Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Saya suka cokelat panas di malam dingin.

Saya: more formal and neutral; safe in almost any situation (talking to strangers, at work, in writing, etc.).
Aku: informal/intimate; used with friends, family, or in songs, poems, etc.

In Saya suka cokelat panas di malam dingin, the speaker sounds neutral/polite. If you said Aku suka cokelat panas di malam dingin, it would sound more casual and personal. Grammatically, both are correct.

What exactly does suka mean? Is it like love or just like?

Suka most closely means to like / to be fond of.

Saya suka cokelat panas = I like hot chocolate.
If you want to say really like / love (in a casual, non-romantic way), you can say:
- Saya sangat suka cokelat panas.
- Saya suka sekali cokelat panas.

For deeper, stronger feelings (especially romantic or very strong emotion), Indonesians often use cinta:

Saya cinta kamu. = I love you.

So in this sentence, suka is simple, neutral like.

Can I say saya menyukai cokelat panas instead of saya suka cokelat panas?

You can, but it sounds more formal and less natural in everyday speech.

Suka is the normal, everyday verb for to like:
- Saya suka cokelat panas. (most common)
Menyukai is the formal/verb-form version:
- Saya menyukai cokelat panas. (okay in writing, essays, more formal contexts)

In daily conversation, stick with suka.

Why is it cokelat panas, not panas cokelat? What is the usual word order?

In Indonesian, adjectives usually come after the noun.

cokelat panas = hot chocolate (chocolate hot)
malam dingin = cold night (night cold)

So the pattern is generally:

noun + adjective
- rumah besar = big house
- kucing lucu = cute cat
- cokelat panas = hot chocolate

Putting the adjective first (panas cokelat) is incorrect in standard Indonesian.

Does cokelat panas specifically mean the drink “hot chocolate,” or just chocolate that happens to be hot?

In context, cokelat panas will usually be understood as hot chocolate (as a drink), especially when talking about things like cold weather, cafes, etc.

If you really want to be explicit, you can say:

minuman cokelat panas = hot chocolate drink
susu cokelat panas = hot chocolate milk

But in everyday conversation, cokelat panas on its own is typically enough to mean hot chocolate (the drink), not just “melted, physically hot chocolate.” Context does the work.

Why is it di malam dingin? Could I also say pada malam dingin or ketika malam dingin?

All three are possible, but with different nuances:

di malam dingin
Literally: at/on a cold night.
Very common, sounds natural and slightly poetic. Di here is a bit flexible in meaning (not only physical location).
pada malam dingin
Also literally on/at a cold night.
More formal or written style; pada is often used in written Indonesian or speeches.
ketika malam dingin
Literally when nights are cold or when it’s a cold night.
Emphasizes the time aspect: when it is a cold night.

In casual speech, di malam dingin or di malam yang dingin are very common.

Why is there no word for a or the in the sentence?

Indonesian does not have articles like a/an or the.

malam dingin could mean:
- a cold night
- cold nights
- the cold night
The exact meaning is inferred from context. In this sentence, English might naturally translate it as:
I like hot chocolate on cold nights.
or …on a cold night.

But in Indonesian, you don’t need to mark a/the; malam dingin is enough.

If I want to say cold nights (clearly plural), how can I show the plural in Indonesian?

You can make the plural explicit, though it’s not always necessary. Some options:

Reduplication (repeat the noun):
- malam-malam dingin = cold nights (emphasis on more than one night)
Use yang and maybe a number or another clue:
- malam-malam yang dingin = the cold nights
- banyak malam yang dingin = many cold nights

Still, in many real-life sentences, Indonesians would just say malam dingin, and let context tell you it’s plural.

What is the function of yang in malam yang dingin, and why is it missing here?

Yang is a linker/relativizer that connects a noun with a description, similar to that/which/who in English, but also used more generally before adjectives:

malam yang dingin = the night that is cold / a night which is cold

In this sentence:

malam dingin (without yang) is already grammatical and natural; the adjective dingin directly describes malam.

Adding yang:

di malam yang dingin sounds a bit more descriptive, slightly more formal or literary, almost like on the cold nights or on nights that are cold.

Both are correct; the version without yang is simpler and more neutral.

Why is it di malam dingin and not something like pada malam hari yang dingin? What does hari add?

You could absolutely say:

Saya suka cokelat panas pada malam hari yang dingin.

malam hari literally means nighttime. Adding hari here can:

emphasize the time of day (night as a part of the day),
sound slightly more formal or complete, especially in writing.

Comparison:

di malam dingin – short, natural, a bit more casual/poetic.
pada malam hari yang dingin – more formal and descriptive; feels like something from a written paragraph or narrative.

Both are correct; the original sentence uses a simpler, more conversational structure.

Why is there no word like “to drink” (minum) in the sentence? How do Indonesians know it’s about drinking?

Indonesian often omits verbs when the meaning is clear from context.

Saya suka cokelat panas di malam dingin.
Literally: I like hot chocolate on cold nights.
It’s understood that you like drinking it, because cokelat panas is a drink.

If you want to be explicit, you can say:

Saya suka minum cokelat panas di malam dingin. = I like to drink hot chocolate on cold nights.

Both are correct. The shorter version is very natural because the context (a hot drink) makes the action obvious.