Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Bukti itu nyata bagi kami.

Itu is a demonstrative that literally means “that”, but in Indonesian it is also often used roughly like “the” in English to refer to something specific/known in the context.

Bukti itu ≈ that evidence / the evidence
It implies that both speaker and listener already know which evidence is being talked about. Without itu, it would sound more like “evidence” in general, not a specific piece of evidence.

Why is there no verb like “is” in Bukti itu nyata bagi kami?

Indonesian usually does not use a verb like “to be” (is/are) between a noun and an adjective.

English: The evidence is real.
Indonesian: Bukti itu nyata. (literally: evidence that real)

The adjective nyata itself functions as the predicate.
You could add adalah in some contexts (e.g. more formal, written, or when followed by a noun phrase), but here:

Bukti itu adalah nyata sounds unnatural and is usually avoided.

What does nyata mean exactly? Is it “real”, “true”, or “obvious”?

Nyata generally means real, concrete, evident, or obvious—something that is clearly there, not imaginary or hidden.

Common nuances:

real / concrete:
- Masalah itu nyata. = That problem is real.
evident / obvious:
- Kesalahannya sudah nyata. = His/her mistake is already obvious.

In Bukti itu nyata bagi kami:

It can be understood as “That evidence is real/clear/obvious to us.”

If you want to say “true / correct”, you’ll more often see benar:

Bukti itu benar. = That evidence is correct / valid.

What is the function of bagi here? Why bagi kami and not something else?

Bagi here means roughly “for” in the sense of “from the point of view of / in relation to”.

bagi kami ≈ for us / in our view / as far as we’re concerned

So Bukti itu nyata bagi kami emphasizes that this judgment is from our perspective.

Bagi is often used when talking about opinions, importance, or effects on someone:

Bagi saya, ini penting. = For me, this is important.
Keputusan itu berat bagi mereka. = That decision is heavy/difficult for them.

Could I say untuk kami instead of bagi kami?

You could say untuk kami, and it’s grammatically possible, but the nuance changes slightly:

bagi kami: more natural here, slightly more formal or neutral, often used with opinions, judgments, or perspectives.
untuk kami: often goal/benefit oriented (for us to use, for our benefit), though it can overlap.

Compare:

Bukti itu nyata bagi kami.
→ The evidence is real/clear in our view.
Bukti itu penting untuk kami.
→ The evidence is important for us (for our purposes/needs).

In this specific sentence, bagi kami is more idiomatic when you want to stress our perception.

What’s the difference between kami and kita? Why is it kami here?

Both mean “we / us”, but:

kami = we (excluding the person spoken to)
kita = we (including the person spoken to)

So:

bagi kami = for us (but not including you, the listener)
bagi kita = for us (including you, the listener)

In Bukti itu nyata bagi kami, the speaker is saying the evidence is real for our group, and this group does not include the listener. If the speaker wanted to include the listener in that group, they would say:

Bukti itu nyata bagi kita. = That evidence is real for us (you and I).

Can I move bagi kami to the front: Bagi kami, bukti itu nyata? Is that still correct?

Yes, that is perfectly correct and quite natural:

Bagi kami, bukti itu nyata.

Putting bagi kami at the front makes it more clearly the topic / emphasis:

Bagi kami, bukti itu nyata.
→ As for us / From our perspective, the evidence is real.

Both orders are grammatical:

Bukti itu nyata bagi kami.
Bagi kami, bukti itu nyata.

The meaning is essentially the same; the difference is just which part is emphasized.

Is bukti singular or plural here? How do I say “pieces of evidence”?

Indonesian nouns usually do not show singular/plural by form. Bukti can mean “proof”, “evidence”, or “piece(s) of evidence” depending on context.

Bukti itu could be:

that piece of evidence
those pieces of evidence
the evidence

If you want to be more specific:

sebuah bukti = one piece of evidence (using classifier sebuah)
beberapa bukti = several pieces of evidence
banyak bukti = a lot of evidence
bukti-bukti = pieces of evidence (reduplication to emphasize plurality)

But often, context alone is enough, and bukti itu is natural and sufficient.

Could I drop itu and just say Bukti nyata bagi kami?

You can say Bukti nyata bagi kami, but it feels different:

Bukti itu nyata bagi kami.
→ Refers to specific evidence already known in the context: That evidence is real to us.
Bukti nyata bagi kami.
→ Sounds more like a noun phrase, e.g. “real evidence for us” in a larger sentence. On its own as a full sentence, it feels incomplete or like a title.

As a stand‑alone sentence describing a specific situation, Bukti itu nyata bagi kami is the more natural choice.

Is Bukti itu bagi kami nyata also correct word order?

It’s grammatically understandable, but it sounds awkward and unnatural in normal Indonesian.

Preferred patterns:

Bukti itu nyata bagi kami.
Bagi kami, bukti itu nyata.

Indonesian usually keeps the structure:

[Subject] [Adjective predicate] [Optional phrase]

Inserting bagi kami between the subject and the adjective (Bukti itu bagi kami nyata) is not the usual pattern and will sound odd in everyday usage.

Could I replace nyata with jelas? What’s the difference?

You could say:

Bukti itu jelas bagi kami.

Jelas means “clear / obvious / easy to understand.”
The difference in nuance:

nyata: real, evident, not imaginary; it exists in reality and is clearly there.
jelas: clear, not confusing; easy to see/understand.

So:

Bukti itu nyata bagi kami.
→ The evidence is real / evident for us (we see it as definitely existing/solid).
Bukti itu jelas bagi kami.
→ The evidence is clear / easy to understand for us.

Both can be correct depending on the nuance you want.

Is this sentence formal, informal, or neutral? Could I use it in everyday speech?

Bukti itu nyata bagi kami is neutral, slightly leaning to formal because of bagi and the word nyata.

You can use it in formal writing, news, essays, speeches.
You can also use it in speech, especially in serious or semi-formal contexts (discussions, debates, meetings).

In very casual conversation, people might instead say something like:

Buat kami, buktinya jelas kok.
(using buat instead of bagi, and adding casual particles)

But your original sentence is completely fine and correct to use in spoken Indonesian, just a bit more neutral/formal in tone.