Karyawan lama rindu suasana kantor lama.

The long-time employees miss the old office atmosphere.

Breakdown of Karyawan lama rindu suasana kantor lama.

• kantor: the office
• lama: old
• suasana: the atmosphere
• lama: longtime
• karyawan: the employee
• rindu: to miss

Questions & Answers about Karyawan lama rindu suasana kantor lama.

Does karyawan lama mean “former employees” or “longtime/old-timer employees”?

In most contexts, karyawan lama means “longtime” or “senior/old-timer employees” (employees who have been there a long time), not “former.”

• To say “former employees,” use mantan karyawan.
• You can also clarify “longtime” with karyawan yang sudah lama (bekerja) or karyawan senior for zero ambiguity.

Does kantor lama mean “old (previous) office” or “physically old office”?

Typically kantor lama means “the previous/old (former) office,” i.e., the office used before.

• For “physically old,” Indonesians more often use kantor tua (old in age).
• You can also say kantor sebelumnya for “the previous office.”

Why do the adjectives come after the nouns (karyawan lama, kantor lama) instead of before?

In Indonesian, descriptive adjectives usually follow the noun: karyawan lama (“longtime employees”), kantor lama (“old/previous office”).

• To make “the old one(s)” as a standalone, use yang: yang lama (“the old one(s)”).

Is karyawan here singular or plural? How do I show plurality or definiteness?

Bare nouns in Indonesian are number-neutral. Karyawan can mean “employee” or “employees,” depending on context. To be explicit:

• Plural humans: para karyawan lama or karyawan-karyawan lama
• Definiteness: add itu (“that/the”) after the noun phrase: para karyawan lama itu (“those longtime employees”)
• Indefinite “a/an” isn’t marked; you can use seorang karyawan lama for “a (certain) longtime employee.”

Is rindu a verb or an adjective? Why is there no “to be”/copula?

Rindu is a stative adjective that functions as a predicate (“to miss/long for”). Indonesian doesn’t need a copula like “to be” here.

• Predicate adjective: Karyawan lama rindu … (“The longtime employees miss …”)
• Related forms:
  
  • merindukan (transitive verb): “to miss (something)”
  • kerinduan (noun): “longing”
  • merindu exists but is rare/poetic.

Do I need a preposition after rindu, or can I just say rindu + object?

All of these are used; choose by register:

• Formal/neutral: rindu pada/akan + noun (rindu pada suasana …)
• Common colloquial: rindu + noun (rindu suasana …)
• Casual colloquial: rindu sama/dengan + noun
• More formal/explicit: merindukan + object (merindukan suasana …)

Which is more formal or casual: rindu, merindukan, or kangen?

• merindukan: more formal/explicit transitive verb
• rindu: neutral, widely acceptable in speech and writing
• kangen: informal/colloquial; very common in everyday conversation (often with sama: kangen sama …)

Is the sentence ambiguous because lama appears twice? How can I remove ambiguity?

It can be, out of context. Disambiguate like this:

• Longtime employees: para karyawan yang sudah lama bekerja
• Previous office: kantor yang lama / kantor sebelumnya
  Example with both clarified:
• Para karyawan yang sudah lama bekerja merindukan suasana kantor yang lama.

Why is it suasana kantor lama and not suasana di kantor lama? What’s the difference?

Both are fine but slightly different in feel:

• suasana kantor lama = “the old office’s atmosphere” (noun–noun compound, tighter link)
• suasana di kantor lama = “the atmosphere at the old office” (location emphasized)
  Use either; the meaning overlaps heavily here.

Can I use yang in this sentence? For example, karyawan yang lama or kantor yang lama?

• karyawan yang lama is unusual; better is karyawan lama or karyawan yang sudah lama (bekerja).
• kantor yang lama is natural when contrasting with a newer one: suasana kantor yang lama (“the old office’s atmosphere [as opposed to the new one]”).

How do I say “former employees miss the atmosphere of the old office”?

Use mantan for “former”:

• Mantan karyawan merindukan (atau rindu) suasana kantor yang lama.

How do I mark tense or time here? Is it present, past, or both?

Indonesian has no verb tense inflections; context or time words do the job:

• Past: dulu, sudah/telah (e.g., Para karyawan lama sudah rindu …)
• Present progressive: sedang (Sedang rindu … is uncommon; better: Sekarang mereka rindu …)
• Future: akan (Akan rindu … is rare; better: Sepertinya mereka akan merindukan …)

How can I intensify “miss” (really miss, miss so much)?

• Neutral/formal: sangat rindu, rindu sekali, amat rindu
• Colloquial: kangen banget, rindu banget
  Example: Para karyawan lama sangat rindu suasana kantor lama.

What’s the difference among karyawan, pegawai, staf, and pekerja?

• karyawan: employee, especially in the private sector; very common
• pegawai: employee; often used for civil servants (pegawai negeri), but also general
• staf: staff (collective or individual), a loanword; more office/professional nuance
• pekerja: worker/laborer; broader, can imply blue-collar or union context depending on use

Could I change the word order or structure for style or clarity?

Yes. Natural variations include:

• Para karyawan lama merindukan suasana kantor yang lama. (more formal with merindukan)
• Para karyawan yang sudah lama bekerja rindu suasana di kantor lama. (fully disambiguated)
  Avoid fronting like “Rindu karyawan lama …” in neutral prose; it sounds marked or poetic.