Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Saya mau tidur sebentar di kamar. - I want to sleep for a while in the room.

Literal “want to”: expressing desire
- Saya mau tidur sebentar di kamar. = I want to sleep for a bit in the room.
Colloquial “about to / going to”: stating what you’re (just) going to do
- In context it can feel like: I’m going to lie down for a bit in my room.

Notes:

mau is very common in everyday speech and is not rude by itself.
More explicitly “future” is usually akan (more formal/written) or adding a time word:
- Nanti saya mau tidur. = I’m going to sleep later.
- Besok saya akan tidur lebih awal. = Tomorrow I will sleep earlier.

So here, mau naturally feels like “(I) want to / (I’m) going to” and context decides which is stronger.

Could I replace mau with ingin? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can, but the nuance changes slightly:

mau
- Very common, neutral–informal.
- Used all the time in speech.
- Saya mau tidur sebentar di kamar. – Totally natural, everyday.
ingin
- Slightly more formal / polite / careful.
- Common in writing, speeches, polite conversation.
- Saya ingin tidur sebentar di kamar. – Sounds a bit more “proper” or deliberate.

In normal spoken Indonesian with friends/family, mau is more typical. With a boss, in a meeting, in writing, ingin can sound nicer or more careful.

Can I omit saya or change it to aku?

Yes:

Omitting “saya”
- Mau tidur sebentar di kamar.
- Still natural if it’s obvious you’re talking about yourself (e.g. you’re standing up and walking away).
- Indonesian often drops pronouns when the subject is clear from context.
Using “aku” instead of “saya”
- Aku mau tidur sebentar di kamar.
- aku = I / me (informal, intimate: friends, family, close partners).
- saya = I / me (neutral, polite, safe with almost everyone).

So:

Formal / neutral: Saya mau tidur sebentar di kamar.
Casual with friends: Aku mau tidur sebentar di kamar.
Very casual, context clear: Mau tidur sebentar di kamar.

What exactly does sebentar mean, and can I say sebentar saja or bentar?

sebentar means “for a short time / briefly / a moment”.

Common variations:

sebentar saja = just a moment / only briefly
- Saya mau tidur sebentar saja di kamar.
- Slight extra emphasis on “only a short while”.
bentar = colloquial shortened form of sebentar
- Very informal; widely used in speech:
- Aku mau tidur bentar di kamar.
- Don’t use bentar in formal writing.

All three are understandable; in spoken Indonesian:

sebentar – neutral
sebentar saja – “only a short while”
bentar – casual / slangy

Why is it di kamar and not ke kamar?

Because of what you’re describing:

di = in / at (location, where something happens)
- di kamar = in the room
- You are sleeping in the room.
ke = to / toward (movement to a place)
- ke kamar = to the room
- You are going to the room.

So:

Saya mau tidur sebentar di kamar.
= I want to sleep for a bit in the room (the sleeping happens there).

If you wanted to emphasize the movement, you’d say:

Saya mau *ke kamar dulu.*
= I want to go to the room first. (Not necessarily saying you’ll sleep.)

Where should sebentar go in the sentence? Can I say Saya mau sebentar tidur di kamar?

Natural positions for sebentar here:

After the verb – most natural:
- Saya mau tidur sebentar di kamar.
  (I want to sleep a bit in the room.)
At the very beginning, for emphasis:
- Sebentar, saya mau tidur di kamar.
  (Wait a bit / Just a moment, I want to sleep in the room.) – Here sebentar is more like “wait a bit”.

The version Saya mau sebentar tidur di kamar is not natural in standard Indonesian. Time adverbs like sebentar usually come:

after the verb: tidur sebentar
or at the very start of the sentence, changing the nuance.

So stick to Saya mau tidur sebentar di kamar.

Does this sentence mean “I want to sleep now” or “I will sleep later”? How does tense work here?

Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense. Context does almost all the work.

Saya mau tidur sebentar di kamar can mean:

I want to sleep for a bit (now / very soon).
I’m going to sleep for a bit (soon).

