Kami menonton film seni di bioskop kecil.

We watch an art film at the small cinema.

Breakdown of Kami menonton film seni di bioskop kecil.

• di: at
• kami: we
• kecil: small
• menonton: to watch
• bioskop: the cinema
• film: the film
• sebuah: an
• seni: art

Questions & Answers about Kami menonton film seni di bioskop kecil.

What is the difference between kami and kita, and why is kami used here?

Indonesian has two words for “we”:

• kami = we (excluding the listener)
  → The person you are talking to is not included.
• kita = we (including the listener)
  → The person you are talking to is included.

In Kami menonton film seni di bioskop kecil, the speaker is saying that they and some other people watched the movie, but not the person they’re speaking to.
If the listener had also gone to the cinema, you would say:

• Kita menonton film seni di bioskop kecil.
  = We (you and I) watched an art film at a small cinema.

How do I know if menonton means “watched” (past) or “are watching” (present), since there is no tense marking?

Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense. Menonton by itself just means “to watch / watching”; the time is understood from context or extra words.

Your sentence could mean:

• We watched an art film… (past)
• We are watching an art film… (present, more like a narrative description)
• Even We will watch an art film… if the context is future.

To make tense more explicit, you can add time markers:

• Past:
  
  • Kemarin kami menonton film seni di bioskop kecil.
    (Yesterday we watched…)
• Present progressive:
  
  • Sekarang kami sedang menonton film seni di bioskop kecil.
    (Right now we are watching…)
• Future:
  
  • Nanti malam kami akan menonton film seni di bioskop kecil.
    (Tonight we will watch…)

What is the difference between menonton, nonton, and melihat?

• menonton
  
  • Standard verb: to watch (a movie, TV, performance, match).
  • More formal/neutral.
• nonton
  
  • Colloquial/short form of menonton.
  • Very common in spoken language and informal writing.
  • Example: Kami nonton film di bioskop.
• melihat
  
  • Means to see / to look at, more general.
  • You usually don’t say melihat film for “watch a film”; the natural choice is menonton film.

So in this sentence, menonton is the most natural verb because it’s specifically about watching a film.

Why is it film seni and not seni film? Isn’t seni an adjective meaning “artistic”?

Seni is actually a noun meaning “art”, not an adjective.

Indonesian often uses noun + noun combinations to make more specific meanings, similar to English compound nouns. In such compounds, the head noun comes first, and the second noun specifies the type:

• film seni = film (of the type) art → art film
• toko buku = shop (of the type) book → bookstore
• rumah sakit = house (of the type) sick → hospital

So film seni is a noun–noun compound: film (movie) + seni (art).
Seni film would mean something like “the art of film / film as an art form”, which is a different meaning.

Why is it bioskop kecil and not kecil bioskop? How does the adjective order work?

In Indonesian, adjectives usually come after the noun they describe:

• bioskop kecil = small cinema
• rumah besar = big house
• film bagus = good film

So:

• bioskop = cinema (noun)
• kecil = small (adjective)
  → bioskop kecil = a small cinema

Putting the adjective first, like kecil bioskop, is ungrammatical in standard Indonesian.

Is film here singular or plural? Does Indonesian have plural forms like “films / cinemas”?

Indonesian nouns generally don’t change form for plural.
So film can mean “film” or “films”, depending on context:

• Kami menonton film seni di bioskop kecil.
  → We watched an art film / We watched art films (context decides)

To make plurality explicit, you can add words or reduplication:

• beberapa film seni = several art films
• banyak film seni = many art films
• film-film seni = art films (reduplication to show plural)

Same with bioskop:

• di bioskop kecil = at a small cinema
• di beberapa bioskop kecil = at several small cinemas
• di bioskop-bioskop kecil = at small cinemas (plural emphasized)

Why do we use di and not ke before bioskop kecil?

di and ke are different prepositions:

• di = “at / in / on”, location (where something happens)
• ke = “to”, direction/movement (where you are going)

In this sentence, the focus is on where the watching happens, so we use di:

• Kami menonton film seni di bioskop kecil.
  = We watched an art film at a small cinema.

If you talk about going there, you’d use ke:

• Kami pergi ke bioskop kecil.
  = We went to a small cinema.

You can also combine them in two clauses:

• Kami pergi ke bioskop kecil dan menonton film seni di sana.
  (We went to a small cinema and watched an art film there.)

Can I omit kami, like in Spanish or Italian, and just say Menonton film seni di bioskop kecil?

Yes, Indonesian often drops the subject pronoun when it’s clear from context.

• Kami menonton film seni di bioskop kecil.
• Menonton film seni di bioskop kecil. (subject implied)

Both are grammatically fine. The second sounds like:

• A caption, a note in a diary, or a response to a question where “we” is already understood.

However, if you want to be clear that it’s specifically kami (we excluding the listener), including the pronoun can help avoid ambiguity.

Is Kami menonton film seni di bioskop kecil formal, or would people say it differently in casual conversation?

The sentence is neutral and correct, but in everyday casual speech, Indonesians often:

• Shorten menonton → nonton
• Sometimes drop objects or locations if they’re obvious from context

So in casual conversation you might hear:

• Kami nonton film seni di bioskop kecil.
• Or even (more informal, and in many dialects):
  Kita nonton film seni di bioskop kecil. (where kita is used loosely for “we”, even if the listener didn’t come—this is dialectal/colloquial)

Your original sentence is fine in both spoken and written Indonesian, especially in neutral or slightly formal contexts.

If I want to say “We are currently watching an art film at a small cinema”, how would I change the sentence?

To emphasize an action in progress right now, Indonesian commonly uses sedang:

• Kami sedang menonton film seni di bioskop kecil.
  = We are currently watching an art film at a small cinema.

You can optionally also add a time word like sekarang (now):

• Sekarang kami sedang menonton film seni di bioskop kecil.

Where can other time expressions go in this sentence? For example, “yesterday” or “tonight”?

Time expressions in Indonesian are flexible, but common positions are:

1. At the beginning of the sentence (very common):

   • Kemarin kami menonton film seni di bioskop kecil.
     (Yesterday we watched…)
   • Nanti malam kami akan menonton film seni di bioskop kecil.
     (Tonight we will watch…)

2. After the subject:

   • Kami kemarin menonton film seni di bioskop kecil. (less common, but possible)
   • Kami nanti malam akan menonton film seni di bioskop kecil.

Placing time words between the verb and its object (e.g., menonton kemarin film seni) usually sounds unnatural, so it’s better to keep the time near the beginning or right after the subject.