Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Kami memakai teropong di balkon rumah untuk melihat bintang di langit malam. - We use binoculars on the house balcony to see the stars in the night sky.

The sentence uses kami because the speaker is talking about “we” who are using the telescope on the balcony, and the person being spoken to is not included in that group.

If the speaker wanted to include the listener (for example, “you and I used the telescope”), they would say:

Kita memakai teropong di balkon rumah untuk melihat bintang di langit malam.

Why is the verb memakai used instead of the base form pakai?

The base form is pakai (to use/wear). The form memakai is the me- verb form, which is:

more formal/neutral
common in written Indonesian
typical in complete sentences with a clear subject and object

So:

Kami pakai teropong… = more informal, conversational
Kami memakai teropong… = neutral, good for writing or careful speech

Both are correct, but memakai sounds a bit more standard/formal.

What exactly does teropong mean? Is it specifically a telescope?

Teropong is a general word for an optical viewing device used to see things that are far away. It can refer to:

binoculars
a telescope
sometimes spotting scopes or similar devices

Context tells you which is meant. Because the sentence is about looking at stars, in English we would almost definitely say “telescope”, even though teropong by itself doesn’t specify the exact type.

If you want to be very clear:

teleskop = telescope (more technical/borrowed term)
teropong bintang = literally “star telescope”

Why is there no word for “a” or “the” in teropong, balkon, rumah, bintang, etc.?

Indonesian does not have articles like a/an or the. Nouns are usually bare:

teropong = a telescope / the telescope
balkon = a balcony / the balcony
bintang = a star / stars / the stars

Whether it is a or the, singular or plural, is understood from context, or sometimes shown with extra words:

sebuah teropong = a telescope (one telescope; sebuah is a classifier)
bintang-bintang = stars (emphasized plural)
semua bintang = all the stars

In the original sentence, English naturally uses “a telescope” and “the balcony”, but Indonesian doesn’t need to mark that explicitly.

Why is it di balkon rumah instead of di balkon rumah kami?

Literally:

di balkon rumah = on the balcony of the house
di balkon rumah kami = on the balcony of our house

In real usage, the possessor is often omitted if it’s obvious from context. Since the sentence starts with Kami (“we”), it’s natural to assume:

di balkon rumah here means “on the balcony of our house”.

If you want to be explicit (for teaching or clarity), di balkon rumah kami is perfectly correct and clear.

What is the function of di in di balkon rumah and di langit malam?

di is a preposition meaning “in / on / at” depending on context. It’s used to mark location:

di balkon rumah = on the balcony (of the house)
di langit malam = in the night sky

Compare:

di = in / on / at (static location)
ke = to / toward (movement to a place)
dari = from (origin)

So di balkon = on the balcony, while ke balkon = to the balcony.

Why is untuk used before melihat? Can I leave it out?

untuk means “for / in order to” and introduces a purpose:

untuk melihat bintang = to see stars / in order to see stars

You can sometimes omit untuk in more casual speech:

Kami memakai teropong di balkon rumah melihat bintang…
(Sounds more conversational, slightly less clear/structured.)

In careful or standard sentences, it’s better to keep untuk when you clearly express a purpose. It makes the structure easier to understand.

Why is it melihat and not just lihat?

The base verb is lihat (see). Melihat is the me- form, similar to memakai from pakai.

melihat is the standard, neutral form used in full sentences:
- Kami melihat bintang. = We see stars.
lihat appears:
- in very casual speech
- in commands: Lihat! = Look!
- in some short phrases or combinations

In this sentence, melihat is the expected form because it is a regular declarative sentence with a subject (kami) and object (bintang).

Why is bintang not repeated as bintang-bintang to show “stars”? How is plural expressed?

Indonesian often does not mark plural explicitly. One form can mean singular or plural:

bintang = a star / stars

Reduplication can show plurality:

bintang-bintang = stars (emphasized plural)

But you don’t have to reduplicate if context already makes it clear there are many:

Looking at the sky at night strongly implies many stars, so bintang alone is natural.
Saying bintang-bintang is okay, but can feel slightly more “explicit” or even poetic in some contexts.

So the sentence with bintang is already understood as “stars.”

How does langit malam work? Why isn’t it malam langit?

In Indonesian, the typical pattern is:

Head noun + modifier

So:

langit = sky
malam = night
langit malam = night sky (literally: sky night)

You do not say malam langit in this meaning.

Other examples:

rumah sakit = hospital (literally: sick house)
air laut = sea water (literally: water sea)

So di langit malam is the natural way to say “in the night sky.”

Could I say kita memakai teropong… instead? How much does that change?

Yes, you can say:

Kita memakai teropong di balkon rumah untuk melihat bintang di langit malam.

But the meaning changes:

kami = we, not including you (the listener)
kita = we, including you

So with kita, you’re implying the listener is part of the group who used the telescope. Grammatically both are fine; you just have to choose based on who is included.

Is the word order in this sentence flexible, or must it stay exactly like this?

The basic order:

Kami (subject) – memakai (verb) – teropong (object) – di balkon rumah (location) – untuk melihat bintang di langit malam (purpose)

This is a very natural order: S – V – O – (Place) – (Purpose).

Some elements can be moved, but you must keep it natural and not confusing:

Di balkon rumah, kami memakai teropong untuk melihat bintang di langit malam.
(Fronting the location is fine for emphasis.)

But you cannot break phrases in unnatural ways, like:

✗ Kami di balkon memakai teropong rumah untuk melihat bintang di langit malam.
(This wrongly attaches rumah to teropong, creating “house telescope.”)

So there is some flexibility, but each phrase (like di balkon rumah, untuk melihat bintang) should stay together as a unit.