Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Saya menulis mimpi dan harapan pribadi saya di buku harian. - I write my personal dreams and hopes in a diary.

The first Saya is the subject: Saya menulis = I write / I am writing.
The second saya is possessive: mimpi dan harapan pribadi saya = my personal dreams and hopes.

You could drop the first Saya in casual conversation if the context is clear (Menulis mimpi dan harapan pribadi saya di buku harian), but in a neutral written sentence, having both is completely natural.

Can saya at the end refer to both mimpi and harapan, or only to harapan?

It refers to both.

In Indonesian, when you have noun A + dan + noun B + [modifier], that modifier (here: pribadi saya) is usually understood to apply to the whole phrase unless context says otherwise.

So:

mimpi dan harapan pribadi saya is understood as my personal dreams and (my personal) hopes.
It does not normally mean dreams and my personal hopes with “dreams” being general/impersonal.

Could I say mimpi dan harapan saya instead of mimpi dan harapan pribadi saya?

Yes, you can, but the nuance changes slightly.

mimpi dan harapan saya = my dreams and hopes (neutral, no emphasis on them being “personal/private”).
mimpi dan harapan pribadi saya = my personal/private dreams and hopes, with pribadi adding the idea of privacy/intimacy.

So pribadi is not grammatically required, but it adds a specific nuance.

What’s the function of pribadi, and why does it come after the noun?

Pribadi means personal, private. In mimpi dan harapan pribadi saya, it works like an adjective.

In Indonesian, descriptive words (adjectives) usually come after the noun:

buku harian = daily book / diary (literally: book daily)
mimpi pribadi = personal dream
rencana penting = important plan

So harapan pribadi = personal hope(s). The order pribadi harapan would be incorrect.

Could I say pribadi mimpi dan harapan saya instead?

No, that word order is not natural Indonesian.

Modifiers like pribadi normally follow the noun phrase they describe, not precede it. The natural options are:

mimpi dan harapan pribadi saya
mimpi-mimpi dan harapan-harapan pribadi saya (emphasizing plurality)
mimpi dan harapan saya yang pribadi (more emphatic/“which are personal”)

Putting pribadi before the nouns (pribadi mimpi dan harapan saya) sounds ungrammatical.

Is pribadi the only way to say “personal” here? What about sendiri?

You have a few options, with slightly different nuances:

pribadi – personal/private, often used for things that are intimate or not for public sharing.
- mimpi dan harapan pribadi saya = my personal/private dreams and hopes.
sendiri – own or by myself, can emphasize that they belong specifically to you.
- mimpi dan harapan saya sendiri = my own dreams and hopes (not someone else’s), but not necessarily “private”.
You can combine them: mimpi dan harapan pribadi saya sendiri – my own personal dreams and hopes (very emphatic).

All are grammatical; you choose based on the nuance you want.

Why is it di buku harian, not ke buku harian or pada buku harian?

Because di is used for location, not direction.

di = in / at / on (static location):
- di buku harian = in the diary.
ke = to, towards (movement/direction):
- menulis ke buku harian is not natural; we don’t “write to” a diary in Indonesian.
pada can mean on/at/in in a more formal or abstract way, but di buku harian is the normal, natural phrase for physical location in everyday language.

So Saya menulis … di buku harian is the standard pattern.

Why is it buku harian for “diary”? Can I use diari?

Yes, both exist, but buku harian is very common and very clear.

buku harian literally: daily book → idiomatically: diary.
diari is a loanword from English diary. It’s also understood and used, especially in some contexts.

Examples:

Saya menulis di buku harian.
Saya menulis di diari saya.

Both are correct; buku harian is slightly more neutral/natural in many contexts.

Can di buku harian move to the beginning of the sentence?

Yes. Word order in Indonesian is flexible for elements like time and place.

All of these are grammatical:

Saya menulis mimpi dan harapan pribadi saya di buku harian. (most neutral)
Di buku harian, saya menulis mimpi dan harapan pribadi saya.
Saya di buku harian menulis mimpi dan harapan pribadi saya. (less common, but possible in speech/writing for emphasis)

The basic order is still S–V–O (Saya menulis mimpi dan harapan pribadi saya), and di buku harian is a place phrase that you can move for emphasis.

There’s no plural ending. How do I know that mimpi and harapan are plural here?

Indonesian usually doesn’t mark plural with an ending like -s. Number is understood from context.

mimpi can mean a dream or dreams.
harapan can mean a hope or hopes.

If you really want to emphasize plurality, you can use reduplication:

mimpi-mimpi = dreams
harapan-harapan = hopes

So you could also say Saya menulis mimpi-mimpi dan harapan-harapan pribadi saya di buku harian, but in normal conversation or writing, the unreduplicated form is enough.

What’s the difference between mimpi, impian, and harapan?

They overlap in meaning but are not identical:

mimpi – dream; literally dreams when you sleep, but also metaphorical dreams (ambitions).
impian – more “idealized dream” or aspiration; often used for life goals.
harapan – hope(s); what you hope will happen.

In this sentence, mimpi dan harapan pribadi saya can be understood as my dreams and hopes (for my life/future), where mimpi can overlap with impian in meaning.

Could I use menuliskan instead of menulis?

Yes, in many contexts menulis and menuliskan overlap, and both would be understood.

menulis is the more basic, neutral verb: to write.
menuliskan can:
- put a bit more focus on the result/object (what is written), or
- sound slightly more formal or deliberate.

In your sentence:

Saya menulis mimpi dan harapan pribadi saya di buku harian.
Saya menuliskan mimpi dan harapan pribadi saya di buku harian.

Both are acceptable, with only a slight nuance difference that most learners don’t need to worry about at an early stage.

Does di buku harian always mean a physical, paper diary? What about a digital diary?

Literally, buku harian suggests a physical book, but in modern usage, it can be extended to digital contexts depending on how you phrase it.

If you say only buku harian, most people picture a paper diary.
For digital, people might say:
- di buku harian online – in an online diary
- di aplikasi buku harian – in a diary app
- or just di jurnal online, di blog pribadi, etc., depending on what you mean.

So the core phrase di buku harian leans physical, but is adaptable with extra modifiers.