Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Saya punya banyak saudara di desa.

In everyday speech, people may say banyak saudara di desa to mean they have a lot of family members (siblings, cousins, etc.) living in or coming from that village.

If you want to be more specific:

saudara kandung = biological siblings
adik = younger sibling
kakak = older sibling
sepupu = cousin

Why is punya used for “have”? Can I use memiliki instead?

punya and memiliki both mean to have / to own, but they differ in tone:

punya
- Very common in spoken Indonesian
- Neutral and natural in everyday conversation
- Works both for concrete and relational possession
- Example: Saya punya mobil. = I have a car.
memiliki
- More formal, written, or official contexts
- Often used for ownership or more abstract things
- Example: Perusahaan itu memiliki banyak cabang. = That company has many branches.

You can say Saya memiliki banyak saudara di desa, and it’s grammatically correct, but it sounds more formal and less conversational than Saya punya banyak saudara di desa.

Can I drop Saya and just say Punya banyak saudara di desa?

Yes, in casual spoken Indonesian, dropping the subject is common when it’s clear from context.

Punya banyak saudara di desa. = (I/you/he/she) have many relatives in the village.

However:

In writing, in formal situations, or when context is not clear, it’s better to keep Saya.
For learners, it’s safer to keep the subject until you’re very comfortable with context and style.

Can I say Aku punya banyak saudara di desa instead of Saya?

Yes, but the tone changes:

Saya = neutral, polite, safe in almost all situations (formal or informal).
Aku = more intimate / informal, used with friends, family, people the same age, or younger.

So:

To a teacher, in a meeting, or with strangers:
- Saya punya banyak saudara di desa.
To your close friend:
- Aku punya banyak saudara di desa.

Why is the order punya banyak saudara, not banyak punya saudara?

Indonesian word order here is:

Subject – Verb – Object – (Adverbials)

Saya (subject)
punya (verb “have”)
banyak saudara (object: “many relatives”)
di desa (place adverbial: “in the village”)

Within the object banyak saudara:

banyak = quantifier (“many”)
saudara = noun (“relatives”)

The normal pattern is quantifier + noun, so banyak saudara is correct.
banyak punya saudara is not a valid structure in this meaning.

Could I say Saya banyak saudara di desa without punya?

No, that sounds unnatural / ungrammatical in standard Indonesian.

To express “have,” you normally need a verb like:

punya
memiliki
mempunyai (more formal)

So you should say:

Saya punya banyak saudara di desa.
or
Saya memiliki banyak saudara di desa.

Can di desa go at the beginning of the sentence?

Yes. Indonesian word order is fairly flexible for adverbials like place and time.

You can say:

Saya punya banyak saudara di desa. (more neutral)
Di desa, saya punya banyak saudara. (slightly more emphasis on “in the village”)

Both are grammatical.
Putting di desa at the start can highlight the location, like “As for in the village, I have many relatives there.”

What’s the difference between desa and kampung?

Both can relate to non-urban areas, but they’re used a bit differently:

desa
- Literally “village,” often with an official/administrative nuance
- Used in formal speech, government terms, geographic descriptions
- Example: desa wisata = tourist village
kampung
- More colloquial, can mean village, hometown area, neighborhood
- Also used for “native place” or a non-city area where you come from
- Example: kampung halaman = hometown

In Saya punya banyak saudara di desa, you could say di kampung instead, especially if you mean your family’s hometown area. That would sound more casual and personal.

How do I make saudara explicitly plural? There’s no “-s” like in English.

Indonesian does not require a plural marker the way English does. Plurality is often clear from:

Context
Quantifiers such as banyak, beberapa, dua, tiga, etc.

Here, banyak saudara clearly means many relatives/siblings.

If you really want to emphasize plurality, you could say:

banyak saudara-saudara

This uses reduplication (saudara-saudara) to mark plural, but in modern everyday speech, banyak saudara is already perfectly natural and clear.

Is banyak always used before the noun, like in banyak saudara?

Yes, generally quantifiers like banyak go before the noun:

banyak saudara = many relatives
banyak buku = many books
banyak orang = many people

You don’t normally say saudara banyak to mean “many relatives.”
saudara banyak might appear in other specific structures, but for the basic “many X,” the pattern is banyak + noun.

Can I use ada instead of punya, like Saya ada banyak saudara di desa?

This depends on dialect and region:

In standard Indonesian, punya (or memiliki) is preferred for “have”:
- Saya punya banyak saudara di desa.
In some colloquial varieties (influenced by Malay/Chinese languages), people do say:
- Saya ada banyak saudara di desa.

This is widely understood, but if you’re learning standard Indonesian, it’s better to use:

Saya punya banyak saudara di desa.

Is saudara polite address, like “sir/ma’am,” or just “relative”?

saudara can have two different uses:

Noun: relative / sibling
- As in Saya punya banyak saudara di desa.
Form of address in formal settings, like “you” (neutral, formal/polite)
- Often used in speeches, legal contexts, meetings:
- Example: Saudara Ketua, Saudara-saudara sekalian…

In your sentence, it’s clearly the noun meaning relatives/siblings, not a form of address.