Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Waktu hujan deras, saya minum teh hangat di ruang tamu. - When it rains heavily, I drink warm tea in the living room.

Waktu hujan deras, ... ≈ When it’s raining heavily, ...
Literally: At the time (when) it rains heavily, I drink warm tea in the living room.

So waktu can be:

a noun: Saya tidak punya waktu. (I don’t have time.)
or a conjunction-like word: Waktu kecil, saya tinggal di Bali. (When I was little, I lived in Bali.)

Here it’s the second use.

Could I replace waktu with ketika, saat, or kalau? Are they all correct, and do they sound different?

Yes, you can replace waktu with these, and they are all grammatically correct, but with small nuance differences:

Ketika hujan deras, saya minum teh hangat di ruang tamu.
- Ketika = fairly neutral, a bit more formal/written.
- Often used in stories, essays, or careful speech.
Saat hujan deras, saya minum teh hangat di ruang tamu.
- Saat = literally moment, also fine in both spoken and written language.
- Slightly more “literary” than waktu, but very common.
Kalau hujan deras, saya minum teh hangat di ruang tamu.
- Kalau = if / when (conditional or habitual).
- Common in casual speech.
- Implies “Whenever it rains hard, I (tend to) drink warm tea...”
Waktu hujan deras, saya minum teh hangat di ruang tamu.
- Very natural in spoken Indonesian.
- Neutral, everyday style.

So:

waktu / ketika / saat = when
kalau = if / when (whenever)

Why is it just hujan deras and not turun hujan deras or something with a verb? Where is the verb in the first part?

Indonesian weather expressions often don’t need a separate verb.

Hujan deras literally: rain heavy → “there is heavy rain / it is raining heavily.”
You can say turun hujan deras (literally “heavy rain falls”), but in everyday speech hujan deras alone is completely natural.

So the clause waktu hujan deras is understood as:

waktu (sedang) hujan deras → when it is raining heavily

The “is” and “it” are simply not expressed, which is normal in Indonesian.

Why isn’t there any past tense marker? How do I know if this is past, present, or habitual?

Indonesian verbs generally do not change form for tense. Context tells you whether it’s past, present, or habitual.

Waktu hujan deras, saya minum teh hangat di ruang tamu. could mean:

When it rains heavily (in general / habitually), I drink warm tea in the living room.
When it rained heavily (that time / usually), I drank warm tea in the living room.
When it’s raining heavily (right now), I’m drinking warm tea in the living room.

If you want to be more specific, you add time words:

Past:
- Waktu tadi hujan deras, saya minum teh hangat di ruang tamu.
  (When it rained heavily earlier, I drank…)
- Dulu, waktu hujan deras, saya selalu minum teh hangat di ruang tamu.
  (In the past, when it rained heavily, I always drank…)
Present progressive:
- Sekarang, waktu hujan deras, saya sedang minum teh hangat di ruang tamu.
  (Right now, when it’s raining heavily, I am drinking…)

So the base sentence is “tense‑neutral.”

Why is it teh hangat and not hangat teh? Does Indonesian always put the adjective after the noun?

Yes. In Indonesian, adjectives normally come after the noun:

teh hangat = warm tea
rumah besar = big house
orang tua = old person / parents (depends on context)

Putting the adjective before the noun, like hangat teh, is ungrammatical in standard Indonesian.

So the order is:

noun + adjective, not adjective + noun.

What’s the difference between hangat and panas for drinks? Why not teh panas?

Both are possible, but they describe different temperatures:

teh panas
- literally: hot tea
- implies it’s quite hot, maybe just made.
teh hangat
- literally: warm tea
- implies it’s pleasantly warm, not too hot.

Speakers use them according to how hot the drink is, just like in English:

panas ~ hot
hangat ~ warm

In everyday speech, some people may say teh panas even if it’s just warm, but the literal distinction is as above.

Why is it di ruang tamu and not di dalam ruang tamu? Is there a difference between di and di dalam here?

Both are grammatically correct:

di ruang tamu = in the living room
di dalam ruang tamu = inside the living room (more explicitly “inside”)

In practice:

With places like ruang tamu (living room), kamar (room), etc., di alone already implies inside, so di ruang tamu is usually enough.
di dalam is used when you want to emphasize the inside aspect or contrast with outside:
- Di luar hujan deras, tetapi saya di dalam ruang tamu.
  (Outside it’s raining heavily, but I’m inside the living room.)

