Suasana di ruang tamu malam ini santai.

The atmosphere in the living room tonight is relaxed.

Breakdown of Suasana di ruang tamu malam ini santai.

• adalah: to be
• di: in
• ruang tamu: the living room
• malam ini: tonight
• suasana: the atmosphere
• santai: relaxed

Questions & Answers about Suasana di ruang tamu malam ini santai.

Where is the word “is” in this sentence? Why doesn’t Indonesian use it before an adjective like “santai”?

Indonesian doesn’t need a linking verb before adjectives. An adjective can serve directly as the predicate. So santai functions as “is relaxed.” Examples:

• Makanannya enak.
• Ruang tamu itu besar. The language does have adalah, but it’s typically used before nouns/noun phrases, not adjectives (see the next question).

Can I say Suasana di ruang tamu malam ini adalah santai?

That sounds unnatural. Adalah is used mainly before a noun/NP, e.g., Dia adalah guru. For adjectives, just use the adjective: Suasana … santai. If you want a more descriptive feel, you could say:

• Suasananya terasa santai.
• Suasananya sangat santai.
• Suasana di ruang tamu malam ini cukup santai.

What exactly does santai mean? Is it formal?

Santai means “relaxed/laid-back/easygoing,” often implying an unhurried, chill vibe. It’s neutral and widely used. Related words:

• tenang = calm (not agitated/noisy)
• nyaman = comfortable (physically/mentally)
• rileks (informal) = relaxed Verb-y options: bersantai = to relax; common phrase: Santai aja! = “Take it easy!”

Should I say di malam ini or pada malam ini?

Use malam ini with no preposition in everyday Indonesian. Di malam ini is not natural. Pada malam ini is possible in formal contexts (announcements/news), but in daily speech malam ini is best.

Where can I put malam ini in the sentence?

All of these are possible, with slight differences in emphasis:

• Malam ini, suasana di ruang tamu santai. (fronted time = topic “tonight”)
• Suasana di ruang tamu malam ini santai. (as in your sentence; “tonight” closely tied to the location phrase)
• Suasana di ruang tamu santai malam ini. (time at the end; very common in speech)

Can I say ini malam instead of malam ini?

In standard Indonesian, say malam ini. Ini malam would mean “this is night” or sound odd. In Malaysian usage you might see ini malam, but in Indonesian stick to malam ini.

What does ruang tamu mean exactly?

Ruang tamu is the living room—the area where you receive guests. Don’t confuse it with:

• kamar tamu = guest bedroom
• ruang keluarga = family room/den (more private, for the household)

Why ruang and not ruangan? Is ruangan tamu acceptable?

Ruang is the base noun “room/space”; ruangan is a derived noun meaning “an enclosed room/area.” The set phrase for “living room” is ruang tamu. Ruangan tamu is not the standard way to say “living room” and may be read as “a room for guests” (not the fixed living-room concept). Use ruang tamu.

Why is di written separately in di ruang tamu? When is it attached?

As a preposition meaning “in/at/on,” di is written separately: di rumah, di meja, di ruang tamu.
As a passive prefix on verbs, di- attaches to the verb: dibuka, ditulis, dipakai. So di ruang (separate) is correct; diruang is a spelling error.

Do I need “the” or “a” in Indonesian? How do I make things definite?

Indonesian has no articles. Suasana di ruang tamu can mean “the atmosphere in the living room” (context usually makes it definite). To make something clearly definite:

• add a demonstrative: di ruang tamu itu/ini
• or use the enclitic: suasananya (roughly “the atmosphere/its atmosphere”)

How do I negate this sentence?

Use tidak before the adjective:

• Suasana di ruang tamu malam ini tidak santai.
  If you want to negate the noun phrase classification, use bukan:
• Ini bukan suasana santai. (This is not a relaxed atmosphere.)

How can I intensify or soften santai?

Common modifiers:

• very: sangat santai, santai sekali, santai banget (informal)
• quite/pretty: cukup santai, lumayan santai
• somewhat: agak santai
• not very: kurang santai

Can I drop di and say Suasana ruang tamu malam ini santai?

Yes. Suasana ruang tamu forms a noun–noun compound (“the living-room atmosphere”). Both are natural:

• Suasana di ruang tamu malam ini santai. (locative phrase)
• Suasana ruang tamu malam ini santai. (possessive/attributive compound) The meaning is essentially the same; the second feels a bit more compact/written.

Is using -nya natural here, like Suasananya santai malam ini?

Very natural in conversation. -nya often marks definiteness or “its/their/that” sense already known in context. Variants:

• Suasananya santai malam ini.
• Malam ini, suasananya santai.

Does malam ini mean right now or later tonight? How is it different from nanti malam and tadi malam?

• malam ini = tonight (can mean the current or upcoming night, depending on context)
• nanti malam = later tonight (future-oriented)
• tadi malam = last night (past)