Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Pagi-pagi saya berangkat ke kantor dengan sepeda. - Early in the morning I leave for the office by bicycle.

Pagi saya berangkat ke kantor.
= In the morning I leave for the office. (neutral, any time in the morning)
Pagi-pagi saya berangkat ke kantor.
= I leave for the office early in the morning. (emphasis on early)

Reduplication in Indonesian can show different things (plural, intensity, informality, etc.). In this case it adds the sense of “early.”

If pagi-pagi means “early in the morning,” why not just use a word like awal or cepat to mean “early”?

You can use awal or cepat, but they’re less natural in this everyday pattern.

Common natural options:

Pagi-pagi saya berangkat ke kantor.
Pagi-pagi sekali saya berangkat ke kantor. (even stronger: very, very early)
Saya berangkat ke kantor pagi-pagi.

Using awal or cepat with pagi sounds more formal or a bit odd in casual speech:

Pada pagi yang sangat awal saya berangkat ke kantor. (grammatical, but bookish)
Saya berangkat ke kantor pagi dengan cepat. (means “quickly/fast,” not “early”)

So, for “early in the morning” in everyday Indonesian, pagi-pagi is the usual choice.

Is pagi-pagi always written with a hyphen, or can it be written as one word (pagipagi) or just repeated without a hyphen?

Standard written Indonesian uses a hyphen:

pagi-pagi

Writing pagipagi is nonstandard and will usually be marked as incorrect in formal contexts.

In casual chat (WhatsApp, etc.) some people may sometimes drop the hyphen, but in anything you want to be “correct Indonesian,” keep the hyphen: pagi-pagi.

Can pagi-pagi go in another position in the sentence, or must it stay at the beginning?

You can move pagi-pagi around quite flexibly. All of these are natural, with only slight differences in emphasis:

Pagi-pagi saya berangkat ke kantor dengan sepeda.
(Emphasis at the start on “early in the morning.”)
Saya pagi-pagi berangkat ke kantor dengan sepeda.
(More balanced, still clear it’s “early in the morning.”)
Saya berangkat ke kantor pagi-pagi dengan sepeda.
(Emphasis a bit more on the act of leaving, then when you do it.)
Saya berangkat ke kantor dengan sepeda pagi-pagi.
(Understandable, but less typical; sounds like you’re tacking on the time at the very end.)

Most natural and common are the first three, especially the first one you saw.

What is the difference between berangkat and pergi? Could I say Pagi-pagi saya pergi ke kantor dengan sepeda instead?

You can say that, and it’s correct, but there is a nuance:

pergi = to go (very general)
berangkat = to depart / to set off (often from a starting point, for some purpose, at a scheduled or typical time)

In the context “leaving for the office,” berangkat is very natural because it sounds like:

leaving home for work
starting your commute / your daily departure

So:

Pagi-pagi saya berangkat ke kantor…
= I (regularly) depart for the office early in the morning.
Pagi-pagi saya pergi ke kantor…
= I go to the office early in the morning. (fine, but a bit more generic)

In everyday talk about going to work or school, berangkat ke kantor, berangkat ke sekolah are extremely common.

Why is it ke kantor and not di kantor? Both are sometimes translated as “to/at the office,” so how do I know which one to use?

ke and di have different core meanings:

ke = to (movement towards a place)
di = at / in (location, no movement implied)

In your sentence:

berangkat ke kantor
literally: “depart to the office” → you’re moving towards the office.

If you were already there and just talking about being at work, you’d use di:

Saya sudah di kantor.
= I’m already at the office.

So use:

ke when you’re going to a place
di when you are in/at a place

Why is there no word like “the” or “an” before kantor? How do I know if it’s “the office” or “an office”?

Indonesian does not use articles like a, an, or the.

kantor by itself can mean “an office,” “the office,” or just “office” in general, depending on context.

In this context, kantor is understood as “my/usual office” or “my workplace,” so the natural English translation is the office.

If you need to be more specific, you add extra words:

kantor saya = my office
kantor itu = that office / the office (that we both know about)
sebuah kantor = an office (formal/written; not used as often in speech)

Why is it dengan sepeda? In English we say “by bike,” not “with bike.” Is dengan always used for transport?

dengan literally means with, but in Indonesian it’s commonly used to show the means or instrument of an action, including transport:

dengan sepeda = by bicycle
dengan mobil = by car
dengan kereta = by train

However, there is another very common pattern for transportation:

naik sepeda = (literally) ride a bike → by bike
naik mobil = go by car
naik kereta = go by train

Both are natural:

Saya ke kantor dengan sepeda.
Saya ke kantor naik sepeda.

Naik sepeda is often more idiomatic for “go by bike,” but dengan sepeda is fully correct and clear.

Is there any difference in meaning or tone between dengan sepeda and naik sepeda in this sentence?

In most everyday contexts, they are interchangeable in meaning (“by bike”), but there is a small nuance:

dengan sepeda
– focuses slightly more on the means (“using a bicycle”)
– feels a bit more neutral/formal
naik sepeda
– focuses on the action of riding
– very common in spoken language

So you could also say:

Pagi-pagi saya berangkat ke kantor naik sepeda.

That’s probably the most natural everyday version for “I go to the office early in the morning by bike.”

There’s no past, present, or future marker in Pagi-pagi saya berangkat ke kantor dengan sepeda. How do I know if it means “I left,” “I leave,” or “I will leave”?

Indonesian verbs usually do not change form for tense. The time is understood from context or from time words.

Your sentence by itself could be translated in different ways depending on context:

Habitual / general:
I leave for the office early in the morning by bike.
Past (with context like “yesterday”):
Yesterday I left for the office early in the morning by bike.
Future (with context like “tomorrow”):
Tomorrow I will leave for the office early in the morning by bike.

If you want to be explicit, you add time words:

Tadi pagi saya berangkat ke kantor… = This morning I left…
Besok pagi saya akan berangkat ke kantor… = Tomorrow morning I will leave…
Setiap pagi saya berangkat ke kantor… = Every morning I leave…

Can I drop saya and just say Pagi-pagi berangkat ke kantor dengan sepeda?

Yes, you can drop saya. Indonesian often omits the subject when it’s clear from context.

Pagi-pagi berangkat ke kantor dengan sepeda.
= Early in the morning (I/you/he/she) leave(s) for the office by bike.

However:

In a simple, standalone example sentence (like in a textbook), it’s useful to keep saya so learners see the subject clearly.
In real conversation, if it’s already clear who you’re talking about, dropping saya is very natural.

Is the sentence formal or informal? Could I replace saya with aku?

Saya is the standard polite pronoun for “I” and works in almost any situation (formal or informal).

Your sentence is neutral–polite and suitable for:
- talking to coworkers, a teacher, someone older, or strangers
- writing (e.g., an email, a short text, a textbook example)

If you are speaking casually with close friends or family, you might use aku:

Pagi-pagi aku berangkat ke kantor dengan sepeda.

Meaning is the same; only the level of formality and closeness changes.