Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Kami membahas konflik kecil di perpustakaan. - We discuss a small conflict in the library.

In Kami membahas konflik kecil di perpustakaan, kami suggests that the speaker and their group discussed the conflict, but the listener was not part of that group.

If the listener was also involved in the discussion, you would say:

Kita membahas konflik kecil di perpustakaan.
→ We (you and I / you and us) discussed a small conflict in the library.

What does membahas mean exactly, and how is it different from other verbs like mendiskusikan or membicarakan?

Membahas comes from the root bahas (to discuss, to examine). It usually means:

to discuss something
to talk something over in a somewhat systematic or focused way
sometimes with a nuance of analyzing or examining a topic

Rough comparisons:

membahas konflik kecil – discuss/examine the small conflict (fairly neutral, common in both spoken and written Indonesian, slightly formal/neutral)
mendiskusikan konflik kecil – discuss the small conflict (more formal, from diskusi, often used in academic or formal contexts)
membicarakan konflik kecil – talk about/discuss the small conflict (sounds a bit more like general conversation, may feel a touch more colloquial than mendiskusikan)

In everyday speech, membahas and membicarakan are often interchangeable for “discuss”/“talk about”. Mendiskusikan leans more formal.

Why is it konflik kecil and not kecil konflik? Is the adjective order always like this?

Yes, in Indonesian the adjective usually comes after the noun.

konflik kecil = small conflict
- konflik (noun) = conflict
- kecil (adjective) = small

The pattern is generally:

noun + adjective
- rumah besar = big house
- buku baru = new book
- perpustakaan besar = large library

Putting the adjective before the noun (kecil konflik) is ungrammatical in standard Indonesian.

Do I need a word like a before konflik kecil, like sebuah konflik kecil?

You can, but you don’t have to.

Kami membahas konflik kecil di perpustakaan.
→ We discussed a small conflict in the library. (Most natural, very common)
Kami membahas sebuah konflik kecil di perpustakaan.
→ We discussed a small conflict in the library. (Also correct; sebuah emphasizes “one particular conflict”.)

Indonesian does not require an article like a/an/the. Often the bare noun (konflik kecil) is enough, and context tells you whether it’s “a small conflict”, “the small conflict”, etc.

What does di mean in di perpustakaan, and can I use other prepositions like pada here?

Di is the basic preposition for location, equivalent to in / at / on depending on context.

di perpustakaan = in the library / at the library

You would not normally use pada here. Pada is more for:

time: pada hari Senin (on Monday)
abstract objects: berlaku pada semua orang (applies to everyone)
sometimes used in very formal writing

So for physical locations, di is the default choice:

di rumah = at home
di sekolah = at school
di perpustakaan = in/at the library

Does di perpustakaan mean the conflict happened in the library, or the discussion happened in the library?

By default, di perpustakaan attaches to the verb phrase, so it most naturally means:

The discussion took place in the library.

So the most straightforward reading is:

We, in the library, discussed a small conflict (the conflict could be about anything, not necessarily in the library).

If you specifically wanted to say that the conflict itself occurred in the library, you would probably clarify it, for example:

Kami membahas konflik kecil yang terjadi di perpustakaan.
→ We discussed the small conflict that occurred in the library.

Can I move di perpustakaan to the beginning of the sentence?

Yes, you can say:

Di perpustakaan, kami membahas konflik kecil.

This is grammatically correct. It puts extra emphasis on the location (“In the library, we discussed a small conflict”), which can sound a bit more narrative or stylistic. In neutral speech, the original order (location at the end) is more common:

Kami membahas konflik kecil di perpustakaan.

What tense is this sentence in? How do I know if it’s past, present, or future?

Indonesian verbs normally do not change form for tense. Membahas is the same for:

We discussed a small conflict…
We are discussing a small conflict…
We will discuss a small conflict…

The tense is understood from context or through extra words:

Past: Kami sudah membahas konflik kecil di perpustakaan.
→ We already discussed a small conflict in the library.
Present (right now / in progress): Kami sedang membahas konflik kecil di perpustakaan.
→ We are (currently) discussing a small conflict in the library.
Future: Kami akan membahas konflik kecil di perpustakaan.
→ We will discuss a small conflict in the library.

The original sentence, without any marker, is often interpreted as past or general, depending on context.

What is the root of membahas, and what does the prefix me- do?

The root word is bahas.

membahas = meN- + bahas

meN- is a common verbal prefix that turns a root into an active verb.

For bahas, the prefix becomes mem- (a variant of meN-) because of the initial b in bahas (there are assimilation rules).

Functionally:

bahas (root form, often used in dictionaries) = discuss (base meaning)
membahas = to discuss (used as the normal verb in sentences)

So:

Kami membahas konflik kecil…
→ We discuss / We are discussing / We discussed a small conflict…

Is membahas transitive? Do I need a preposition like tentang before konflik kecil?

Yes, membahas is transitive and takes a direct object.

Kami membahas konflik kecil.
→ konflik kecil is the object of membahas.

You do not need tentang here. Using tentang would sound odd:

✗ Kami membahas tentang konflik kecil. (generally considered incorrect / redundant)

If you want to use tentang, you pair it with verbs like berbicara, berdiskusi:

Kami berbicara tentang konflik kecil.
Kami berdiskusi tentang konflik kecil.

Is perpustakaan a formal word, or can I use it in everyday speech?

Perpustakaan is the standard word for library and is used in both formal and everyday contexts.

In daily speech: Saya belajar di perpustakaan. (I study at the library.)
In formal writing: Perpustakaan menyediakan banyak referensi ilmiah.

There isn’t a more casual alternative; perpustakaan is the normal word.

Could I drop kami and just say Membahas konflik kecil di perpustakaan?

Yes, but only in certain contexts.

In Indonesian, the subject pronoun can be dropped if it is obvious from context. For example, in:

meeting notes
headlines
a list of activities
casual chats where the subject is already clear

you might see:

Membahas konflik kecil di perpustakaan.

This would be understood as (We) discussed a small conflict in the library, but without context it’s incomplete, because we don’t know who is doing the action. For a full, clear sentence, you keep kami:

Kami membahas konflik kecil di perpustakaan. ✅