Breakdown of Kami daur ulang plastik di rumah.
Questions & Answers about Kami daur ulang plastik di rumah.
Indonesian has two words for we:
- kami = we (but NOT including the person you’re talking to) → exclusive we
- kita = we (INCLUDING the person you’re talking to) → inclusive we
In Kami daur ulang plastik di rumah, kami suggests:
- The speaker and some others recycle plastic at their home,
- but the listener is not part of that group.
If you say Kita daur ulang plastik di rumah, it implies:
- You and the listener recycle plastic together at home (for example, talking to a family member or roommate).
In Kami daur ulang plastik di rumah, daur ulang functions as a verb phrase meaning to recycle.
- Literally, daur ulang is a noun phrase:
- daur = cycle
- ulang = again/re-
→ daur ulang = recycling / reuse
But in everyday Indonesian, this noun phrase is very commonly used as a verb, especially in speech:
- Kami daur ulang plastik. = We recycle plastic.
You will also see the verb form with a prefix:
- Kami mendaur ulang plastik.
Both are correct:
- daur ulang (without prefix) → more casual, common in speech.
- mendaur ulang → a bit more formal/standard, common in writing or careful speech.
Meaning-wise there is no real difference in this sentence.
Yes, you can absolutely say Kami mendaur ulang plastik di rumah.
- Kami daur ulang plastik di rumah.
- Kami mendaur ulang plastik di rumah.
Both mean We recycle plastic at home.
Nuance:
- mendaur ulang sounds more formal and is closer to “proper” grammar textbooks and formal writing.
- daur ulang without meN- is very common in everyday conversation and still widely accepted.
In casual speech, many Indonesians will just say daur ulang as a verb.
Indonesian verbs usually do not change for tense. Context decides.
Kami daur ulang plastik di rumah can mean:
- We recycle plastic at home. (a general, habitual action)
- We are recycling plastic at home. (could be true right now, depending on context)
To be more specific, you can add time/aspect words:
- Kami selalu daur ulang plastik di rumah.
→ We always recycle plastic at home. (habit) - Kami sedang daur ulang plastik di rumah.
→ We are currently recycling plastic at home. (right now) - Tadi kami daur ulang plastik di rumah.
→ We recycled plastic at home earlier.
The basic verb form stays the same; you clarify time with extra words.
- di = at / in / on (location)
- ke = to (direction, movement toward a place)
In Kami daur ulang plastik di rumah:
- di rumah = at home (location where the action happens)
If you used ke, the meaning would change:
- Kami membawa plastik ke rumah.
→ We bring plastic to the house.
So:
- Use di when you are already at the location.
- Use ke when you are going / moving to the location.
di rumah literally just means at home or at the house, with no explicit owner.
However, in many situations, di rumah is understood as “at our/my home” from context, especially if the subject is kami or saya:
- Kami daur ulang plastik di rumah.
→ Commonly understood as “We recycle plastic at home (meaning our home).”
If you want to be explicit:
- Kami daur ulang plastik di rumah kami.
→ We recycle plastic at our house.
Both sound natural. The short version without kami is very common when the owner is obvious.
Indonesian usually doesn’t mark singular vs plural on the noun itself. plastik can mean plastic (material) or plastic items in general.
So:
- Kami daur ulang plastik di rumah.
→ We recycle plastic / plastic waste / plastic items at home.
If you really want to emphasize various pieces/types of plastic, you can:
Use reduplication:
- plastik-plastik = plastics (many pieces; somewhat informal, context-dependent)
Use a quantifier or classifier:
- banyak plastik = a lot of plastic
- beberapa plastik = several plastics
- kantong plastik = plastic bags
- botol plastik = plastic bottles
But in most cases, just plastik is enough.
You can say Kami di rumah daur ulang plastik, and Indonesians will understand you, but:
- Kami daur ulang plastik di rumah.
is the most natural and neutral order here.
Basic pattern:
- Subject – Verb – Object – Place
→ Kami – daur ulang – plastik – di rumah
Putting di rumah earlier (Kami di rumah daur ulang plastik) shifts slight focus to being at home, but it’s not ungrammatical—just less neutral. For learners, stick with:
- Kami daur ulang plastik di rumah.
If you say Daur ulang plastik di rumah by itself:
- It can sound like a command or instruction:
→ (You should) recycle plastic at home.
Indonesian often drops the subject when it’s obvious, especially in conversation, but in a standalone sentence like this, Kami is helpful:
- Kami daur ulang plastik di rumah. (We do this.)
- Daur ulang plastik di rumah! (Imperative / slogan / instruction.)
So:
- To state what you do: keep Kami.
- To tell someone to do it: drop the subject, making it an imperative.
Pronunciation tips:
daur:
- dau = like “dow” in downtown (a d
- English “ow” sound)
- r = tapped/flipped r, like Spanish r in cara
→ roughly [dowr]
- dau = like “dow” in downtown (a d
ulang:
- u = like oo in food
- la = “lah”
- ng = like sing (not hard “g”)
→ [OO-lahng]
rumah:
- ru = roo (like room)
- mah = “mah” with a light h
→ [ROO-mah]
Stress is usually light and fairly even; you don’t need strong stress like in English.
Proper spelling:
di as a preposition (location) is written separately:
- di rumah = at home
- di sekolah = at school
di- as a prefix (in passive verbs) is written attached:
- dibuang = is thrown away
- dikumpulkan = is collected
So in this sentence, di rumah is a preposition + noun, so it must be separate.
dirumah is a common informal typo, not standard Indonesian.