Breakdown of Kadang-kadang saya diam di grup keluarga jika perasaan saya campur aduk.
Questions & Answers about Kadang-kadang saya diam di grup keluarga jika perasaan saya campur aduk.
Kadang-kadang means sometimes. It is an adverb of frequency.
You can also say kadang in casual speech, and it means the same thing:
- Kadang-kadang saya capek.
- Kadang saya capek.
Both are understood as Sometimes I’m tired.
Kadang-kadang feels a bit more complete/neutral; kadang is slightly shorter and more informal, but very common in everyday speech.
Adverbs like kadang-kadang are flexible in Indonesian. These are all natural:
- Kadang-kadang saya diam di grup keluarga...
- Saya kadang-kadang diam di grup keluarga...
Both mean Sometimes I’m quiet in the family group...
Putting kadang-kadang at the beginning gives it a bit more emphasis (highlighting sometimes), but the meaning doesn’t really change. Avoid putting it between the verb and its object in a strange way, like:
- ✗ Saya diam kadang-kadang di grup keluarga (possible but sounds awkward).
In saya diam, diam behaves like a verb meaning to be silent / to stay quiet / to not speak.
So saya diam (di grup keluarga) ≈ I stay quiet (in the family group).
Diam can function like:
- an adjective: dia diam = he/she is quiet (describing a trait)
- an intransitive verb: dia diam saja = he/she just kept quiet
In this sentence, it’s best understood as an action/state you choose: you are not participating in the chat, not sending messages.
It does not mean to stay (live) somewhere like tinggal does:
- Saya tinggal di Jakarta = I live in Jakarta
- Saya diam di grup keluarga = I stay quiet in the family group (chat), not “I live in the family group”.
Both di grup keluarga and dalam grup keluarga are grammatically possible, but:
- di is the default preposition for location: physical or virtual.
- dalam is more formal and emphasizes “inside (the inside of)”.
In everyday speech, especially for things like WhatsApp or Telegram groups, people usually say:
- di grup keluarga
- di grup kerja
- di grup kantor
Dalam grup keluarga sounds more formal/literary and is less common in casual conversation.
Grup keluarga literally means family group and in modern usage almost always refers to a family chat group (e.g. on WhatsApp, LINE, Telegram).
- keluarga on its own = family (the people, the unit)
- grup keluarga = a group (chat) whose members are your family
So diam di grup keluarga means stay quiet in the family group (chat), not “be quiet in the family itself.”
You can say grup keluarga saya, and it’s perfectly correct:
- Kadang-kadang saya diam di grup keluarga saya...
However, in real conversation, when Indonesians say grup keluarga, it’s usually understood as “my family’s group” (because everyone has their own family group). Adding saya is only needed if you want to be very explicit or avoid ambiguity.
So:
- grup keluarga ≈ the family group (my family’s chat)
- grup keluarga saya = my family group (explicit)
Both jika and kalau can translate as if / when (if).
- Jika is more formal / written.
- Kalau is more colloquial / everyday spoken.
Your sentence with kalau:
- Kadang-kadang saya diam di grup keluarga kalau perasaan saya campur aduk.
Sounds very natural in spoken Indonesian. With jika, it sounds more neutral to formal:
- Kadang-kadang saya diam di grup keluarga jika perasaan saya campur aduk.
It can mean both if and when (whenever), depending on context. In natural English, you might translate the whole sentence as:
- Sometimes I stay quiet in the family group when my feelings are mixed.
The Indonesian structure jika + clause can cover:
- a conditional if: only happens under that condition
- a general when/whenever: every time that condition is true
In this context, it’s more like whenever my feelings are all mixed up.
Literally:
- perasaan = feeling(s)
- saya = my
- campur aduk = mixed and stirred together / all jumbled up
So perasaan saya campur aduk literally is my feelings are mixed up / all mixed together.
Idiomatic meaning:
- my emotions are all over the place
- I feel mixed emotions / I’m emotionally confused
Campur aduk is a common expression for situations where different emotions (happy, sad, angry, confused, etc.) are happening at the same time.
Indonesian usually does not use a separate verb like “to be” (am/is/are) between a subject and an adjective.
- Perasaan saya campur aduk.
Literally: Feelings my mixed-up.
Meaning: My feelings are mixed up.
Other examples:
- Dia marah. = He/She is angry.
- Mereka senang. = They are happy.
- Rumah itu besar. = That house is big.
You only add something like adalah or ialah when linking to a noun in formal settings, e.g.:
- Dia adalah guru. = He/She is a teacher.
Here, campur aduk is an adjective phrase, so no “to be” is needed.
Yes, you can say:
- Kadang-kadang saya diam di grup keluarga jika perasaan saya sedang campur aduk.
Sedang marks an action/state as currently in progress / happening at that time.
Nuance:
- perasaan saya campur aduk = my feelings are mixed up (stating the condition)
- perasaan saya sedang campur aduk = my feelings are (right then) in a mixed-up state
Both are correct; sedang just makes the “at that moment” aspect more explicit.
Out of context, diam di grup could be read as:
- stay (remain) in the group without leaving, or
- be quiet in the group (not chat)
But in your full sentence:
- Kadang-kadang saya diam di grup keluarga jika perasaan saya campur aduk.
the mention of emotions (perasaan saya campur aduk) strongly suggests the “stay quiet / don’t talk” meaning. That’s how native speakers would naturally interpret it here.