Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Orang tua saya biasa minum kopi di pagi hari. - My parents usually drink coffee in the morning.

Literally, orang tua = old person (orang = person, tua = old).
However, in everyday Indonesian, orang tua is an established expression meaning parents (mother and father as a pair).

So:

orang tua saya → my parents (usual, idiomatic meaning)
orang tua itu → that old person (depending on context; here it can mean “that elderly person”)

Context usually makes it clear. When you see orang tua followed by a possessive (saya, kamu, dia, etc.), it almost always means parents, not “old person.”

Can orang tua saya refer to just one parent, like only my mom or only my dad?

Normally, orang tua saya means both of my parents as a unit.

If you want to refer to one specific parent, you’d usually say:

ayah saya / bapak saya = my father
ibu saya = my mother

In casual speech, though, some people may say orang tua saya when they actually mean “one of my parents” (e.g. “my parent,” “one of my folks”), but grammatically and in neutral usage, it refers to both.

Why is the possessive written as orang tua saya and not saya orang tua?

In Indonesian, the possessed noun comes first, and the owner comes after it:

buku saya = my book
rumah mereka = their house
orang tua saya = my parents

If you say saya orang tua, that reads as a sentence, not a noun phrase:

saya = I
orang tua = an old person / a parent
Saya orang tua. = I am a parent / I am old.

So for “my parents”, the correct order is orang tua saya.

How do we know the sentence is present habitual (“usually drink”) and not past (“used to drink”)?

Indonesian verbs don’t change form for tense (past, present, future).
Tense and aspect are understood from context or extra words, not from the verb itself.

In Orang tua saya biasa minum kopi di pagi hari:

biasa indicates a habit or customary action.
The sentence on its own most naturally means “My parents usually drink coffee in the morning” or “My parents are in the habit of drinking coffee in the morning.”

If you needed to be explicitly past, you’d add time expressions like:

Dulu, orang tua saya biasa minum kopi di pagi hari.
= In the past, my parents used to drink coffee in the morning.

What is the difference between biasa and biasanya here?

Both are related to the idea of “usual/usually,” but they work differently:

biasa (adjective / stative verb)
- Often means accustomed to / in the habit of when used before another verb.
- Orang tua saya biasa minum kopi
  ≈ My parents are used to drinking coffee / They habitually drink coffee.
biasanya (adverb)
- Means usually / generally / as a rule.
- Orang tua saya biasanya minum kopi di pagi hari.
  = My parents usually drink coffee in the morning.
- Biasanya, orang tua saya minum kopi di pagi hari.
  = Usually, my parents drink coffee in the morning.

In everyday usage, orang tua saya biasanya minum kopi di pagi hari is more common for “My parents usually drink coffee in the morning,” but your original sentence with biasa is also natural and emphasizes “they are accustomed to this habit.”

Could the sentence also be Orang tua saya biasanya minum kopi di pagi hari?

Yes, absolutely—and that version is very common.

Comparison:

Orang tua saya biasa minum kopi di pagi hari.
Focus: they are in the habit / are accustomed to drinking coffee in the morning.
Orang tua saya biasanya minum kopi di pagi hari.
Focus: they usually / generally drink coffee in the morning (frequency).

In many everyday contexts, they are functionally very close, and both sound natural.

What does di pagi hari literally mean, and how is it different from just pagi?

Literally:

di = in / at
pagi = morning
hari = day

So di pagi hari = “in the morning (time of day)”.
It’s a common, slightly more formal-sounding phrase.

Other options:

pagi alone
- Orang tua saya biasa minum kopi pagi.
  = My parents usually drink coffee in the morning. (more casual, common in speech)
pada pagi hari
- Slightly more formal and explicit than di pagi hari.
- pada is often used for time expressions in careful/formal writing:
  Pada pagi hari, orang tua saya minum kopi.
pagi-pagi
- Means early in the morning.
- Orang tua saya biasa minum kopi pagi-pagi.
  = My parents usually drink coffee early in the morning.

All are correct; they differ in nuance and formality, not in basic meaning.

Is di the correct preposition before a time expression like pagi hari?

