Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Kakek mengajari saya bermain catur di meja dapur setiap Minggu pagi. - Grandfather teaches me to play chess at the kitchen table every Sunday morning.

mengajar = to teach (general), often taking one object
- Kakek mengajar saya. → Grandpa teaches me.
- Dia mengajar matematika. → He/She teaches math.
mengajari = to teach someone something, often with two objects: a person + a skill/subject
Pattern: mengajari [person] [skill/subject]
- Kakek mengajari saya bermain catur.
  → Grandpa teaches me (how to) play chess.

In your sentence, we have:

person: saya
skill: bermain catur

So mengajari fits very naturally.
You could still say Kakek mengajar saya bermain catur, and it would be understood and acceptable, but mengajari strongly highlights the “teach someone something” pattern.

Could this also be said as Kakek mengajar saya bermain catur? Is there a real difference?

Yes, Kakek mengajar saya bermain catur is grammatically fine.

Nuance:

mengajar is more neutral and slightly more common in many contexts.
mengajari can sound a bit more explicit about the recipient of the teaching and the “giving of knowledge/skill.”

In everyday speech, many Indonesians won’t feel a strong difference here. Both are correct; your original sentence with mengajari is natural and idiomatic.

What exactly is bermain catur doing grammatically after mengajari saya?

The structure is:

Kakek (subject)
mengajari (verb)
saya (first object: the person)
bermain catur (second object: the activity/skill being taught)

So mengajari saya bermain catur is like:

“teach me to play chess”
or
“teach me how to play chess”

bermain catur literally means to play chess and functions as the thing being taught.

Why is it bermain catur and not just main catur?

The root verb is main (to play).
There are two common forms:

bermain catur – more complete/formal
main catur – very common in casual speech

In written, neutral Indonesian or in teaching materials, you’ll often see bermain. In relaxed conversation people often drop ber- and simply say main catur.

So:

Formal/neutral: Kakek mengajari saya bermain catur.
Very casual: Kakek ngajarin saya main catur.

Why is there no word for my in Kakek? Shouldn’t it be kakek saya?

Indonesian often uses kinship terms without a possessive pronoun when the context is clear. Saying just Kakek here is normally understood as my grandpa.

Possible forms and nuances:

Kakek
- In context, usually “Grandpa” (the speaker’s own grandfather).
- Also commonly used as a way to address your grandpa directly.
Kakek saya
- Explicitly my grandpa.
- Slightly more explicit, useful if there could be confusion.
Kakekku
- -ku is a possessive suffix for my.
- Feels a bit more personal/intimate; common in writing and texting.

All three could work:

Kakek mengajari saya…
Kakek saya mengajari saya…
Kakekku mengajari saya…

The original chooses the simplest, most natural option in many contexts: Kakek.

Why is it saya and not aku? Are they different?

Both mean I / me, but they differ in formality and style:

saya
- More formal or neutral.
- Safe in most situations: talking to adults, strangers, in writing, in class, etc.
aku
- More informal/intimate.
- Used with friends, family, or in songs, literature, etc.

In a neutral example sentence like this, saya is the default.
In a very casual context you might hear:

Kakek ngajarin aku main catur…

What does di meja dapur literally mean, and why not just di dapur?

di = at / in / on (location preposition)
meja = table
dapur = kitchen

di dapur = in the kitchen
di meja = at the table

di meja dapur means at the kitchen table. It’s more specific than just in the kitchen.

So the sentence focuses on the specific place where they play: the kitchen table, not just somewhere in the kitchen.

Why is it meja dapur and not meja di dapur?

There’s a subtle difference:

meja dapur
- Noun + noun, functioning like a compound noun.
- Means kitchen table (a type of table).
meja di dapur
- Noun + prepositional phrase.
- Means the table in the kitchen (a table that happens to be located in the kitchen).

So:

di meja dapur → at the kitchen table (as a kind/type of table).
di meja di dapur → at the table that is in the kitchen (more descriptive, less like a fixed expression).

In everyday speech, meja dapur is a natural way to say kitchen table.

Why is Minggu capitalized? Is it week or Sunday?

In Indonesian:

Minggu (capital M) = Sunday (the day of the week)
minggu (lowercase m) = week

So setiap Minggu pagi means:

every Sunday morning, not “every week morning.”

That’s why Minggu is capitalized in this sentence.

Can we change the word order of setiap Minggu pagi? For example, say setiap pagi Minggu?

Yes, you sometimes hear both:

setiap Minggu pagi
setiap pagi Minggu

Both can be understood as every Sunday morning, though setiap Minggu pagi is more common and a bit clearer.

Typical patterns:

setiap [day] pagi → every [day] morning
- setiap Senin pagi, setiap Minggu pagi

The phrase can also be moved to the front of the sentence:

Setiap Minggu pagi, kakek mengajari saya bermain catur di meja dapur.

This is still perfectly correct; it just emphasizes the time a little more.

Why is there no word like on before setiap Minggu pagi? Shouldn’t it be pada setiap Minggu pagi?

Indonesian usually does not need a preposition before time expressions with setiap:

setiap Minggu pagi = every Sunday morning
setiap hari = every day
setiap malam = every night

You can say pada setiap Minggu pagi, and it’s grammatically correct, but it sounds longer and more formal than necessary. In everyday language, speakers drop pada in this pattern.

Where do time and place phrases usually go in an Indonesian sentence like this?

The “neutral” order in Indonesian is often:

Subject
Verb
Object(s)
Adverbials (time, place, manner)

Your sentence follows that pattern:

Kakek (subject)
mengajari (verb)
saya bermain catur (objects)
di meja dapur (place)
setiap Minggu pagi (time)

However, Indonesian is flexible. You can front the time phrase for emphasis:

Setiap Minggu pagi, kakek mengajari saya bermain catur di meja dapur.

Both orders are natural.

What is the difference between mengajari, mengajarkan, belajar, and mempelajari?

All come from ajar (teach) or ajar/belajar (learn), but they have different roles:

belajar – to learn / to study
- Saya belajar catur. → I learn / study chess.
mempelajari – to study something in depth, more formal
- Saya mempelajari strategi catur. → I study chess strategy.
mengajar – to teach (someone or a subject)
- Kakek mengajar saya. → Grandpa teaches me.
- Kakek mengajar catur. → Grandpa teaches chess.
mengajari – to teach someone something (emphasis on the recipient)
- Kakek mengajari saya bermain catur.
  → Grandpa teaches me to play chess.

In your sentence, mengajari is correct because we have both:

the person (saya) and
the activity being taught (bermain catur).