Saya lewat jembatan setiap pagi.

I pass by the bridge every morning.

Breakdown of Saya lewat jembatan setiap pagi.

• sebuah: a
• saya: I
• pagi: the morning
• setiap: every
• lewat: to pass by
• jembatan: the bridge

Questions & Answers about Saya lewat jembatan setiap pagi.

What exactly does lewat mean in this sentence? Does it mean to cross or to pass by?

In Saya lewat jembatan setiap pagi, lewat means to go past / to go over / to go via a place.

Natural English translations would be:

• I go over the bridge every morning.
• I go via the bridge every morning.
• I cross the bridge every morning.

So here lewat focuses on the route you take (your path goes through/over that bridge), not just the abstract action of crossing.

Why isn’t there a separate word meaning to go, like pergi, in this sentence?

Indonesian doesn’t always need a separate verb like pergi (to go) when the motion is already clear from another word such as lewat.

You can think of lewat here as already carrying the idea of motion:

• Saya lewat jembatan setiap pagi.
  ≈ I (go) via the bridge every morning.

Adding pergi would sound redundant or unnatural in this sentence:

• Saya pergi lewat jembatan setiap pagi. – possible, but you usually only say this if you really want to emphasize the going plus the route. Everyday speech normally just uses lewat here.

Why is it lewat jembatan and not lewat di jembatan?

Lewat already contains the idea of moving through/past/via a place, so you normally follow it directly with the place:

• lewat jembatan = go via the bridge
• lewat pasar = go via the market
• lewat jalan ini = go via this road

Di is mainly for location (being at/in/on a place), not for the path you take.

Lewat di jembatan is not totally impossible, but it would usually sound odd or would be interpreted differently (for example, something like to pass [someone/something] while at the bridge, in a specific context). For a simple route description, lewat + place is the normal pattern.

What’s the difference between lewat, melewati, melalui, and menyeberangi?

They are related but have different nuances:

• lewat

  • Common, colloquial, very frequent.
  • Often means to go via / to pass (by/through).
  • Saya lewat jembatan setiap pagi.

• melewati

  • More explicitly a verb to pass / to go past / to cross.
  • Slightly more formal / neutral than bare lewat.
  • Saya melewati jembatan setiap pagi. – perfectly correct and natural.

• melalui

  • Means to go through / by means of / via.
  • Feels a bit more formal or written, and is also used abstractly:
    
    • melalui internet = via the internet
    • melalui proses panjang = through a long process

• menyeberangi

  • Specifically to cross (something that separates two sides), like a river, road, sea.
  • Focuses on the crossing itself, not just the route.
  • Saya menyeberangi jembatan setiap pagi. = I cross the bridge every morning (emphasis on the crossing).

For everyday speech about your route to work or school, lewat jembatan or melewati jembatan are the most natural.

How is tense shown here? Why is there no change to lewat for every morning?

Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense (past, present, future) or for the subject (I/you/he/they). So:

• Saya lewat
• Dia lewat
• Mereka lewat

all use the same verb form lewat.

Time and aspect are usually shown by:

• Time expressions: kemarin (yesterday), sekarang (now), besok (tomorrow), setiap pagi (every morning), etc.
• Optional particles: sudah (already), belum (not yet), akan (will), etc.

In Saya lewat jembatan setiap pagi, the phrase setiap pagi tells us this is a habitual action in the present: I (habitually) go over the bridge every morning. There’s no need to change the verb form.

Can I move setiap pagi to the beginning of the sentence?

Yes. Indonesian word order is flexible for time expressions.

All of these are correct and natural:

• Saya lewat jembatan setiap pagi.
• Setiap pagi saya lewat jembatan.

Both mean I go over the bridge every morning.
Putting setiap pagi at the front can give a bit more emphasis to every morning, but the basic meaning stays the same.

Is there any difference between setiap pagi and tiap pagi?

Functionally, they mean the same thing:

• setiap pagi = every morning
• tiap pagi = every morning

Differences:

• setiap

  • Slightly more formal or neutral.
  • Common in both speaking and writing.

• tiap

  • Feels a bit more informal/colloquial.
  • Very common in everyday speech.

In this sentence, you can say:

• Saya lewat jembatan setiap pagi.
• Saya lewat jembatan tiap pagi.

Both are fine.

Can I drop saya and just say Lewat jembatan setiap pagi?

Yes, in context you sometimes can.

Indonesian often still mentions the subject pronoun, but it can be dropped when:

• The subject is very clear from the context (e.g. answering a question).
• You’re speaking informally.

For example, in a conversation:

• A: Bagaimana kamu pergi ke kantor? (How do you go to the office?)
• B: Lewat jembatan setiap pagi. (Via the bridge every morning.)

Here it’s obvious that I is the subject, so saya can be omitted.

However, in neutral or formal sentences (especially in writing), it’s safer and clearer to keep saya:

• Saya lewat jembatan setiap pagi.

When should I use saya instead of aku in a sentence like this?

Both saya and aku mean I, but they differ in formality and typical use:

• saya

  • Polite, neutral, slightly formal.
  • Safe choice with strangers, in polite conversation, at work, or in writing.
  • Saya lewat jembatan setiap pagi. – polite/neutral.

• aku

  • More informal/intimate.
  • Common with friends, family, or in casual speech.
  • Aku lewat jembatan setiap pagi. – sounds more personal/friendly.

In doubt, use saya; it’s rarely wrong. Switch to aku once you know the social setting allows it.

Does jembatan mean the bridge or a bridge? How do I specify this/that bridge?

Indonesian normally doesn’t mark a/the the way English does. Jembatan can mean:

• a bridge
• the bridge (if context makes it clear which one)

To be more specific:

• jembatan ini = this bridge
• jembatan itu = that bridge (the one we both know about or can see)

So you could say:

• Saya lewat jembatan itu setiap pagi.
  = I go over that (particular) bridge every morning.

You can also say jembatannya in some contexts, which often feels like that bridge / the bridge that we both already know about, but in basic sentences it’s more common to use ini/itu for clarity.

Is lewat the most natural choice here, or would melewati be better?

Both are natural; the nuance is small:

• Saya lewat jembatan setiap pagi.

  • Very common in everyday speech.
  • Slightly more informal / conversational.

• Saya melewati jembatan setiap pagi.

  • Neutral and fully standard.
  • Fine in both spoken and written language.

If you want a safe, textbook form, use melewati.
If you want to sound very natural in casual conversation, lewat is perfectly good.

How do you pronounce lewat and jembatan correctly?

Approximate pronunciations:

• lewat

  • le: like leh in lemon, but short.
  • wat: like wut with a clear t at the end.
  • Stress usually on the first syllable: LE-wat.

• jembatan

  • jem: like jem in gem, but with a soft j as in jam.
  • ba: like bah in bamboo, short.
  • tan: like tahn (short a, clear n).
  • Stress on ba: jem-BA-tan.

Every letter is pronounced; final t and n are not swallowed as in some English accents.

I’ve seen lewat used to mean late or past (a time). How do I know which meaning it has here?

Lewat has a few related meanings depending on context:

1. To pass / go via / go past a place

   • Saya lewat jembatan setiap pagi.
     = I go over the bridge every morning.

2. Past (a time) / after

   • Jam tiga lewat lima menit.
     = 3:05 (three o’clock plus five minutes).

3. Too late / already passed (often with sudah)

   • Sudah lewat.
     = It’s already passed / It’s too late.

In Saya lewat jembatan setiap pagi, it clearly has meaning (1) because it is followed by a place word (jembatan) and combined with a habitual time expression (setiap pagi). The structure lewat + place almost always means go via / pass through that place.