To clarify time, Indonesians usually add time words:

now / soon:
- Sekarang saya mau tidur sebentar di kamar.
- Nanti saya mau tidur sebentar di kamar. (nanti = later, usually same day)
future (more formal):
- Besok saya akan tidur di hotel. = Tomorrow I will sleep at a hotel.

So without extra words, your sentence naturally feels like something you’re about to do or are planning to do soon.

Why is there no word like “to” before tidur, as in want to sleep?

In Indonesian, you don’t need a separate word like English to before verbs in these structures.

Pattern:

[subject] + mau / ingin + [base verb]
- Saya mau makan. = I want to eat.
- Saya mau pergi. = I want to go.
- Saya mau tidur. = I want to sleep.

So tidur can directly follow mau; there is no infinitive marker like English to.

Is this sentence polite enough? How would I say it more politely, for example to my boss or someone older?

Saya mau tidur sebentar di kamar is neutral and not rude, but it can sound a little direct depending on context.

To sound more polite / careful:

Use ingin instead of mau:
- Saya ingin tidur sebentar di kamar.
Or ask for permission using boleh / bolehkah:
- Bolehkah saya tidur sebentar di kamar?
  = May I sleep for a short while in the room?
Add a softening phrase:
- Saya mau istirahat sebentar di kamar, ya.
  (istirahat = rest; softer than “sleep”)

In casual situations (family, friends), the original sentence is perfectly fine.

Does kamar mean “bedroom” or just “room”? Should I say kamar tidur?

Literally:

kamar = room
kamar tidur = bedroom (sleeping room)

In practice:

In a home context, if you say di kamar, people usually assume your bedroom, unless context suggests another room.
- Saya di kamar. – Often understood as “I’m in my room (bedroom).”

If you need to be explicit:

Saya mau tidur sebentar di kamar tidur. = clear “bedroom”.
Saya mau tidur sebentar di kamar saya. = in my room (likely bedroom).

So your sentence is natural and usually understood as “in (my) bedroom” from context.

Could I move di kamar earlier, like Saya di kamar mau tidur sebentar? Is that still correct?

Yes, Indonesian word order is fairly flexible, but the nuance shifts.

Most neutral:

Saya mau tidur sebentar di kamar.

Other possible orders:

Di kamar, saya mau tidur sebentar.
- Emphasises the place: “In the room, I want to sleep a bit.”
Saya di kamar mau tidur sebentar.
- Grammatically okay; feels more like “I, who am in the room, want to sleep a bit.”

For a straightforward statement, stick with:

Saya mau tidur sebentar di kamar.

Are there other common verbs related to tidur I should know, and why don’t we say bertidur?

Base verb here is tidur (to sleep). Common related forms:

tidur = sleep
- Saya mau tidur. – I want to sleep.
tiduran = to lie down / lounge (not necessarily fully sleeping)
- Aku tiduran di kamar. – I’m just lying down in the room.
menidurkan (seseorang) = to put someone to sleep (cause someone to sleep)
- Ibu menidurkan bayinya. – The mother is putting her baby to sleep.

There is no common form bertidur in modern standard Indonesian. Some verbs take ber-, but tidur is used in its base form to mean “to sleep.”

How do I pronounce Saya mau tidur sebentar di kamar naturally?

Approximate pronunciation (Indonesian spelling is very phonetic):

Saya – SAH-ya
mau – ma-oo, usually glides to “mao” in fast speech
tidur – tee-DOOR (with a tapped/rolled r, not silent)
sebentar – suh-BEN-tar (all vowels pronounced; stress near the end)
di – dee
kamar – kah-MAR (again a tapped r)

Rough rhythm (slashes show natural breaks):

SAH-ya / MAU / ti-DUR se-BEN-tar / di ka-MAR

Stress in Indonesian is much flatter and more regular than in English; each syllable is clearly pronounced, and the final r is usually sounded.