Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Ruang tamu baru kami lebih luas daripada yang lama. - Our new living room is more spacious than the old one.

In Indonesian, ruang tamu means the living room or sitting room — the space where you receive guests. A “guest room” (a bedroom for guests) would be kamar tamu. Related terms:

ruang keluarga = family room
ruang makan = dining room

Why is baru placed after ruang tamu?

Adjectives typically come after the noun in Indonesian. So ruang tamu baru = “new living room.” Placing baru before the noun would be ungrammatical in this meaning.

Where does the possessor kami go? What’s the difference between ruang tamu baru kami and ruang tamu kami baru?

The possessor pronoun comes after the whole noun phrase. So ruang tamu baru kami means “our new living room” (a noun phrase). Ruang tamu kami baru is a full sentence: “Our living room is new,” where baru functions as the predicate adjective.

What’s the difference between kami and kita here?

kami = we/us (excluding the listener). Use it if the living room belongs to the speaker’s group but not the person you’re talking to.
kita = we/us (including the listener). Use kita if the listener shares ownership (e.g., housemates). Example: Ruang tamu baru kita lebih luas…

Can I say ruang tamu kami yang baru instead of ruang tamu baru kami?

Yes. Both are grammatical and mean “our new living room,” but:

ruang tamu baru kami is the neutral, compact noun phrase.
ruang tamu kami yang baru adds a slight contrastive emphasis on “the one that is new,” useful if distinguishing it from an older one.

What does yang do in yang lama?

Yang turns an adjective or descriptor into a noun phrase, effectively “the one that is…”. So yang lama = “the old one (the old living room).” Without yang, lama can’t stand alone as a noun here.

Can I omit yang and say daripada lama?

No, not in standard Indonesian. You need yang to nominalize the adjective: daripada yang lama. You can also spell it out fully as daripada ruang tamu yang lama for clarity.

Why use daripada and not dari for “than”?

Both are common in speech, but daripada is the safer, more formal choice in comparative structures (lebih … daripada …). dari is also widely used (lebih luas dari yang lama), but daripada avoids ambiguity with dari meaning “from.” You may also hear synonyms:

ketimbang (informal)
dibandingkan (dengan) (more formal)

Do I have to repeat the noun after daripada?

No. If the referent is clear, daripada yang lama is natural and concise. For maximum clarity, you can say daripada ruang tamu yang lama. Adding itu (daripada yang lama itu) points to a specific, known “old one.”

What’s the nuance of luas versus besar, lebar, and lega?

luas = spacious; emphasizes floor area or extent. Example: ruang tamu itu sangat luas.
besar = big/large overall size; can sound less precise for rooms.
lebar = wide; focuses on width (a single dimension).
lega = roomy/airy; the feeling of space, not exact measurements.

Why use lama and not tua for “old”?

For objects and prior versions, Indonesian prefers lama (“old/previous”). tua is “old” mainly for living beings (an old person: orang tua) or age in a biological sense. So say telepon lama, rumah lama, not telepon tua (except in special contexts).

Is ruangan tamu okay, or must it be ruang tamu? What about kamar?

The set phrase is ruang tamu. You may hear ruangan in other collocations (e.g., ruangan rapat “meeting room”), but ruang tamu is the standard for “living room.” kamar is used for more private rooms (e.g., kamar tidur bedroom, kamar mandi bathroom); kamar tamu is a guest bedroom, not a living room.

How do I say “much more” or “a little more” spacious?

Much more: jauh lebih luas
A little more: sedikit lebih luas or lebih luas sedikit For parity: seluas = “as spacious as,” e.g., ruang tamu baru kami seluas yang lama. Negation: tidak seluas = “not as spacious as.”

How do I form the superlative (“the most spacious”)?

Use either:

paling
- adjective: yang paling luas
ter- prefix: terluas Example: Di rumah ini, ruang tamu baru kami yang paling luas. / … adalah yang terluas.

Does baru ever mean “just (now)”? Is there any ambiguity here?

Yes. baru can be an adverb meaning “just/only recently,” e.g., Saya baru pindah = “I just moved.” In your sentence, baru is clearly an adjective modifying ruang tamu (“new”), not the adverb, because of its position right after the noun.

Can I drop kami and just say Ruang tamu baru lebih luas daripada yang lama?

Grammatically yes, if the context already makes it clear which “new” and “old” living rooms you mean. Adding a determiner can help: Ruang tamu baru itu lebih luas daripada yang lama. Use kami/kita when you need to mark possession explicitly.