Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Di sekitar rumah saya ada banyak pohon, jadi udara lebih sejuk. - Around my house there are many trees, so the air is cooler.

di sekitar rumah saya = around my house / in the area around my house
rumah saya = my house (just the house itself)
di rumah saya = at my house / in my house
sekitar rumah saya (without di) often still means around my house, but in full sentences you usually have di before sekitar when it’s used as a location phrase.

So:

Di sekitar rumah saya ada banyak pohon = There are many trees in the area around my house.
Di rumah saya ada banyak pohon = There are many trees in my house (which sounds odd unless you literally have many trees inside!).

Why is the sentence Di sekitar rumah saya ada banyak pohon and not Ada banyak pohon di sekitar rumah saya? Are both correct?

Both are correct and mean the same thing.

Di sekitar rumah saya ada banyak pohon
- Starts with the location, then states that something exists there.
- Structure: [location] + ada + [thing]
- Feels a bit more descriptive, like setting the scene: As for around my house, there are many trees…
Ada banyak pohon di sekitar rumah saya
- Starts with ada (there is/are).
- Structure: ada + [thing] + [location]
- Also natural; this pattern is very common too.

In Indonesian, you can freely put the location either before or after ada. It doesn’t change the basic meaning, but putting the location first can emphasize the place a little more.

What does ada mean in this sentence? Is it the same as to have?

In this sentence, ada is an existential verb meaning there is / there are.

Di sekitar rumah saya ada banyak pohon ≈ Around my house, there are many trees.

It does not mean to have here. Indonesian usually uses a different structure for possession:

Saya punya banyak pohon = I have many trees.
Di sekitar rumah saya ada banyak pohon = There are many trees around my house.

So, ada here is about existence in a place, not about possession by someone.

Why is it just pohon, not pohon-pohon, even though the meaning is plural (trees)?

In Indonesian, plural is often understood from context, especially when you see words like banyak (many).

banyak pohon already clearly means many trees.
pohon-pohon is grammatically possible and also means trees, but with banyak it usually sounds redundant or a bit “too much”:
❌ banyak pohon-pohon is generally considered incorrect or very awkward.

So the natural combination is:

✅ banyak pohon = many trees
not
❌ banyak pohon-pohon

Doubling a noun (like pohon-pohon) can be used to show plural when there’s no other plural marker, but when you already have banyak, the singular form is preferred.

Is banyak pohon just “many trees”? Could I say pohon yang banyak instead?

Banyak pohon is the normal way to say many trees:

banyak (many) + pohon (tree) → banyak pohon (many trees)

Pohon yang banyak literally means a tree that is many, so it sounds wrong or at least very strange. The order is important: in Indonesian, quantity words like banyak usually come before the noun.

Correct patterns:

banyak pohon = many trees
pohon yang banyak = unnatural/incorrect for “many trees”

What does jadi mean here, and what kind of word is it?

In this sentence, jadi is a conjunction meaning so / therefore / as a result.

…, jadi udara lebih sejuk.
= …, so the air is cooler.

Other uses of jadi:

As a verb: jadi = to become
- Dia jadi guru. = He/She becomes a teacher.
In casual speech at the start of a sentence:
- Jadi, kamu mau ikut? = So, do you want to come?

In your sentence, jadi clearly functions as a connector showing cause and effect: Many trees → therefore the air is cooler.

Is the comma before jadi necessary? Could I write the sentence without it, or use other words instead of jadi?

In normal writing, a comma before jadi in this kind of sentence is standard and recommended because you’re connecting two clauses:

Di sekitar rumah saya ada banyak pohon, jadi udara lebih sejuk.

In informal writing (texts, chats), many Indonesians sometimes skip commas, but in good written Indonesian the comma is appropriate.

You could also use other connectors with a similar meaning:

…, sehingga udara lebih sejuk. = …, so that / therefore the air is cooler.
…, makanya udara lebih sejuk. (colloquial) = …, that’s why the air is cooler.

Jadi, sehingga, and makanya all show a result, but makanya is more casual.

What exactly does udara mean? How is it different from air?

This is a common false friend for English speakers.

udara = air (the stuff we breathe), or the atmosphere / weather feeling
- udara lebih sejuk = the air is cooler (it feels cooler).
air in Indonesian = water (liquid water)
- air minum = drinking water
- air panas = hot water

So in Indonesian:

udara → air (gas)
air → water (liquid)

What’s the difference between sejuk and dingin? Both seem to mean “cold”.

Both relate to low temperature, but their nuance is different:

sejuk = cool, pleasantly cool, refreshing
- Often positive, comfortable.
- Used for air, weather, breeze, shade, etc.
- udara sejuk = cool/refreshing air.
dingin = cold, often simply low temperature, and can be uncomfortable.
- air dingin = cold water
- cuaca dingin = cold weather
- Can also mean emotionally cold (a “cold” person).

In your sentence, udara lebih sejuk suggests the air is nicely cool or refreshing, not painfully cold.

How does lebih make a comparative here? Do I need to say lebih sejuk daripada…?

Lebih is a comparative marker, like more in English.

sejuk = cool
lebih sejuk = cooler / more cool

If the comparison is obvious from context, Indonesians often leave out the “than …” part, just like English sometimes does:

udara lebih sejuk
= the air is cooler (than it would be without trees / than in other places), implied from context.

If you want to state it explicitly:

Udara di sini lebih sejuk daripada di kota.
= The air here is cooler than in the city.

So daripada = than, but it’s optional when the comparison target is clear or not important.

Could I say rumah saya in another way, like rumahku or something informal? Does it change the tone?

Yes, you can change the possessive pronoun and it affects the formality and tone:

rumah saya
- Formal / neutral
- Polite, standard Indonesian
rumahku
- Still standard, but more personal / slightly informal / written style
- Often seen in songs, poems, or friendly speech/text
rumah saya vs rumahku both mean my house, but:
- rumah saya feels more neutral/formal.
- rumahku feels more intimate/familiar.

In very colloquial Jakarta Indonesian, you might also hear:

rumah gue / rumah gua (very informal, slang)
rumah aku (informal but common in many regions)

In your original sentence, rumah saya is perfectly natural and safely neutral/polite.

Can I drop saya and just say di sekitar rumah ada banyak pohon?

Yes, you can, but the meaning changes slightly:

di sekitar rumah saya ada banyak pohon
= around my house, there are many trees.
di sekitar rumah ada banyak pohon
= around the house / around the house (we’re talking about), there are many trees.

Without saya, it no longer clearly indicates that it’s your house. It might be some house already known in the conversation context.

Grammatically, both are fine; it’s just about whose house you mean.

Could I omit ada and say Di sekitar rumah saya banyak pohon, jadi udara lebih sejuk? Is that still correct?

Yes, that sentence is also grammatically correct and sounds quite natural, especially in spoken or informal Indonesian:

Di sekitar rumah saya banyak pohon, jadi udara lebih sejuk.

Here, banyak pohon functions like a predicate directly after the location phrase, and ada is understood even though it’s not said.

Nuance:

With ada: Di sekitar rumah saya ada banyak pohon…
- Slightly more explicit, a bit more neutral/standard.
Without ada: Di sekitar rumah saya banyak pohon…
- Slightly more concise and can sound a bit more casual or descriptive.

Both are fine; for learners, using ada is a safe default, but you will often hear native speakers drop it like in the version above.