Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Kami belajar tentang sel di laboratorium kecil itu. - We learn about cells in that small laboratory.

Kami belajar tentang sel di laboratorium kecil itu.

We learn about cells in that small laboratory.

Breakdown of Kami belajar tentang sel di laboratorium kecil itu.

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Questions & Answers about Kami belajar tentang sel di laboratorium kecil itu.

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)
kita = we (including the listener)

Kami belajar tentang sel... implies:

The speaker and their group studied cells,
But the person being spoken to was not part of that group.

If the listener was also part of the group studying in that lab, you would normally say:

Kita belajar tentang sel di laboratorium kecil itu.
= We (you and I, and maybe others) studied/are studying cells in that small laboratory.

So kami is correct if the listener did not join the activity.

Does belajar mean “to study” or “to learn”? How is it used?

Belajar can mean to study or to learn, depending on context. Indonesian doesn’t draw a sharp line between those two English verbs.

Saya belajar bahasa Indonesia.
I study / am learning Indonesian.
Kami belajar tentang sel.
We study / are learning about cells.

There is also a more formal verb mempelajari, which more strongly means “to study (something in depth)”:

Kami mempelajari sel di laboratorium kecil itu.
We study / are studying cells in that small laboratory (more formal/scientific tone).

In everyday speech, belajar is very common and perfectly natural here.

Why do we need tentang? Could we just say Kami belajar sel?

Tentang means about.

Kami belajar tentang sel.
We study / are learning about cells.

You can sometimes drop tentang, and the sentence is still understandable:

Kami belajar sel di laboratorium kecil itu.

However, there is a nuance:

belajar sel can sound a bit more like “study cells as a subject,”
belajar tentang sel clearly feels like “learn about cells” (more descriptive, more clearly “about the topic of cells”).

Both are grammatically fine, but belajar tentang sel is very natural in a school or class context where you are learning information about cells.

Is sel singular or plural here? How do you say “cell” vs “cells” in Indonesian?

Indonesian nouns generally do not change form for singular or plural.

sel can mean cell or cells, depending on context.
In Kami belajar tentang sel, it is naturally understood as cells because you usually learn about the concept of cells in general.

To make the plural idea clearer, you can add a quantifier or extra wording:

banyak sel = many cells
berbagai jenis sel = various types of cells

But in most cases, just sel is enough, and context tells you whether it’s singular or plural.

What does di mean here? How is it different from ke or pada?

Di is a preposition meaning in / at / on (location).

di laboratorium kecil itu = in/at that small laboratory

Compare:

di = in/at/on (location)
- Kami belajar di sekolah. = We study at school.
ke = to (movement toward a place)
- Kami pergi ke laboratorium. = We go to the laboratory.
pada = at/on/in (more abstract: time, topic, or more formal style with people/things)
- pada hari Senin = on Monday
- pada sel ini (very formal/scientific) = on this cell

In this sentence, you are talking about where the studying happens, so di is the natural choice.

Why is it laboratorium kecil itu and not itu laboratorium kecil?

The typical Indonesian word order for a noun phrase is:

Noun + Adjective(s) + Demonstrative (ini/itu)

So:

laboratorium = laboratory
kecil = small
itu = that

Put together in normal order:

laboratorium kecil itu
= that small laboratory / the small laboratory

This pattern is very common:

buku merah itu = that red book
rumah besar itu = that big house

You can say itu laboratorium kecil, but it sounds more like:

That small laboratory (as opposed to some other one)
and is usually used with a special emphasis (for contrast, pointing out, or in certain sentence structures). The neutral, default way is laboratorium kecil itu.

Does itu here mean “that” or “the”? Is it always “that”?

Itu literally means that, but in real usage it can also function much like the in English.

laboratorium kecil itu
Could be understood as:
- that small laboratory (the one known from context, maybe not near the speaker), or
- the small laboratory (the specific one, already known to speaker and listener).

Indonesian doesn’t have a separate word for the. Instead, definiteness is often expressed by:

context,
word order,
or using ini (this) / itu (that).

So itu covers both “that” and, in many cases, “the”.

How would I say “in a small laboratory” instead of “in that small laboratory”?

To express a (indefinite), Indonesian often uses sebuah (for countable objects), though it’s not always necessary.

You could say:

Kami belajar tentang sel di sebuah laboratorium kecil.
We study / are learning about cells in a small laboratory.

Here:

sebuah roughly corresponds to a / one (for objects),
leaving out itu removes the sense of a specific, previously known lab.

Without sebuah, it’s still understandable:

Kami belajar tentang sel di laboratorium kecil.
We study about cells in a small laboratory.

Adding sebuah just makes the “one/some” idea clearer and more natural in many contexts.

Can I change the word order to start with the place, like in English: “In that small laboratory, we studied cells”?

Yes. Indonesian word order is quite flexible with adverbial phrases like places and times.

You can say:

Di laboratorium kecil itu, kami belajar tentang sel.

This is fully natural. The difference is just emphasis:

Kami belajar tentang sel di laboratorium kecil itu.
Neutral focus on what you did (studied cells), then adds where.
Di laboratorium kecil itu, kami belajar tentang sel.
Slight emphasis on where it happened (in that small lab).

Both are correct.

How do we know if this sentence is past, present, or future? Could it mean “We studied cells” or “We are studying cells”?

Indonesian verbs generally do not change form for tense. Belajar can cover:

We study cells. (habitual)
We are studying cells. (right now)
We studied cells. (past)

The specific time is usually understood from context or added with time words:

Kemarin kami belajar tentang sel...
Yesterday we studied cells...
Sekarang kami belajar tentang sel...
Now we are studying cells...
Besok kami akan belajar tentang sel...
Tomorrow we will study cells...

Without an explicit time word, Kami belajar tentang sel di laboratorium kecil itu is time-neutral and could be translated in a few ways depending on the situation.

Is there any difference in formality or tone in this sentence?

The sentence:

Kami belajar tentang sel di laboratorium kecil itu.

is neutral and natural in everyday spoken and written Indonesian. Some notes on formality:

kami instead of slang like kita or kita-kita gives a neutral/standard tone.
belajar is a common neutral verb.
To sound more formal or academic, you could use:
- Kami mempelajari sel di laboratorium kecil itu.

That version feels more like something you’d read in a report, a textbook, or a formal presentation.

How would I say the same idea with I instead of we?

Just replace kami with saya (formal/neutral I):

Saya belajar tentang sel di laboratorium kecil itu.
I study / am learning about cells in that small laboratory.

Everything else in the sentence stays the same.

What is the pronunciation of sel and laboratorium in Indonesian? Are they like in English?

Pronunciation (rough guide):

sel
- Similar to English “sell”, but with a short, clean vowel, and no final schwa.
- Just one syllable: sel.
laboratorium
- Syllables: la-bo-ra-to-ri-um
- Each vowel is pronounced clearly; no reduced vowels like in English.
- Approximate: lah-boh-rah-toh-ree-oom

Stress in Indonesian is relatively even, often slightly stronger on the second-to-last syllable: laboraTOr ium, but without the strong stress patterns of English.

Is tentang always necessary after belajar when I mention a topic?

No, tentang is not always required.

Both are possible:

Saya belajar matematika.
I study math.
Saya belajar tentang matematika.
I learn about math.

Difference in feel:

Without tentang: sounds a bit more like “(formally) study X as a subject.”
With tentang: often feels more like “learn about X” (can sound slightly more general or descriptive).

In Kami belajar tentang sel, the use of tentang sounds very natural because “learning about cells” is like learning facts/concepts about them. In many school contexts, either version is acceptable; which one you choose is a matter of nuance and style.