Saya mau pergi ke rumah sakit terdekat.

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Breakdown of Saya mau pergi ke rumah sakit terdekat.

• pergi: to go
• ke: to
• mau: want

Questions & Answers about Saya mau pergi ke rumah sakit terdekat.

Is saya the only word for I / me in Indonesian?

No. The two main everyday words are:

• saya – neutral, polite, a bit more formal; safe in almost any situation (with strangers, in shops, at work).
• aku – informal, used with friends, family, people your age, or younger.

In this sentence, Saya mau pergi… sounds polite and neutral.
With a close friend you could say:

• Aku mau pergi ke rumah sakit terdekat.

The meaning is the same; only the level of formality changes.

What exactly does mau mean here? Is it want or is it like going to / will?

mau literally means want (to), but in real speech it often overlaps with going to / about to in English.

In this sentence, Saya mau pergi… can mean:

• I want to go… (expressing desire), or
• I’m going to go / I’m about to go… (near-future intention),

depending on context and tone.

Indonesian doesn’t mark tense the way English does, so mau covers both want and (be) going to quite often. Context tells people which nuance you mean.

Why do we need both mau and pergi? Can I just say one of them?

You can change it:

1. Saya mau pergi ke rumah sakit terdekat.