Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Kami duduk di beranda sambil minum teh hangat. - We sit on the veranda while drinking warm tea.

kami = we (not including the person you’re talking to) → exclusive we
kita = we (including the person you’re talking to) → inclusive we

In Kami duduk di beranda sambil minum teh hangat, the speaker is saying we (but not you) were sitting on the porch drinking warm tea.

If the speaker wants to include the listener in that group, they would say:

Kita duduk di beranda sambil minum teh hangat.
= We (you and I / you all and I) sit / are sitting on the porch while drinking warm tea.

So:

Use kami if the listener is not part of the group.
Use kita if the listener is part of the group.

Why is it di beranda and not something like pada beranda? How is di used here?

di is the basic preposition for location: in, on, at.

di beranda = on the porch / at the veranda

pada is more formal and is not usually used for simple physical locations in everyday speech. You’ll see pada in things like:

pada hari Senin – on Monday
pada saat itu – at that time
pada buku ini tertulis... – in this book it is written...

So here di is the natural, neutral choice for a place:

duduk di beranda = sit on the porch

What exactly does sambil mean, and how is it different from words like ketika, saat, or sementara?

sambil means “while (doing something else at the same time)”, with the idea that one person is doing two actions simultaneously.

Kami duduk di beranda sambil minum teh hangat.
= We sit on the porch while (also) drinking warm tea.
(Same subject: we are both sitting and drinking.)

Compare:

ketika / saat = when (time marker, neutral)
- Ketika kami duduk di beranda, kami minum teh hangat.
  = When we sat on the porch, we drank warm tea.
  (Not necessarily emphasizing simultaneity; just time.)
sementara = while, whereas (often contrasts two subjects or two situations)
- Saya duduk di beranda, sementara dia memasak.
  = I sat on the porch, while he/she cooked.

Key point:
Use sambil when one subject is doing two actions at the same time. That’s exactly the case in the example sentence.

Can I change the word order of sambil minum teh hangat? For example: minum teh hangat sambil duduk di beranda?

Yes, Indonesian word order is fairly flexible as long as the relationships stay clear.

Your original:

Kami duduk di beranda sambil minum teh hangat.

Alternative:

Kami minum teh hangat sambil duduk di beranda.

Both are correct and natural. The difference is just which action feels a bit more in focus:

First version slightly highlights sitting (and notes you’re also drinking).
Second version slightly highlights drinking tea (and notes you’re also sitting).

In both cases, sambil still means “while also …”, and the subject (kami) applies to both verbs.

Could I say sambil kami minum teh hangat instead of sambil minum teh hangat?

Normally, no. With sambil, you usually don’t repeat the subject if it’s the same:

✅ Kami duduk di beranda sambil minum teh hangat.
❌ Kami duduk di beranda sambil kami minum teh hangat. (sounds wrong/very unnatural)

sambil already implies that the same subject is doing both actions. So you say:

[Subject] [Verb1] sambil [Verb2] ...

without repeating the subject in the second part.

Do I need to add sedang to talk about an action in progress, like “We are sitting…”?

Indonesian doesn’t require a special marker for ongoing actions, but you can use sedang for emphasis:

Kami duduk di beranda sambil minum teh hangat.
→ can mean We sit / We are sitting / We were sitting (context decides the tense).

If you want to clearly emphasize “right now, in progress”, you can say:

Kami sedang duduk di beranda sambil minum teh hangat.
= We are (currently) sitting on the porch while drinking warm tea.

But sedang is optional; your original sentence is already correct and natural.

Why is it teh hangat, not hangat teh? Where do adjectives go in Indonesian?

In Indonesian, adjectives usually come after the noun:

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

So:

teh (noun) + hangat (adjective) = warm tea

Saying hangat teh would be wrong; it doesn’t follow Indonesian noun–adjective order.

Is there a difference between teh hangat and teh panas?

Yes:

teh hangat = warm tea
→ comfortably warm, not too hot.
teh panas = hot tea
→ quite hot, possibly too hot to drink immediately.

In everyday use:

If you say teh hangat, people expect something mild and not scalding.
If you say teh panas, they expect it really hot.

What does beranda mean exactly? Is it the same as teras?

beranda and teras are very close in meaning and often overlap.

beranda: veranda, porch – usually an open or semi-open area attached to the front or side of a house, often with a roof.
teras: terrace – can be a front porch, patio, or terrace, sometimes more like a flat outdoor area.

In many everyday situations, for a house:

duduk di beranda and duduk di teras can both mean “sit on the porch/front area of the house.”

Regional preference and house style can affect which word is more common, but your sentence with beranda is completely natural.

How should I pronounce teh and beranda? Any tricky sounds?

teh:

Pronounced like “teh”, with a short e as in “bed”, and a clear final h (a soft breath).
Not like English “tea”; it’s one syllable: teh.

beranda:

be-ran-da, three syllables.
Stress is usually on the ran: be-RAN-da.
e in be is like the e in “the” (a schwa sound), not a strong “bay.”

Try: be-RAN-da, teh.

Can the subject kami be omitted? For example, can I just say Duduk di beranda sambil minum teh hangat?

Yes, Indonesian often drops the subject when it’s clear from context.

Kami duduk di beranda sambil minum teh hangat.
(Kami) duduk di beranda sambil minum teh hangat.

If everyone already knows who is being talked about, the shorter version is fine in speech or informal writing.

However, in a standalone sentence (like in a textbook example), including kami is clearer, especially for learners.

How do we know the tense of this sentence? Could it mean sat, are sitting, or will sit?

Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense. duduk just means “sit / to sit” in a neutral way.

Kami duduk di beranda sambil minum teh hangat can be:

We sit on the porch while drinking warm tea. (habitual / general)
We are sitting on the porch while drinking warm tea. (present, right now)
We were sitting on the porch while drinking warm tea. (past)

You get the tense from context or from extra time words:

Kemarin kami duduk di beranda sambil minum teh hangat. (yesterday → past)
Sekarang kami duduk di beranda sambil minum teh hangat. (now → present)
Nanti kami akan duduk di beranda sambil minum teh hangat. (later, will → future)

Is this sentence formal, informal, or neutral in style?

Kami duduk di beranda sambil minum teh hangat. is neutral and polite.

Vocabulary: everyday, standard words (kami, duduk, di, beranda, sambil, minum, teh, hangat).
No slang, no very formal words.

It would sound fine:

in conversation,
in a story,
in a neutral written text.

So it’s a good “default” style for learners.

Can I replace sambil with dan here? Like Kami duduk di beranda dan minum teh hangat?

You can, but the nuance changes slightly.

Kami duduk di beranda sambil minum teh hangat.
→ Emphasizes doing both at the same time; one activity accompanies the other.
Kami duduk di beranda dan minum teh hangat.
→ Simply lists two actions: we sat on the porch and drank tea. It can be at the same time, but simultaneity is not emphasized.

Both are grammatical, but sambil is better when you want to highlight simultaneous actions by the same subject, which is what the original sentence does.