Pemandu berkata, “Binatang ini biasa tidur siang,” sambil menunjuk singa di kandang.

The guide said, “This animal usually naps at noon,” while pointing at the lion in the enclosure.

Breakdown of Pemandu berkata, “Binatang ini biasa tidur siang,” sambil menunjuk singa di kandang.

• ini: this
• di: in
• sambil: while
• pemandu: the guide
• berkata: to say
• tidur siang: to nap
• binatang: the animal
• singa: the lion
• biasa: usually
• menunjuk: to point
• kandang: the enclosure

Questions & Answers about Pemandu berkata, “Binatang ini biasa tidur siang,” sambil menunjuk singa di kandang.

What does biasa mean in binatang ini biasa tidur siang? Is it like “used to” or “usually” in English?

In this sentence, biasa means “normally / habitually / is in the habit of.”

• Binatang ini biasa tidur siang ≈ “This animal normally takes a nap / usually sleeps at midday.”

Important nuance:

• It does not mean “used to” in the English sense of did before but not anymore.
• It describes a general habit or typical behavior, without saying anything about whether it stopped.

So:

• Dia biasa bangun pagi. = He normally gets up early / He’s used to getting up early.
  (It’s his habit, and probably still true.)

What’s the difference between biasa and biasanya? Could we say binatang ini biasanya tidur siang instead?

Both are possible, but the nuance is slightly different:

• biasa + verb = describes a habit / custom of the subject.

  • Binatang ini biasa tidur siang.
    Focus: “This animal has the habit of napping at midday.”

• biasanya + clause = an adverb meaning “usually / generally / as a rule”, modifying the whole sentence.

  • Binatang ini biasanya tidur siang.
    Focus: “This animal usually takes a nap at midday.”

In many contexts they’re interchangeable and both natural.
Very roughly:

• biasa → “be accustomed to, have the habit of”
• biasanya → “usually, generally” (sentence adverb)

What exactly does tidur siang mean? Is it just “sleep in the afternoon” or is it more like “take a nap”?

Tidur siang is a fixed phrase meaning “take a nap / have a midday/afternoon sleep.”

• tidur = to sleep
• siang = midday / daytime (roughly late morning to late afternoon)

So:

• tidur alone: any kind of sleep (at night or day).
• tidur siang: specifically a daytime nap, like a siesta, not just any sleep that happens to be in the afternoon.

In natural English, you would usually translate binatang ini biasa tidur siang as:

• “This animal usually takes a nap.”

Why is binatang used instead of hewan? Are binatang and hewan the same?

Both refer to animals, but there are some tendencies:

• binatang

  • Common, everyday word.
  • Can sometimes carry a slightly less formal or even negative feel in some contexts (e.g. as an insult to a person).
  • Very normal in spoken language and in informal descriptions.

• hewan

  • More formal / neutral / scientific.
  • Common in school books, scientific or official contexts (e.g. hewan liar = wild animals, hewan peliharaan = pets).

In this zoo‑guide context, binatang ini (“this animal”) is perfectly natural and friendly.
Hewan ini would also be grammatically correct, just a bit more formal.

In sambíl menunjuk singa di kandang, what does sambil mean, and how is it different from sementara or ketika?

Sambil means “while (doing two actions at the same time, by the same subject)”.

Pattern:

• [Subject] [main action], sambil [second action].
• The subject of sambil is understood to be the same as the main clause subject.

In the sentence:

• Pemandu berkata, …, sambil menunjuk singa di kandang.
  = The guide said that, while (at the same time) pointing at the lion in the cage.

Comparison:

• sambil = while simultaneously (two actions, same subject).

  • Dia makan sambil menonton TV. = He eats while watching TV.

• sementara = while / whereas (often contrasting two different subjects or situations).

  • Saya membaca, sementara adik saya bermain.
    = I read, while my younger sibling plays.

• ketika = when (time marker, not focusing on simultaneity or contrast).

  • Ketika saya datang, dia sudah pergi. = When I arrived, he had already left.

Here, because the guide is both speaking and pointing, sambil is the natural choice.

In sambil menunjuk singa di kandang, there’s no subject before menunjuk. How do we know who is doing the pointing?

In Indonesian, when using sambil, the subject of the sambil‑clause is understood to be the same as the subject of the main clause, so it’s often omitted.

Main clause:

• Pemandu berkata, … → subject = pemandu (the guide)

Sambil‑clause:

• sambil menunjuk singa di kandang
  There’s no explicit dia, but it’s automatically understood that pemandu is doing the pointing.

If you added dia:

• Pemandu berkata, …, sambil dia menunjuk singa di kandang.

it would sound redundant or slightly unnatural; speakers normally leave it out.

What’s the difference between berkata, bilang, and mengatakan? Why does the sentence use pemandu berkata?

All three relate to “say / tell”, but with different usage:

1. berkata

   • More neutral/formal, often in writing or narration.
   • Common pattern: berkata, “...”
   • Fits well for narration like in your sentence.

2. bilang

   • More informal/colloquial, very common in speech.
   • Pattern: [subject] bilang (bahwa) … or [subject] bilang, “...”
   • Example: Dia bilang dia capek. = He said he was tired.

3. mengatakan

   • Slightly more formal or careful, often with an object.
   • Pattern: mengatakan (bahwa) … or mengatakan [something] kepada [someone].
   • Example: Dia mengatakan bahwa dia capek. = He stated that he was tired.

In narrative text, Pemandu berkata, “...” is very standard and natural:
“The guide said, ‘…’”

Why is it singa di kandang and not seekor singa or something like that? How does Indonesian handle “a / the lion”?

Indonesian normally has no articles like a / an / the. Context handles definiteness.

• singa di kandang literally: “lion in (the) cage”.
• In this zoo context, it naturally means “the lion in the cage” (a specific, visible lion).

You can add a classifier like seekor:

• Pemandu berkata, … sambil menunjuk seekor singa di kandang.
  = “… while pointing at a lion in a cage.”

But it’s usually not necessary if the context is clear.
So:

• singa can mean a lion or the lion, depending on context.
• seekor singa explicitly means one lion, but still not “a/the” in the English grammatical sense.

What is the difference between di kandang and dalam kandang? Could we say singa dalam kandang here?

Both are grammatically possible, but they have slightly different feels:

• di kandang

  • di = at / in (location, very general).
  • singa di kandang ≈ “the lion in/at the cage” (neutral, typical phrase).

• dalam kandang

  • dalam = inside, within (focus on interior).
  • singa dalam kandang feels more like “the lion inside the cage,” emphasizing being enclosed.

In a zoo context, singa di kandang is the most natural everyday phrasing.
You’d use dalam if you want to stress the inside-ness, e.g.:

• Anak-anak tidak boleh masuk ke dalam kandang.
  = Children are not allowed to go inside the cage.

Is the punctuation around the quotation (Pemandu berkata, “…”) used the same way as in English?

It’s very similar, but there are a few points:

• Using a comma before direct speech is standard:

  • Pemandu berkata, “Binatang ini biasa tidur siang.”

• Some writers also use a colon instead:

  • Pemandu berkata: “Binatang ini biasa tidur siang.”
    This is a bit more formal or old‑fashioned, but still correct.

• The comma that closes the quote in your sentence (“…, ” sambil…) is also normal in Indonesian, mirroring English style.

So you can treat:

• [speaker] berkata, “direct speech.”

as a good default pattern, just like in English.