So here di ruang tamu is the most natural everyday choice.

Could I move waktu hujan deras to the end: Saya minum teh hangat di ruang tamu waktu hujan deras? Is that still correct?

Yes, that’s also correct and natural:

Waktu hujan deras, saya minum teh hangat di ruang tamu.
Saya minum teh hangat di ruang tamu waktu hujan deras.

Both mean the same thing. Differences:

Starting with waktu hujan deras slightly emphasizes the condition/time:
- When it’s raining hard, (what I do is) drink warm tea...
Putting it at the end sounds more like a neutral statement of what you do and under what condition:
- I drink warm tea in the living room when it’s raining hard.

In speech, both word orders are very common.

Why is there a comma after waktu hujan deras? Do I always need a comma after such a clause?

In writing, Indonesian usually uses a comma after a dependent clause that comes first:

Waktu hujan deras, saya minum teh hangat di ruang tamu.
Kalau lapar, saya makan.

If you put the main clause first, you normally don’t use a comma:

Saya minum teh hangat di ruang tamu waktu hujan deras.

So:

[subordinate clause] , [main clause] → comma
[main clause] [subordinate clause] → usually no comma

In casual writing (texts, chats), people might skip commas, but the “correct” written form uses them as above.

Is waktu hujan deras a complete clause even though there’s no subject like itu or cuaca?

Yes, it’s acceptable and natural as a clause in Indonesian.

For weather, Indonesian often omits a subject:

Hujan. = It’s raining.
Hujan deras. = It’s raining heavily.
Mendung. = It’s cloudy.

We don’t usually say something like itu hujan to mean “it is raining.” So:

waktu hujan deras is understood as waktu (sedang) hujan deras → when it is raining heavily

The invisible English “it” simply doesn’t exist in Indonesian in this context.

Can I drop saya and just say Waktu hujan deras, minum teh hangat di ruang tamu?

You can drop saya in casual speech, and people will still understand, especially if context makes it clear you are talking about yourself.

However:

Waktu hujan deras, saya minum teh hangat di ruang tamu.
- Neutral, clear, and correct in all contexts (spoken and written).
Waktu hujan deras, minum teh hangat di ruang tamu.
- Very casual/elliptical.
- Sounds like a note or instruction: “When it rains heavily, (you/one should) drink warm tea in the living room.”

So for standard learner Indonesian, keep saya. Dropping the subject is more natural when the verb is imperative or when context is extremely clear.

What’s the difference between saya and aku here? Which one should I use?

Both mean I, but they differ in formality and context:

saya
- More formal and polite.
- Good for talking to strangers, in class, at work, or in writing.
- Safest default for learners.
aku
- More informal/intimate.
- Used with friends, family, and in songs/poems.

Both fit grammatically in the sentence:

Waktu hujan deras, saya minum teh hangat di ruang tamu.
Waktu hujan deras, aku minum teh hangat di ruang tamu.

Meaning is the same; only the tone changes.

Could I say sedang minum to show that the action is in progress, like “I am drinking”?

Yes. Sedang is used to show a continuous / in‑progress action:

Saya minum teh hangat.
- Could be general (habit) or “I drink / I am drinking” depending on context.
Saya sedang minum teh hangat.
- More clearly “I am drinking warm tea (right now).”

So you can say:

Waktu hujan deras, saya sedang minum teh hangat di ruang tamu.

This sounds like:

“When it’s raining heavily, I am (in the middle of) drinking warm tea in the living room.”

Use sedang when you want to emphasize that the action is ongoing at that moment.

How do I say “in my living room” instead of just “in the living room”? Where is my?

You can add a possessive after ruang tamu:

di ruang tamu saya = in my living room
di ruang tamu kami = in our living room (excluding the listener)
di ruang tamu kita = in our living room (including the listener)

So the full sentence could be:

Waktu hujan deras, saya minum teh hangat di ruang tamu saya.

In the original, di ruang tamu is more general, like “in the living room” (often still understood as the speaker’s, from context).

Is there any plural marking in teh hangat? How would I say “cups of warm tea” or “warm teas”?

Indonesian does not usually mark plural on the noun itself. Teh hangat can mean warm tea or warm teas depending on context.

If you want to be explicit:

satu cangkir teh hangat = one cup of warm tea
dua cangkir teh hangat = two cups of warm tea
beberapa cangkir teh hangat = several cups of warm tea

The noun teh stays the same; the number word or context shows singular/plural.