Saya mengetuk pintu berkali-kali.

I knock on the door repeatedly.

Breakdown of Saya mengetuk pintu berkali-kali.

• saya: I
• pintu: the door
• berkali-kali: repeatedly
• mengetuk: to knock

Questions & Answers about Saya mengetuk pintu berkali-kali.

What does each word and affix mean in this sentence?

• Saya = I
• mengetuk = to knock (verb). It’s meN-
  • root ketuk; the initial k drops after the meN- prefix, yielding mengetuk.
• pintu = door
• berkali-kali = many times/repeatedly. It’s ber-
  • kali-kali (reduplication of kali “time, occurrence”).

Do I need a preposition like “on” (e.g., di) before pintu?

No. You say mengetuk pintu, not mengetuk di pintu, because mengetuk takes a direct object. English “knock on the door” maps to Indonesian “knock door.”

Is mengetuk di pintu ever acceptable?

You may see it, but it sounds less natural and shifts the focus to location (“knocking at the door” as a place). In almost all cases, use mengetuk pintu. If you really want a location, specify it: mengetuk pintu belakang (knock on the back door).

How do I show past, present, or future?

Indonesian has no tense inflection. Add time/aspect markers:

• Past/completed: sudah/telah (Saya sudah mengetuk…), or a time word (tadi, kemarin).
• Ongoing: sedang (Saya sedang mengetuk…).
• Future/intended: akan, mau (Saya akan/mau mengetuk…).

Where can I put berkali-kali? Does position change meaning?

All are correct, with slight emphasis differences:

• Saya mengetuk pintu berkali-kali. (neutral)
• Berkali-kali saya mengetuk pintu. (fronted for emphasis on frequency)
• Saya berkali-kali mengetuk pintu. (frequency directly modifies the verb phrase)

What’s the difference among berkali-kali, berulang kali, berulang-ulang, and beberapa kali?

• berkali-kali = many times, repeatedly (neutral and common).
• berulang kali = repeatedly; similar to berkali-kali, slightly more formal in some contexts.
• berulang-ulang = again and again; often feels more insistent/intense.
• beberapa kali = several times (quantitatively fewer than “many”).

Is the hyphen in berkali-kali required?

Yes. Reduplicated forms are hyphenated: kali-kali. Without the hyphen it’s incorrect spelling.

Can I show repetition by reduplicating the verb instead?

Yes: mengetuk-ngetuk pintu = keep/keep on knocking (repeated light knocks). You can also combine for strong emphasis: mengetuk-ngetuk pintu berkali-kali.

Is pintu “the door” or “a door”?

It’s unspecified; Indonesian has no articles. Context decides. To specify:

• “the door” (known/specific): pintu itu or pintunya
• “a door”: sebuah pintu (when you need to stress singularity)

Can I drop pintu if it’s obvious?

Yes. Saya mengetuk berkali-kali is fine if “the door” is understood from context (e.g., you’re standing at a door).

What’s the difference between saya, aku, and gue here?

• saya = polite/neutral, widely safe.
• aku = informal/intimate with friends/family.
• gue/gua = very informal Jakarta colloquial. So you might hear Gue ngetuk pintu berkali-kali in casual speech.

How is mengetuk pronounced?

• men- as in “men”
• ge with a schwa (like the ‘a’ in “sofa”): mə
• tuk with a short “oo” as in “book”
• The final -k is often realized as a glottal stop [ʔ] in everyday speech, so -tuk can sound like -tu’.

Is mengetok also correct?

You’ll hear mengetok in colloquial Indonesian (and in set phrases like mengetok palu, “to strike the gavel”). For doors, mengetuk pintu is the standard/neutral choice, though mengetok pintu is widely understood.

Could I say memukul pintu instead?

That means “to hit/strike the door,” not “to knock.” Use mengetuk for knocking.

How would I say this in the passive?

• Short passive (very natural): Pintu itu beberapa kali saya ketuk.
• Long passive: Pintu itu diketuk berkali-kali (oleh saya). Both mean “The door was knocked (many/several times).”

How do I say “only a few times” vs “kept knocking”?

• “only a few times”: hanya beberapa kali
• “kept knocking/again and again”: terus-menerus, berulang-ulang, or mengetuk-ngetuk (pintu)

Does Saya need to be capitalized like English “I”?

No. saya is lowercase unless it starts the sentence. The polite Anda is often capitalized as a courtesy; saya is not.

Any natural way people actually “knock” verbally?

People often pair the action with Permisi! (Excuse me!) and onomatopoeia: Tok tok tok! For example: (Tok tok tok) Permisi!