Yes, di is commonly used with times of day:

di pagi hari = in the morning
di siang hari = in the daytime / at noon-ish
di sore hari = in the late afternoon
di malam hari = at night

In more formal writing, pada is often preferred with times:

pada pagi hari, pada malam hari, etc.

In everyday speech, di pagi hari and pada pagi hari are both acceptable, and pagi alone is also very common.

Could we move di pagi hari to the beginning or end of the sentence?

Yes. Indonesian word order is flexible for time expressions. All of these are grammatically correct:

Orang tua saya biasa minum kopi di pagi hari.
Di pagi hari, orang tua saya biasa minum kopi.
Orang tua saya di pagi hari biasa minum kopi. (less common, but possible)

Shifting di pagi hari mainly changes emphasis or rhythm, not the core meaning.
Putting it at the beginning can emphasize the time:

Di pagi hari, orang tua saya biasa minum kopi.
→ In the morning, my parents usually drink coffee.

What is the difference between minum and meminum? Could we say meminum kopi instead?

Both relate to “to drink,” but their usage differs:

minum
- Base verb; very common in spoken and written Indonesian.
- Orang tua saya biasa minum kopi.
meminum
- Derived, more explicitly transitive form, a bit more formal.
- Used more in writing, careful speech, or when you want to emphasize the object.
- Orang tua saya biasa meminum kopi setiap pagi.

In everyday conversation, minum kopi is completely natural and more common.
You can say meminum kopi, and it’s correct, but it will sound more formal or bookish in many contexts.

Indonesian doesn’t mark plural in this sentence. How do we know it means “my parents” and not “my parent”?

Indonesian generally does not mark plural on nouns, unless for emphasis:

buku = book / books
orang = person / people

Plural is inferred from context:

orang tua saya → from the expression orang tua (parents), we know it’s plural.

In theory, orang tua could mean “an old person,” but in the collocation orang tua saya, the idiomatic meaning “my parents” is much stronger.
If you wanted to stress plurality, you could say orang-orang tua saya, but that would sound odd here, like “my old people” (a group of elders). So for “my parents,” you simply say orang tua saya.

Is it okay to drop saya and just say Orang tua biasa minum kopi di pagi hari?

Grammatically, it’s possible, but the meaning changes:

Orang tua saya biasa minum kopi di pagi hari.
= My parents usually drink coffee in the morning.
Orang tua biasa minum kopi di pagi hari.
= Elderly people usually drink coffee in the morning
or Parents in general usually drink coffee in the morning (depending on context).

Without saya, orang tua is no longer clearly “my parents”; it becomes a general group: “old people” or “parents (as a category).”
If you specifically mean your parents, you need saya (or another possessive: orang tua kamu, orang tua dia, etc.).

Is orang tua polite to say when referring to someone else’s parents?

Yes, orang tua is neutral and widely used, but there are nuances:

Polite / neutral:

orang tua saya = my parents
orang tua kamu = your parents (casual)
orang tua Anda = your parents (formal / polite)

More explicit:

ayah dan ibu saya = my father and mother
ayah dan ibu Anda = your father and mother (polite, respectful)

When talking about someone’s parents, orang tua is fine.
When addressing your own parents directly, you’d say Ayah, Bapak, Ibu, Mama, Papa, etc., not Orang tua.
Calling someone directly “Hei, orang tua!” is rude or at least very informal/slangy.

Is there any difference in nuance between biasa minum kopi and terbiasa minum kopi?

Yes, they are related but not identical:

biasa minum kopi
- Indicates a usual habit.
- Orang tua saya biasa minum kopi di pagi hari.
  → They normally/usually do this.
terbiasa minum kopi
- Emphasizes being accustomed / used to something.
- Orang tua saya terbiasa minum kopi di pagi hari.
  → They are used to drinking coffee in the morning (it’s their established habit; they’re accustomed to it).

In many contexts both can be translated as “are used to / usually,” but:

biasa → more neutral “usually / habitually”
terbiasa → more about having become accustomed, sometimes implying a process of getting used to it in the past.