Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Kami mengikuti webinar bahasa Indonesia di platform belajar baru. - We join an Indonesian-language webinar on a new learning platform.

In Kami mengikuti webinar…, the speaker is saying that they (the speaker’s group) attended the webinar, but the person being spoken to did not.

If the listener was also part of the group that joined the webinar, you would say:

Kita mengikuti webinar bahasa Indonesia di platform belajar baru.
→ We (you and I) attended an Indonesian-language webinar on a new learning platform.

What exactly does mengikuti mean, and how is it formed?

Mengikuti comes from the base verb ikut (to follow, to join).
It is formed as:

meng- (prefix) + ikut (root) + -i (suffix) → mengikuti

Common meanings of mengikuti:

to follow (literally follow someone/something):
- Mengikuti berita politik = to follow political news
to attend / to participate in (an event, course, program):
- Mengikuti webinar = to attend a webinar
- Mengikuti kursus = to take/attend a course

In this sentence, mengikuti means “to attend / to take part in” a webinar, not just “to follow” in a physical sense.

Could we say kami ikut webinar instead of kami mengikuti webinar? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can say both:

Kami ikut webinar bahasa Indonesia…
Kami mengikuti webinar bahasa Indonesia…

Both are correct and natural, but there is a nuance:

ikut is shorter and a bit more casual.
- Literally: We joined / took part in an Indonesian-language webinar…
mengikuti sounds a bit more formal or explicit, and is very common in written Indonesian, announcements, reports, etc.

In everyday conversation, Kami ikut webinar… is very common.
In a report or formal text, Kami mengikuti webinar… is often preferred.

Does webinar bahasa Indonesia mean “an Indonesian webinar” or “a webinar about the Indonesian language”?

In context, webinar bahasa Indonesia is usually understood as:

“a webinar about the Indonesian language”
(e.g. learning grammar, vocabulary, etc.)

The phrase structure is:

webinar (main noun)
bahasa Indonesia (describes what the webinar is about / in)

So it’s like saying:

webinar bahasa Inggris = an English(-language) webinar / webinar about English
webinar matematika = a math webinar

If you wanted to be very explicit that it’s about the language, you could also say:

webinar tentang bahasa Indonesia = webinar about Indonesian (language)

Why is it bahasa Indonesia, not just Indonesia?

Indonesia is the name of the country.

bahasa Indonesia literally means “the Indonesian language”:

bahasa = language
bahasa Indonesia = the Indonesian language

So:

webinar Indonesia would be unclear or odd (a webinar of Indonesia? about Indonesia?)
webinar bahasa Indonesia clearly means a webinar in / about the Indonesian language.

Which preposition is correct here: di platform or pada platform?

In this sentence, di platform is perfectly natural and common:

Kami mengikuti webinar … di platform belajar baru.
→ We attended the webinar on a new learning platform.

di is the general preposition for “in / at / on (a place)”, including virtual places like apps or platforms.

pada is more formal and often used in:

written language
legal/official documents
set expressions

You could say pada platform belajar baru, but in everyday speech and normal writing, di platform sounds more natural.

What does platform belajar baru literally mean, and how is this phrase structured?

platform belajar baru literally breaks down as:

platform = platform
belajar = to learn / learning
baru = new

Structure:

platform (main noun)
belajar (word acting like “learning”, describing what the platform is for)
baru (adjective “new”, describing platform belajar)

So the whole phrase means:

a new learning platform

Indonesian often stacks words like this without extra markers:

aplikasi belajar bahasa = language learning app
kursus online baru = a new online course

Similarly, platform belajar baru = “new learning platform”.

Why is the adjective baru at the end, not before the noun like in English?

In Indonesian, adjectives usually come after the noun they describe:

rumah baru = new house
buku lama = old book
platform baru = new platform

Here, the base noun phrase is platform belajar (learning platform), and the adjective baru comes after it:

platform belajar baru = new learning platform

So the normal order is:

noun + (describing words) + adjective

English uses “adjective + noun”, but Indonesian usually uses “noun + adjective”.

Is belajar here a verb (“to learn”) or a noun (“learning”)?

Grammatically, belajar is a verb meaning “to learn”.
But Indonesian often uses a verb right after a noun to show function or purpose, similar to “learning” in English:

platform belajar = a platform (for) learning
aplikasi belajar bahasa = an app (for) learning languages
ruang makan = dining room (room for eating)

So although belajar is a verb, in noun phrases like this it effectively functions like “learning” does in English. You don’t need an extra word for “for” here.

How would I say “a brand-new learning platform” or “the new learning platform”?

You can specify this in a few ways:

“a brand-new learning platform”
- platform belajar yang baru sekali (very colloquial)
- platform belajar yang benar-benar baru
- platform belajar yang sangat baru
More idiomatic options (depending on context) could be:
- platform belajar yang sepenuhnya baru = completely new platform
- platform belajar terbaru = the latest learning platform (often used in marketing)
“the new learning platform” (specific one both speakers know)
- platform belajar yang baru itu
  - itu = that (the one we both know about)

Example:

Kami mengikuti webinar bahasa Indonesia di platform belajar yang baru itu.
→ We attended an Indonesian webinar on that new learning platform.

How do we know if this sentence is past, present, or future? There’s no tense marker.

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

joined / attended (past)
are joining / attending (present)
will join / attend (future)

The tense is usually clear from context or from time words:

Past:
- Kemarin kami mengikuti webinar… = Yesterday we attended…
Present (ongoing / habitual):
- Sekarang kami mengikuti webinar… = Now we are attending…
- Setiap minggu kami mengikuti webinar… = Every week we attend…
Future:
- Besok kami akan mengikuti webinar… = Tomorrow we will attend…

So by itself, Kami mengikuti webinar… is neutral in tense; you need context to know when it happened.

Why isn’t there any plural marking for webinar or platform? How would I say “several webinars” or “many platforms”?

Indonesian usually does not mark plurals on the noun itself.
So webinar can mean “webinar” or “webinars”, depending on context.

To show plurality clearly, you can add other words:

beberapa webinar = several webinars
banyak webinar = many webinars
dua webinar = two webinars

For platform:

banyak platform belajar = many learning platforms
tiga platform belajar baru = three new learning platforms

In your sentence:

Kami mengikuti webinar bahasa Indonesia di platform belajar baru.
Without extra words, it is most naturally read as one webinar on one platform, but context could still allow a plural interpretation if it’s clear.

How should bahasa Indonesia be capitalized correctly?

The most widely taught and standard way is:

bahasa Indonesia

Capitalization rules (simplified):

bahasa = common noun “language” → lowercase
Indonesia = proper noun (country name) → uppercase first letter

So:

bahasa Indonesia, bahasa Inggris, bahasa Jepang

You will sometimes see Bahasa Indonesia (capital B) in informal writing, but according to the official Indonesian spelling rules (PUEBI), bahasa Indonesia (lowercase b) is the recommended form.