informal): Pengen kopi seperti biasa.