Barusan saya tiba di kantor.

I just arrived at the office.

Breakdown of Barusan saya tiba di kantor.

• saya: I
• di: at
• kantor: the office
• tiba: to arrive

Questions & Answers about Barusan saya tiba di kantor.

What does the word order communicate? Is barusan the same as baru saja or baru here?

• barusan means “just now,” usually minutes or seconds ago; it’s informal/colloquial.
• baru saja also means “just (now),” a bit more neutral and common in writing: Saya baru saja tiba di kantor.
• baru before a verb means “just/recently,” not always as immediate as “seconds ago”: Saya baru tiba di kantor.
• All three can fit this meaning; the sentence with barusan sounds casual and emphasizes immediacy.

Where can I put barusan in the sentence?

Natural options:

• Barusan saya tiba di kantor.
• Saya barusan tiba di kantor.
• Saya tiba di kantor barusan.

Sounds odd:

• Saya tiba barusan di kantor. (Indonesians rarely split the verb and its place phrase this way.)

Why is it tiba di kantor and not tiba ke kantor?

• di = at/in (location). Arrival lands you at a place, so: tiba di.
• ke = to/toward (movement).
• Typical pairings:
  • tiba di (arrive at)
  • sampai di (arrive at)
  • datang ke (come to)

What’s the difference between tiba, sampai, and datang?