Kami duduk di tepi sungai kecil.

We sit at the edge of a small river.

Breakdown of Kami duduk di tepi sungai kecil.

• di: at
• kami: we
• kecil: small
• duduk: to sit
• sungai: the river
• tepi: the edge

Questions & Answers about Kami duduk di tepi sungai kecil.

What is the difference between kami and kita, and why is kami used here?

Indonesian has two different words for we:

• kami = we (excluding the person you are talking to)
• kita = we (/including the person you are talking to)

In Kami duduk di tepi sungai kecil, the speaker is saying:

• We (but not you) are/were sitting at the edge of a small river.

If the speaker wanted to include the listener (e.g. You and I are sitting…), they would say:

• Kita duduk di tepi sungai kecil.

There is no word for am/are/is or a tense marker. How do I know if this means we sit, we are sitting, or we sat?

Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense, and there is no separate verb to be before action verbs.

Kami duduk di tepi sungai kecil can be translated depending on context as:

• We sit at the edge of a small river. (habitual/general)
• We are sitting at the edge of a small river. (right now)
• We sat at the edge of a small river. (past event)

To make the time clearer, Indonesians usually add time words:

• Tadi kami duduk di tepi sungai kecil.
  → Earlier, we sat at the edge of a small river.
• Sekarang kami duduk di tepi sungai kecil.
  → Now we are sitting at the edge of a small river.
• Besok kami duduk di tepi sungai kecil.
  → Tomorrow we will sit at the edge of a small river.

The basic verb duduk itself does not change.

Why is it di tepi sungai kecil and not something like di kecil sungai? What is the word order?

Indonesian word order in noun phrases is generally:

noun + adjective

So:

• sungai = river
• kecil = small
• sungai kecil = small river

Never say kecil sungai for small river.

The whole phrase di tepi sungai kecil breaks down as:

• di = at / in / on (location preposition)
• tepi = edge / bank / side
• sungai kecil = small river

Literally: at edge river small → at the edge of a small river.

So the order is: preposition (di) + location noun (tepi) + noun (sungai) + adjective (kecil)

What exactly does di mean here, and how is it different from ke or dari?

di, ke, and dari are three very common prepositions:

• di = at / in / on (location, where something/someone is)

  • Kami duduk di tepi sungai kecil.
    We are sitting at the edge of a small river.

• ke = to (movement toward a place)

  • Kami pergi ke tepi sungai kecil.
    We go to the edge of a small river.

• dari = from (movement away from a place)

  • Kami pulang dari tepi sungai kecil.
    We go home from the edge of a small river.

In your sentence, the focus is on location (where we sit), so di is used.

Can I say di pinggir sungai kecil instead of di tepi sungai kecil? What’s the difference between tepi and pinggir?

Both tepi and pinggir can mean edge or side, and often they are interchangeable.

• tepi sungai = riverbank, bank of a river
• pinggir sungai = riverbank, side of a river

Subtle nuances:

• tepi is slightly more neutral and often used in writing.
• pinggir is very common in everyday speech and can sound a bit more colloquial.

Examples:

• Kami duduk di tepi sungai kecil.
• Kami duduk di pinggir sungai kecil.

Both are natural and mean almost the same thing in this context.

Does sungai kecil mean a small river or the small river? There is no a/the, so how do I know?

Indonesian does not use articles like a or the. A bare noun like sungai kecil can mean:

• a small river (indefinite)
• the small river (definite)

Context decides which is more natural.

To make it clearly the, you can add itu (that):

• sungai kecil itu = that small river / the small river
  → Kami duduk di tepi sungai kecil itu.
  We sat at the edge of that small river.

To make it clearly this, add ini:

• sungai kecil ini = this small river
  → Kami duduk di tepi sungai kecil ini.

Without itu/ini, English translators choose a or the based on context, but Indonesian doesn’t mark the difference in the bare phrase.

How would I say We are (in the process of) sitting at the edge of a small river more explicitly, like English are sitting?

To emphasize an ongoing action (similar to English be + -ing), Indonesian commonly uses sedang:

• Kami sedang duduk di tepi sungai kecil.

This strongly suggests:

• We are currently sitting at the edge of a small river (right now).

So:

• Kami duduk di tepi sungai kecil.
  → can be present, past, or habitual, depending on context.
• Kami sedang duduk di tepi sungai kecil.
  → clearly ongoing action in the present.

In English we say are sitting, but in Indonesian it is just duduk. Why isn’t there a separate “to be” verb?

In Indonesian, you normally:

• do not use a separate to be verb before action verbs.

So:

• English: We are sitting…
• Indonesian: Kami duduk… (literally: “We sit…”)

You only use a to be–like word (such as adalah) in certain structures, typically with nouns or with emphasis:

• Dia adalah dokter. = He/She is a doctor.
• Rumah ini adalah rumah saya. = This house is my house.

But before action verbs, you simply use the verb:

• Kami makan. = We eat / We are eating.
• Kami duduk. = We sit / We are sitting.

Can I drop kami and just say Duduk di tepi sungai kecil?

Yes, you can drop the subject pronoun in Indonesian if it is clear from context. Indonesian is pro-drop: subjects are often omitted when they are understood.

• Kami duduk di tepi sungai kecil.
  → Explicitly: We sit / are sitting…
• Duduk di tepi sungai kecil.
  → Could mean: (We/they/people) sit / are sitting at the edge of a small river.

However:

• Without kami, you lose the clear we meaning.
• It might sound more like a description (Sitting at the edge of a small river), or an instruction, depending on context.

So: grammatically possible, but use kami when you need to specify that the subject is we.

What is the nuance of plain duduk versus duduk-duduk or duduk saja in a sentence like this?

The base verb is duduk = to sit.

• Kami duduk di tepi sungai kecil.
  → Neutral: We (just) sit / are sitting at the edge of a small river.

Reduplication or added words can change the nuance:

1. duduk-duduk

   • Often implies relaxing / hanging out / sitting around.
   • Kami duduk-duduk di tepi sungai kecil.
     → We are just hanging out / chilling at the edge of a small river.

2. duduk saja

   • saja = just / only
   • Kami duduk saja di tepi sungai kecil.
     → We’re just sitting at the edge of a small river (not doing anything else).

So duduk-duduk and duduk saja can add a casual, relaxed, “just hanging around” feeling.

Can kecil here also mean short like English little river (short river), or is it only small?

In Indonesian:

• kecil = small / little (size, not length)
• pendek = short (length or height)

So sungai kecil = small river (narrow or not large), not short river in length.

If you specifically wanted to say a short river (not long), you could say:

• sungai yang pendek = a short river

But for a normal “small river” (as opposed to a big one), sungai kecil is correct.

How would I say on the banks of small rivers (plural) instead of at the edge of a small river?

Indonesian often shows plurality through reduplication of the noun.

• sungai = river
• sungai-sungai = rivers (plural)

To say small rivers, you can say:

• sungai-sungai kecil = small rivers

To say on the banks of small rivers, a natural phrase is:

• di tepi sungai-sungai kecil
  → at/on the banks of small rivers

If you want to emphasize “many small rivers”, you can add banyak (many):

• di tepi banyak sungai kecil
  → on the banks of many small rivers.