Untuk menjaga kenyamanan semua orang, kami berbicara pelan-pelan di ruang tamu.

To maintain everyone’s comfort, we speak softly in the living room.

Breakdown of Untuk menjaga kenyamanan semua orang, kami berbicara pelan-pelan di ruang tamu.

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Questions & Answers about Untuk menjaga kenyamanan semua orang, kami berbicara pelan-pelan di ruang tamu.

What does “untuk menjaga” express here, and how is it different from using “agar” or “supaya”?

Untuk + verb usually expresses purpose and can often be translated as “in order to … / to … (for the purpose of)”.

Untuk menjaga kenyamanan semua orang
≈ “(in order) to maintain everyone’s comfort”

You could also say:

Agar semua orang tetap nyaman
Supaya semua orang tetap nyaman

These also express purpose, but:

untuk + verb/noun is a bit more neutral/formal and feels slightly more objective (“for the purpose of maintaining comfort”).
agar/supaya + clause sounds a bit more directly goal‑oriented, often with a slight sense of “so that (this result happens)”.

All are grammatically fine; the original just sounds a bit more formal/polished.

What is the difference between “kami” and “kita”?

Both mean “we / us”, but the inclusion of the listener is different:

kami = we (not including you)
kita = we (including you)

In the sentence:

kami berbicara pelan-pelan di ruang tamu
→ “we speak softly in the living room” (but you are not part of that group).

If you wanted to include the listener (“you and I and maybe others”), you would say:

kita berbicara pelan-pelan di ruang tamu.

Why is “pelan-pelan” repeated? Could I just say “pelan”?

Reduplication (repeating a word) is common in Indonesian and can:

Soften the meaning
Make it sound more natural or conversational
Add a sense of “gradually” or “gently”

Here:

pelan = slow / soft / quiet
pelan-pelan = “slowly / softly / gently”, often more idiomatic than just pelan.

You can say:

kami berbicara pelan di ruang tamu

It’s correct, but pelan-pelan sounds more natural and “smooth” in everyday speech. It can feel a bit more polite and less abrupt than just pelan.

Does “pelan-pelan” mean “slowly” or “quietly” in this context?

Pelan / pelan-pelan can mean both, depending on context:

Slowly (speed)
- jalan pelan-pelan = walk slowly
Quietly / softly (volume)
- bicara pelan-pelan = speak quietly/softly

In kami berbicara pelan-pelan di ruang tamu, it is understood as:

“we speak quietly/softly” to avoid disturbing others.

If you specifically wanted “slowly” (e.g., because someone is learning the language), you might say:

kami berbicara perlahan-lahan (“we speak slowly”)
or
kami berbicara lebih pelan supaya kamu mengerti (“we speak more slowly so you understand”)

What is the difference between “berbicara” and “bicara”?

Both are commonly used and understandable:

berbicara
- More formal/complete form
- Common in writing and neutral speech
bicara
- Slightly more informal/colloquial
- Very common in everyday spoken Indonesian

In this sentence:

kami berbicara pelan-pelan di ruang tamu
could also be
kami bicara pelan-pelan di ruang tamu

The meaning is the same; berbicara just sounds a bit more formal or careful.

What is the base word of “kenyamanan”, and how does the ke‑…‑an pattern work?

The base word is nyaman = comfortable.

The pattern ke‑…‑an often turns an adjective into a noun meaning the related state/quality:

nyaman (comfortable) → kenyamanan (comfort, the state of being comfortable)
aman (safe) → keamanan (safety, security)
indah (beautiful) → keindahan (beauty)

So kenyamanan = “comfort / the comfort / the state of being comfortable”.

Thus:

menjaga kenyamanan semua orang
≈ “to maintain everyone’s comfort” / “to keep everyone comfortable”

Why is it “kenyamanan semua orang” and not something like “semua orang punya kenyamanan”?

