Kami mengurangi pengeluaran bulanan.

We reduce monthly expenses.

Breakdown of Kami mengurangi pengeluaran bulanan.

• kami: we
• bulanan: monthly
• pengeluaran: the expense
• mengurangi: to reduce

Questions & Answers about Kami mengurangi pengeluaran bulanan.

What’s the difference between kami and kita, and which one fits here?

• kami = we (excluding the listener). Common in company statements to customers.
• kita = we (including the listener). This sentence uses kami because it’s talking about “we” without including the person addressed. If you want to include your listener, say Kita mengurangi pengeluaran bulanan.

How do I show past, present, or future in this sentence?

Indonesian doesn’t mark tense on the verb; add time/aspect words:

• Past: Kami sudah/telah mengurangi pengeluaran bulanan.
• Present/progressive: Kami sedang (atau lagi) mengurangi pengeluaran bulanan.
• Future: Kami akan mengurangi pengeluaran bulanan.

Why mengurangi and not kurangi?

• mengurangi is the standard active verb “to reduce (something).”
• kurangi is often imperative: Kurangi pengeluaran bulanan! (Reduce monthly expenses!)
• You’ll also see object-fronting: Pengeluaran bulanan kami kurangi (We reduce monthly expenses).
• Informally, people say ngurangin: Kita ngurangin pengeluaran bulanan.

What’s the difference between mengurangi and berkurang?

• mengurangi is transitive: you reduce something. Example: Kami mengurangi pengeluaran bulanan.
• berkurang is intransitive: something decreases. Example: Pengeluaran bulanan kami berkurang.

Do I need to say pengeluaran bulanan kami to show it’s “our” expenses?

Not necessarily. With kami as the subject, it’s usually understood. Add kami after the noun to be explicit or avoid ambiguity: Kami mengurangi pengeluaran bulanan kami. If you mean someone else’s, specify: Kami mengurangi pengeluaran bulanan perusahaan.

What does pengeluaran literally come from?

From keluar (to go out). The nominalizing pattern peN-…-an forms pengeluaran (things that go out → expenditures). Related forms:

• mengeluarkan = to take/put out, to spend
• Opposite: pemasukan (income), from masuk (to enter)

Nuance check: mengurangi, menurunkan, menghemat, memangkas, menekan?

• mengurangi: general “reduce (an amount).”
• menurunkan: “lower” a level/figure (e.g., menurunkan biaya/harga).
• menghemat: “save, economize” (behavioral). Intransitive: berhemat.
• memangkas: “slash, cut back” (stronger, often budget/staff).
• menekan: “press/suppress” costs (keep them down): menekan biaya.

Can I say pengeluaran setiap bulan instead of pengeluaran bulanan?

Yes. Both are natural:

• pengeluaran bulanan = monthly expenses (as a category)
• pengeluaran setiap bulan = expenses each month You can also say pengeluaran per bulan.

Why is bulanan after pengeluaran?

Modifiers generally follow nouns in Indonesian. So pengeluaran bulanan (not “bulanan pengeluaran”). Other examples: biaya operasional, rencana tahunan.

How do I say “by 10%” or “by Rp2 million” here?

Use sebesar (for amounts/percentages):

• Kami akan mengurangi pengeluaran bulanan kami sebesar 10%.
• Kami mengurangi pengeluaran bulanan sebesar Rp2 juta.

How do I negate this correctly?

Use tidak before the verb: Kami tidak mengurangi pengeluaran bulanan.
Use bukan for negating a noun/adjective, not a verb, so bukan doesn’t fit here.

What’s the passive or object-fronted version?

• Passive: Pengeluaran bulanan dikurangi (oleh kami).
• Object-fronted (topicalized, still active): Pengeluaran bulanan kami kurangi.
  Both are common in formal writing.

Can I drop the subject pronoun?

Yes, if the context makes it clear. As a heading or plan: Mengurangi pengeluaran bulanan. In conversation: Sedang mengurangi pengeluaran bulanan is fine if “we” is understood.

Any pronunciation tips?

• ng is one sound (like in English “sing”), not “n+g”: me-ngu-…, pe-nga-…
• e in me-/peng- is a schwa (uh).
• u = “oo” in “food.” g is always hard (as in “go”). Slightly rolled r.
• Stress is light, typically penultimate: me-ngu-ra-ngi; peng-e-lu-ar-an bu-la-nan.

Is pengeluaran the same as biaya, ongkos, tagihan, or harga?

• pengeluaran: expenditures/spending (money going out overall)
• biaya: cost/fee of something (project, service) — more formal
• ongkos: fare/expenses (travel, services), more colloquial
• tagihan: bill/invoice you receive
• harga: price of an item

Is mengurangi also used in math?

Yes. 5 dikurangi 2 = 3. You’ll often see dikurangi in equations (meaning “minus”).

Is mengurangkan correct?

In Indonesian, mengurangi is the normal choice. mengurangkan exists but is rare and more typical in Malaysian Malay; in Indonesian you might see it in math contexts, but stick with mengurangi.

Any alternative phrasing for different tones/registers?

• Formal/business: Kami menekan biaya/pengeluaran bulanan.
• Stronger: Kami memangkas pengeluaran bulanan.
• Neutral everyday: Kami mengurangi biaya bulanan.
• Informal: Kita ngurangin biaya bulanan.
• Very general: Kami berhemat.

How do I express plurality (“expenses” vs “expense”)?

Indonesian doesn’t mark plural on nouns. Context or quantifiers do the job:

• banyak pengeluaran (a lot of expenses)
• beberapa pengeluaran besar (several big expenses)
• total pengeluaran (total expenses)