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Untuk mendukung mimpi adik saya, keluarga kami menabung sedikit setiap bulan.

Untuk mendukung mimpi adik saya, keluarga kami menabung sedikit setiap bulan.
To support my younger sibling’s dream, our family saves a little every month.
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Questions & Answers about Untuk mendukung mimpi adik saya, keluarga kami menabung sedikit setiap bulan.

What is the function of untuk in this sentence, and why is the sentence starting with Untuk mendukung …?

Untuk here means "in order to / to (do something)" and introduces the purpose of the action.

  • Untuk mendukung mimpi adik saya = In order to support my younger sibling’s dream
  • This is a purpose clause that explains why the family saves money.
  • Indonesian often puts this purpose phrase at the beginning for emphasis, just like English:
    • Untuk mendukung mimpi adik saya, keluarga kami menabung sedikit setiap bulan.
      = To support my younger sibling’s dream, our family saves a little every month.

You could also move it to the end:

  • Keluarga kami menabung sedikit setiap bulan untuk mendukung mimpi adik saya.
    Same meaning; the difference is just emphasis and flow, not grammar.
Why mendukung and not just dukung? What does the me- prefix do here?

The base verb is dukung (to support). When used as a proper verb in a sentence, it usually takes the meN- prefix:

  • mendukung = to support (active verb form)

The meN- prefix:

  • Turns a root into an active verb:
    • dukung → mendukung (support → to support)
    • baca → membaca (read → to read)
  • Indicates that the subject is doing the action.

Using just dukung in this sentence would sound incomplete or imperative:

  • Dukung mimpi adik saya! = Support my younger sibling’s dream! (command)

So in a normal statement with a subject, you use mendukung:

  • Untuk mendukung mimpi adik saya …
Why is it mimpi adik saya instead of mimpi dari adik saya or mimpinya adik saya?

Mimpi adik saya is the most natural way to say "my younger sibling’s dream".

  1. Noun + possessor pattern
    In Indonesian, possession is often shown by putting the owned thing first, and the owner after:

    • mimpi adik saya = the dream of my younger sibling
    • rumah nenek saya = my grandmother’s house

  2. About the alternatives:

    • mimpi dari adik saya
      • Literally: "dream from my younger sibling".
      • Grammatically possible, but sounds heavier and is usually used when you want to emphasize origin (from) rather than simple possession. For everyday possession, it’s less natural.
    • mimpinya adik saya
      • This can sound like "the dream (that belongs) to my younger sibling", but in many contexts it’s redundant or a bit awkward.
      • -nya already marks "his/her/its", so adding adik saya after it can feel clumsy unless you’re doing something special with focus.

So the clean, normal phrase is:

  • mimpi adik saya = my younger sibling’s dream
Does adik saya mean younger brother or younger sister? How do you specify gender if you need to?

On its own, adik saya means "my younger sibling", without specifying gender.

To specify:

  • adik laki-laki saya = my younger brother
  • adik perempuan saya = my younger sister

In everyday conversation, people often just say adik saya when the gender is not important or already known from context. Indonesian kinship terms focus strongly on relative age (older/younger) rather than gender.

What is the difference between adik saya and adik + a possessive suffix like adikku?

Both indicate possession, but they differ in formality and feel.

  • adik saya

    • More neutral and slightly more formal.
    • Common in both speech and writing.
    • Very safe to use in almost any context.

  • adikku

    • Uses the suffix -ku for "my".
    • Often feels more informal or intimate, especially in speech, stories, or personal writing.

In this sentence, mimpi adik saya sounds neutral and appropriate in most contexts. Mimpi adikku is also correct, but feels a bit more personal or casual.

Why is it keluarga kami and not keluarga saya or just keluarga?
  • keluarga kami = our family (family that includes me but does not necessarily include the listener).
  • keluarga saya = my family (viewed as belonging to "me" individually).
  • keluarga alone = family in general, or "the family" when context is clear.

In this sentence:

  • keluarga kami menabung … emphasizes that this is a group action done by the family as a unit, including the speaker.
  • If you said keluarga saya menabung …, it’s still correct, but it frames the family more as "my family" (my side, my household) rather than "we as a family".

Keluarga kami also matches the idea that multiple people (the whole family) are putting money aside together.

Why is kami used here instead of kita?