Kenyamanan semua orang literally is:

kenyamanan = comfort
semua orang = all people / everyone
→ “everyone’s comfort”

In Indonesian, this kind of “X of Y” is often expressed as noun + modifier:

kenyamanan semua orang = everyone’s comfort
hak semua orang = everyone’s rights

Saying semua orang punya kenyamanan (“everyone has comfort”) is grammatically possible but odd in this context and not how you naturally express “everyone’s comfort” as an abstract thing you want to maintain.

Why is there no word for “the” in “ruang tamu” or “kenyamanan”?

Indonesian generally does not use articles like “the” or “a/an”.

Whether something is understood as “the” or “a” depends on context:

ruang tamu can mean:
- “the living room” (if it’s clear which one)
- “a living room” (if it’s mentioned for the first time, no specific one)

Here, di ruang tamu is naturally understood as “in the living room”, presumably the living room of the house you’re talking about.

Similarly, kenyamanan semua orang is understood as “the comfort of everyone” (not just “a comfort of everyone”), but Indonesian doesn’t mark this with a separate word.

Does “ruang tamu” mean “living room” or “guest room”? And how is it different from “ruang keluarga”?

Literally:

ruang = room
tamu = guest
→ ruang tamu = “guest room”

In practice, ruang tamu usually means:

The front room where guests are received, often equivalent to a living room / sitting room in English.

Ruang keluarga = “family room”:

A more private living area mainly used by the family, not specially for guests.

In many homes, there is effectively only one main sitting room and it’s called ruang tamu, even though the family also uses it daily. So in most everyday translations, ruang tamu = “living room”.

Can “di ruang tamu” be moved to the beginning of the sentence?

Yes. Indonesian word order is quite flexible, especially for time and place phrases.

You can say:

Di ruang tamu, kami berbicara pelan-pelan.

This is still natural. It just emphasizes the location a bit more:

At the living room (as for there), we speak quietly.

Both orders are correct:

Untuk menjaga kenyamanan semua orang, kami berbicara pelan-pelan di ruang tamu.
Untuk menjaga kenyamanan semua orang, di ruang tamu kami berbicara pelan-pelan.

1 is more typical, but #2 is also fine and can sound slightly more “storytelling” or emphasis on “in the living room”.

Could I say “supaya semua orang nyaman” instead of “untuk menjaga kenyamanan semua orang”? What’s the difference in nuance?

Yes, you could say:

Supaya semua orang nyaman, kami berbicara pelan-pelan di ruang tamu.

Differences:

untuk menjaga kenyamanan semua orang
- Uses menjaga (“maintain/keep”) + the noun kenyamanan
- Sounds more formal, a bit more abstract (“maintain the comfort of everyone”)
supaya semua orang nyaman
- Uses supaya (“so that”) + adjective nyaman
- Sounds more direct and simple (“so that everyone is comfortable”)

Grammatically both are correct; the original is just slightly more formal/structured.

Could the subject “kami” be dropped, like in some other languages?

In Indonesian, pronouns are usually not dropped unless the subject is extremely clear from context and you’re speaking very informally.

Kami berbicara pelan-pelan di ruang tamu. → natural and complete
Berbicara pelan-pelan di ruang tamu. → could be understood, but feels incomplete or like an instruction (“speak quietly in the living room”).

If this were a sign or an instruction, you might see something like:

Mohon berbicara pelan-pelan di ruang tamu.
(“Please speak quietly in the living room.”)

But for describing what we do, including kami is normal and preferred.

Why is it “di ruang tamu” and not “pada ruang tamu”?

Both di and pada can translate as “in / at / on”, but:

di is the normal, everyday preposition for physical locations:
- di rumah = at home
- di sekolah = at school
- di ruang tamu = in the living room
pada is more formal/abstract, often used for:
- times: pada hari Senin (on Monday)
- people as recipients: pada mereka (to them)
- formal writing: pada kesempatan ini (on this occasion)

So di ruang tamu is the natural choice for “in the living room”; pada ruang tamu would sound unnatural in normal speech.