Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Pulsa telepon saya habis tadi malam.

In Indonesia, pulsa is prepaid phone credit used for calls, SMS, and sometimes data or app services. You buy or “top up” this balance.
For data specifically, people often say kuota (data). Example: kuota saya habis = my data ran out.
Postpaid plans don’t use pulsa; they generate a tagihan (bill).

Why is it pulsa telepon saya and not “my phone credit” word order?

Indonesian places the possessor after the noun: telepon saya = my phone; pulsa telepon saya = my phone’s credit.
Natural alternatives:
- pulsa saya (phone is usually implied).
- pulsa teleponku / pulsaku (informal, using the suffix -ku).
You generally don’t use punya in this kind of noun phrase.

Is habis a verb here? How does it work?

habis literally means “used up/finished.” Indonesian often uses adjectives as predicates, so no “to be” is needed: pulsa … habis = “the credit is used up.”
Think of it as a stative predicate (a state/result), not an action like English “ran out.”

Should I add sudah: Pulsa … sudah habis?

sudah adds a completed/resultative feel (“has already run out”).
With a time phrase like tadi malam, both are natural:
- Pulsa saya habis tadi malam (neutral).
- Pulsa saya sudah habis tadi malam (emphasizes completion).

Can I say Saya kehabisan pulsa instead? What’s the difference?

Yes: Saya kehabisan pulsa tadi malam is very natural.
kehabisan (ke-…-an) means “to run out of” (often unintentional). It focuses on the person: “I ran out of credit.”
Pulsa saya habis… focuses on the credit itself. Both are fine.

Where can the time phrase tadi malam go?

Most common:
- Start: Tadi malam, pulsa telepon saya habis.
- End: Pulsa telepon saya habis tadi malam.
Avoid splitting the noun phrase; keeping tadi malam at the start or end is safest and most natural.

What’s the difference among tadi malam, kemarin malam, malam tadi, and semalam?

tadi malam = last night (the most recent night).
kemarin malam = also “last night”; often interchangeable with tadi malam.
malam tadi = same meaning as tadi malam; somewhat less common in some areas.
semalam = last night (common); note semalaman = all night (duration).

Do I need the word telepon? Can I just say Pulsa saya habis?

Yes, Pulsa saya habis is idiomatic and usually understood as phone credit.
Add a specifier when needed: pulsa telepon / pulsa HP (to contrast with pulsa listrik = prepaid electricity tokens).

Is telepon the best word? What about HP, hape, or ponsel?

All are used:
- telepon (standard).
- HP/hape (very common, casual, for cell phones; pronounced “ha-pe”).
- ponsel (neutral/formal).
You might hear pulsa HP saya habis or pulsa ponsel saya habis.

Spelling check: telepon or telpon?

Standard spelling is telepon. You’ll see telpon informally, but telepon is preferred in writing.

I want to say “My phone died last night” (battery). Should I still use pulsa?

No. Use battery terms:
- Baterai HP saya habis tadi malam.
- HP saya mati tadi malam.
pulsa = credit/balance, not battery.

How do I say “I topped up my credit this morning”?

Use isi (ulang) or beli:
- Saya isi ulang pulsa tadi pagi.
- Saya beli pulsa tadi pagi.
At a shop you’ll hear: Isi pulsa? / Mau isi pulsa?

Can habis also mean “because”? I’ve seen that.

In informal speech, habis can be a causal connector: Habis mahal sih = “Because it’s expensive.” Different usage.
In the sentence here, habis = “used up/finished.”

Could I use telah for past, like Pulsa saya telah habis tadi malam?

Grammatically fine but very formal/literary. In everyday speech, use sudah or just the time phrase (tadi malam).

Any casual variants I should recognize?

Common informal versions:
- Pulsa (HP) aku abis semalam.
- Pulsaku abis semalam.
Notes: aku instead of saya (more intimate), abis for habis (colloquial), semalam for tadi malam.