Saya mencari ketenangan di perpustakaan.

I look for calmness in the library.

Breakdown of Saya mencari ketenangan di perpustakaan.

• saya: I
• di: in
• perpustakaan: the library
• mencari: to look for
• ketenangan: the calmness

Questions & Answers about Saya mencari ketenangan di perpustakaan.

What does each word in the sentence correspond to?

• Saya = I (neutral/formal first-person singular)
• mencari = to look for/to seek (active verb formed with the prefix meN-
  • root cari)
• ketenangan = calmness, tranquility, peace and quiet (a noun formed from the adjective tenang using the circumfix ke-…-an)
• di = at/in (preposition for a static location)
• perpustakaan = library (place noun from pustaka “book,” with per-…-an forming a place related to the root)

Why is it mencari and not just cari?

• mencari is the standard active verb form used in neutral/formal Indonesian.
• cari is the root. It appears:
  • in imperatives: Cari ketenangan! (Look for peace!)
  • in casual speech after a subject: Saya cari ketenangan (informal).
• In careful writing or formal speech, prefer mencari. In everyday conversation, saya cari sounds natural.

What does di mean here, and how is it different from ke and dari?

• di = at/in (static location): di perpustakaan = at/in the library.
• ke = to/toward (movement): ke perpustakaan = to the library.
• dari = from (origin): dari perpustakaan = from the library.

Can the location phrase di perpustakaan be moved to another position?

Yes. Common options:

• Neutral: Saya mencari ketenangan di perpustakaan.
• Fronted for emphasis on place: Di perpustakaan, saya mencari ketenangan.
• Split but still natural: Saya di perpustakaan mencari ketenangan. Avoid: Saya mencari di perpustakaan ketenangan (feels awkward).

Why ketenangan (a noun) instead of the adjective tenang?

• After mencari, you need a noun as the object. ketenangan = “calmness/serenity,” so it fits.
• tenang is an adjective “calm/quiet.” You can use it if you turn it into a noun phrase:
  • Saya mencari tempat yang tenang (I’m looking for a quiet place).
• Saya mencari tenang is ungrammatical.

What are good synonyms or near-synonyms for ketenangan, and how do they differ?

• keheningan = silence (focus on absence of sound).
• kedamaian = peace (broader, peace/harmony, not just quiet).
• ketenteraman (also spelled ketentraman in informal writing) = tranquility, public order, a settled calm.
• ketenangan batin = inner peace (explicitly internal/psychological). Choose based on nuance: quietness vs inner peace vs general peace.

How do I express the idea of “currently” or “in the middle of” doing this?

• Neutral/progressive: Saya sedang mencari ketenangan di perpustakaan.
• Colloquial: Saya lagi mencari ketenangan di perpustakaan. Without any marker, Saya mencari… can mean present, past, or habitual depending on context.

How do I negate or ask a yes–no question with this sentence?

• Negation: Saya tidak mencari ketenangan di perpustakaan.
• Yes–no question (formal): Apakah Anda mencari ketenangan di perpustakaan?
• Yes–no question (neutral/informal): Kamu mencari ketenangan di perpustakaan? Intonation alone often marks questions in speech.

What’s the difference between Saya and other pronouns like Aku, Gue, or Anda here?

• Saya: neutral/formal, safe in most situations.
• Aku: informal/intimate; with friends/family.
• Gue/Gua: very informal, Jakarta slang.
• Anda: polite/formal “you,” not “I,” but relevant when addressing someone. The rest of the sentence stays the same: Aku mencari ketenangan di perpustakaan (informal).

Could I say di dalam perpustakaan instead of di perpustakaan?

Yes. di dalam perpustakaan emphasizes “inside the library (as opposed to outside/near it).” di perpustakaan is the default “at/in the library” and is usually sufficient.

How would I say this in the passive voice?

• Standard passive: Ketenangan dicari (oleh) saya di perpustakaan. (oleh = by; often omitted)
• Object-fronting (active-looking but common): Ketenangan saya cari di perpustakaan. Active original: Saya mencari ketenangan di perpustakaan. All are grammatical, with different focus.

Is there any article like “a” or “the” in perpustakaan?

Indonesian has no articles. perpustakaan can mean “a library” or “the library,” depending on context. To be explicit:

• Specific: perpustakaan itu/ini (that/this library), perpustakaan kampus (the campus library).
• Indefinite: sebuah perpustakaan (a library), though sebuah is optional.

Is there any risk of confusing di (preposition) with di- (passive prefix)?

Yes, so watch the spacing:

• Preposition: separated, as in di perpustakaan.
• Passive prefix: attached to verbs, as in dicari, ditulis. Spelling matters: di tulis is wrong for the passive; it must be ditulis.

What are some natural variations to express a similar idea?

• Emphasize “calming oneself”: Saya ingin menenangkan diri di perpustakaan.
• Emphasize silence: Saya mencari keheningan di perpustakaan.
• Habitual: Saya sering mencari ketenangan di perpustakaan.
• Completed: Saya sudah mencari ketenangan di perpustakaan.
• Ongoing: Saya masih mencari ketenangan di perpustakaan.

How is mencari-cari different from mencari?

• mencari = to look for.
• mencari-cari (reduplication) = to look around repeatedly, to rummage, or to “fish for” (often implies effort, uncertainty, or even pretext). Example: Dia mencari-cari alasan (He’s looking for excuses).

Any tips on pronunciation for key words?

• c in mencari is like English “ch” (church).
• r is tapped or lightly trilled.
• ng in ketenangan is a single sound /ŋ/ (as in “sing”).
• Syllables: me-nca-ri, ke-te-nang-an, per-pus-ta-ka-an. Indonesian stress is relatively even; don’t strongly stress one syllable as in English.

What’s the morphology behind ketenangan and perpustakaan?

• ketenangan: ke- + tenang + -an → state/abstract noun = calmness/tranquility.
• perpustakaan: per- + pustaka + -an → place associated with books = library. pustaka comes from Sanskrit, meaning “book/text.”

Is the word order flexible with the object and location?

Core order is Subject–Verb–Object–(Adverbial). Natural options:

• Saya mencari ketenangan di perpustakaan.
• Di perpustakaan, saya mencari ketenangan. Moving the object after the location is usually fine, but avoid splitting the verb and its object with a long location phrase in ways that sound awkward, e.g., Saya mencari di perpustakaan ketenangan (unnatural).