Kami membahas perkara warisan di ruang tamu.

We discuss the inheritance matter in the living room.

Breakdown of Kami membahas perkara warisan di ruang tamu.

• di: in
• kami: we
• ruang tamu: the living room
• membahas: to discuss
• perkara warisan: the inheritance issue

Questions & Answers about Kami membahas perkara warisan di ruang tamu.

Why does the sentence use kami and not kita?

Indonesian distinguishes between two kinds of we:

• kami = we (but not you) → excludes the listener.
• kita = we (including you) → includes the listener.

So Kami membahas perkara warisan di ruang tamu implies that the people doing the discussing did not include the person being spoken to. If the speaker wanted to say you and I (and maybe others) discussed the inheritance, they would use kita instead:
Kita membahas perkara warisan di ruang tamu.

What is the nuance of membahas compared with berbicara tentang or mendiskusikan?

All three can relate to talking about something, but with slightly different flavors:

• membahas
  
  • From bahas (to discuss, to examine).
  • Suggests discussing in some depth, possibly more systematic or analytical.
  • Common in both spoken and written Indonesian.
• berbicara tentang
  
  • Literally to talk about.
  • More casual, general talking.
  • Less emphasis on analysis, more on just chatting or mentioning.
• mendiskusikan
  
  • From diskusi (discussion).
  • Often sounds slightly more formal/academic.
  • Often used when there is a clear topic or issue to be discussed.

In this sentence, membahas fits well because perkara warisan sounds like a serious, specific matter that people would discuss carefully.

What does perkara add that masalah or soal would not?

All three relate to problems/issues, but:

• perkara
  
  • Often used for cases, especially legal cases or formal matters.
  • Sounds serious and somewhat formal.
  • Perkara warisan can suggest a legal inheritance case or a serious family issue about inheritance.
• masalah
  
  • General word for problem, issue, trouble.
  • More neutral and very common in daily speech.
  • Masalah warisan = a problem with the inheritance, not necessarily a legal case.
• soal
  
  • Can mean question, matter, or issue.
  • A bit lighter; soal warisan = a matter/topic about inheritance.

So perkara warisan gives a sense of a serious, possibly legal inheritance matter, not just a casual topic.

Can warisan mean both “inheritance” and “heritage”? How is it used here?

Yes, warisan can mean:

1. Inheritance – property, money, or assets passed down when someone dies.
2. Heritage – cultural or historical legacy.

In perkara warisan, the default reading is inheritance in the legal/family sense.
If you wanted to emphasize cultural heritage, you would usually make it clearer from context, e.g.:

• warisan budaya = cultural heritage
• warisan nenek moyang = ancestral heritage

In this sentence, it’s most naturally understood as an inheritance case/problem.

Why is there no past tense marker like “did” or “have” before membahas?

Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense. Membahas can mean:

• discuss,
• discussed,
• was discussing,
• will discuss,

depending entirely on context and time expressions.

In this sentence, we understand it as past (like We discussed…) because:

• Inheritance issues are often talked about after something has happened (e.g. someone passed away), and
• Many English translations naturally choose the past for such situations.

If you want to be explicitly past, you can add time words or aspect markers:

• Tadi kami membahas perkara warisan di ruang tamu.
  Earlier, we discussed the inheritance matter in the living room.
• Kami sudah membahas perkara warisan di ruang tamu.
  We have already discussed the inheritance matter in the living room.

Could the word order be Kami di ruang tamu membahas perkara warisan? Is that still correct?

Yes, Kami di ruang tamu membahas perkara warisan is grammatically correct. The differences are:

• Kami membahas perkara warisan di ruang tamu.
  
  • Default, neutral order.
  • Focus is more on what we did: discussed the inheritance.
  • The location is an additional detail at the end.
• Kami di ruang tamu membahas perkara warisan.
  
  • Slightly shifts the structure so that di ruang tamu feels more tightly linked to kami.
  • Can sound like: We, who were in the living room, discussed the inheritance matter.

Both are acceptable; the original is the most typical, neutral phrasing.

What is the function of di in di ruang tamu, and can I say di dalam ruang tamu?

• di is a preposition meaning at / in / on (for location).
• di ruang tamu = in/at the living room (context decides best English preposition).

You can say di dalam ruang tamu:

• di ruang tamu = in/at the living room (simple location)
• di dalam ruang tamu = inside the living room (slightly more explicit about being inside a bounded space)

In many everyday contexts they are interchangeable, and di ruang tamu is more common and natural.

Why is there no word for “the” before ruang tamu or perkara warisan?

Indonesian does not have articles like a / an / the. Nouns are usually bare:

• perkara warisan → can be an inheritance case, the inheritance matter, etc.
• ruang tamu → can be a living room or the living room.

The definiteness is understood from context. If you really need to clarify:

• sebuah perkara warisan → an inheritance matter (indefinite, one instance)
• ruang tamu itu → that/the living room (a specific, previously known one)

But in most real sentences, you just say perkara warisan and ruang tamu with no article.

What is the difference between ruang tamu and ruang keluarga?

Both are types of rooms in a house, but:

• ruang tamu
  
  • Literally guest room.
  • The living room / sitting room where you receive guests.
• ruang keluarga
  
  • Literally family room.
  • More private space for the family to relax together; often less formal.

In many modern homes, these can be merged or not strongly distinguished, but ruang tamu focuses on guests, ruang keluarga on family use.

In this sentence, di ruang tamu implies they were in the living room / guest reception area when they discussed the inheritance matter.

Can kami be omitted? Could I just say Membahas perkara warisan di ruang tamu?

Indonesian often allows dropping the subject when it is clear from context, but it changes how the sentence feels:

• Kami membahas perkara warisan di ruang tamu.
  
  • Clear subject: we (not including you) discussed…
• Membahas perkara warisan di ruang tamu.
  
  • Grammatically okay in casual speech or notes.
  • Feels like a fragment or headline: (We/they) discussed the inheritance matter in the living room.
  • The subject would have to be understood from previous context.

In a standalone sentence aiming to be clear and complete, keeping kami is better.

How is membahas formed from the base word bahas?

The base word is bahas (to discuss). To form the active verb, Indonesian uses the me- prefix, but it changes form depending on the first sound of the root:

• me-
  • bahas → membahas
    
    • The me- prefix becomes mem- before b, p (with p often dropped), and f.
    • So we get mem
      • bahas → membahas.

Functionally:

• bahas – root form, often used in dictionaries or as a command: Bahas masalah ini! (Discuss this problem!)
• membahas – normal active verb: Kami membahas masalah ini. (We are discussing this problem.)

In this sentence, membahas is the standard active form meaning to discuss.