Indonesian distinguishes between two kinds of we:

  • kami = we / us (excluding the listener)
  • kita = we / us (including the listener)

In keluarga kami, the default assumption is that the listener is not automatically part of the speaker’s family. So kami is used.

You would use kita only if you definitely include the listener:

  • keluarga kita = our family (yours and mine), as if speaker and listener share the same family unit.

So keluarga kami is correct and natural in most situations.

What does menabung mean exactly? Is it different from just "keeping money" or menyimpan uang?

Menabung means "to save money (regularly), usually by putting it aside", often with the idea of building up savings over time.

  • It already implies money, even without saying uang.
  • It often suggests a planned or repeated habit, like putting some money away every month.

Compare:

  • menabung = to save (money), usually as a habit or for a goal.
  • menyimpan uang = to keep/store money (more literal, can be short-term or just physically storing it).

In the sentence:

  • keluarga kami menabung sedikit setiap bulan
    = our family saves a little every month (habitual saving, not just physically storing cash).
Why is sedikit placed after menabung, not at the beginning or end of the sentence?

Sedikit means "a little / a small amount", and here it describes how much the family saves.

Typical word order for this kind of adverb is:

  • Verb + sedikit
    • menabung sedikit = to save a little
    • makan sedikit = to eat a little

So:

  • keluarga kami menabung sedikit setiap bulan
    = our family saves a little every month.

If you move sedikit to the very end (… menabung setiap bulan sedikit), it sounds awkward or unusually marked in Indonesian, even though it might be understandable.

You can intensify the idea with:

  • sedikit demi sedikit = little by little
    • keluarga kami menabung sedikit demi sedikit setiap bulan.
Is setiap bulan the same as tiap bulan? Are there other ways to say "every month"?

Yes, setiap bulan and tiap bulan both mean "every month".

  • setiap bulan
    • Slightly more formal/neutral.
    • Very common in both speech and writing.
  • tiap bulan
    • Slightly more casual; also very common in speech.

Other options:

  • setiap bulan / tiap bulan = every month
  • setiap bulan kami menabung = every month we save
  • You might also see saban bulan in some regions or informal contexts, but setiap and tiap are the safest.

So you can say:

  • keluarga kami menabung sedikit setiap bulan
  • keluarga kami menabung sedikit tiap bulan
    Both are natural.
There is no tense marker like "will" or "are". How do we know this means a habitual action, not one-time?

Indonesian usually doesn’t mark tense with verb changes. Time and aspect are understood from:

  • Time expressions: setiap bulan (every month)
  • Context

Because of setiap bulan, we interpret:

  • keluarga kami menabung sedikit setiap bulan
    as "Our family saves a little every month" (habitual, repeated).

If you wanted to emphasize "usually" or "regularly," you could add:

  • Biasanya, keluarga kami menabung sedikit setiap bulan.
    = Usually, our family saves a little every month.

For future intention, you might add words like akan (will), but here the habitual meaning is already clear from setiap bulan.

Can the word order be changed to put the purpose at the end? For example: Keluarga kami menabung sedikit setiap bulan untuk mendukung mimpi adik saya?

Yes, that sentence is fully correct and natural:

  • Keluarga kami menabung sedikit setiap bulan untuk mendukung mimpi adik saya. = Our family saves a little every month to support my younger sibling’s dream.

Difference in word order:

  • Untuk mendukung mimpi adik saya, keluarga kami menabung sedikit setiap bulan.
    • Emphasis: the purpose (supporting the dream) comes first.
  • Keluarga kami menabung sedikit setiap bulan untuk mendukung mimpi adik saya.
    • Emphasis: the regular saving activity is presented first, then its purpose.

Grammatically both are fine; the choice is about style and emphasis.

Is this sentence formal, informal, or neutral? In what situations could I use it?

The sentence is neutral and slightly on the formal side, but still natural in everyday speech:

  • Vocabulary like mendukung, keluarga kami, menabung, setiap bulan is standard and polite.
  • You can use this:
    • In conversation with friends, colleagues, or older people.
    • In writing: essays, articles, or presentations.
    • In semi-formal situations (e.g., talking to a teacher).

If you wanted to sound more casual among close friends, you might change some parts (for example, kita instead of kami, depending on context), but the original sentence is widely appropriate as is.