Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Kami lapar, sampai-sampai lupa mencuci talenan. - We were hungry, so much so that we forgot to wash the cutting board.

It intensifies the idea of result. Sampai-sampai means “so … that,” with extra emphasis, often implying the result is notable, surprising, or extreme. Compare:

Kami lapar sampai lupa… = so hungry that we forgot…
Kami lapar sampai-sampai lupa… = so hungry that we even/actually ended up forgetting…

Can I just use sampai instead of sampai-sampai here?

Yes. Sampai alone is fine and very common: Kami lapar sampai lupa mencuci talenan. Using sampai-sampai adds emphasis or drama.

How is sampai-sampai different from sehingga?

Sehingga is a neutral, more formal result conjunction: Kami lapar sehingga lupa mencuci talenan.
Sampai-sampai carries an emotive, “to the point that (surprisingly)” feel. Functionally both link cause to result, but the tone differs.

Is the comma before sampai-sampai required?

Not strictly. It’s often used to mark the pause between the main clause and the result clause: Kami lapar, sampai-sampai… Without the comma is also acceptable in everyday writing.

Why is there no subject after sampai-sampai? Should it be repeated?

Indonesian commonly drops a repeated subject when it’s the same as the previous clause. You could say Kami lapar, sampai-sampai kami lupa… for clarity or emphasis, but it’s not required.

Should I use kami or kita here?

Kami = we (excluding the person spoken to).
Kita = we (including the person spoken to). Choose based on whether you include your listener.

Does the sentence indicate past, present, or future?

Indonesian doesn’t mark tense morphologically. Time is inferred from context or time words:

Past: tadi, barusan
Future: nanti, akan
General habit: no marker Here it likely describes a past event, but context decides.

Is lupa the same as melupakan? When do I use each?

Lupa (intransitive) means “to forget,” and can take a verb or a noun: lupa mencuci, lupa namanya.
Melupakan (transitive) means “to forget (something/someone)” as a direct object and is more deliberate or act-like: melupakan masa lalu. It does not take a verb phrase, so not melupakan mencuci.

Is lupa untuk mencuci also correct? Any nuance difference?

Yes, it’s correct. Lupa mencuci is shorter and very common; lupa untuk mencuci is a bit more formal or careful in tone. Meaning is the same.

Is mencuci talenan the most natural phrasing? What about membersihkan or membilas?

Mencuci = wash (with water/soap). Natural for a cutting board.
Membersihkan = clean (general). OK, but less specific.
Membilas = rinse. Means only rinsing, not necessarily washing. So mencuci talenan is the most precise for “wash the cutting board.”

Where does mencuci come from morphologically? Why not “menccuci”?

Base verb: cuci. The active prefix meN- assimilates to the initial consonant:

meN- + c → menc- → mencuci This is a standard sound change with the meN- prefix.

Is there a casual form of mencuci?

Yes: nyuci (colloquial). Example: Kami sampai lupa nyuci talenan. Keep mencuci for neutral/formal contexts.

Do I need an article like “the” for talenan? How do I make it specific?

Indonesian has no articles. Talenan can be singular or plural by context. To make it specific:

talenannya = the cutting board (that one)
sebuah talenan = a cutting board (one unit), if you need to stress “one”

Are there synonyms for talenan?

Common alternatives:

papan potong (cutting board)
papan pemotong (less common in Indonesian, more Malay-like) Just papan is too general (“board”). Talenan is the standard everyday word.

Could I say Kami kelaparan instead of Kami lapar? What’s the difference?

Lapar = hungry.
Kelaparan = starving, extremely hungry, or suffering from hunger (can be hyperbolic in casual speech). So kelaparan is stronger.

Can I add intensifiers like sekali or banget here? Where do they go?

Yes, place them after the adjective:

Kami lapar sekali, sampai-sampai… (neutral/formal)
Kami lapar banget, sampai-sampai… (colloquial)

Is there another common way to express “so … that” besides sampai-sampai?

Yes:

sehingga (neutral/formal): Kami lapar sehingga lupa…
saking … -nya: Saking laparnya, kami lupa… (very natural, emphasizes degree)
sampai (without reduplication): Kami lapar sampai lupa…

Is sampai-sampai formal, neutral, or informal?

Neutral and widely used in both spoken and written Indonesian. It is a bit more emotive than sehingga, but not slang.

Does sampai-sampai always signal a negative or surprising result?

Often it highlights results that are unexpected, extreme, or noteworthy (frequently negative), but it can also frame surprising positives depending on context.

Can I write sampe-sampe in casual text?

Sampe is a colloquial spelling/pronunciation of sampai. In informal chats you’ll see sampe-sampe, but the standard spelling is sampai-sampai, which you should use in anything neutral or formal.