Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Saya suka kisah tentang keluarga di desa kecil. - I like stories about a family in a small village.

Indonesian does not use articles like English a/an or the.
The noun kisah can mean a story, the story, or stories depending on context.

If you really need to show “a story”, you can say:

sebuah kisah – a story (quite neutral/formal)
satu kisah – one story (emphasizes the number)

But in most everyday sentences, Indonesians simply say kisah and let context decide whether it’s a/the story or stories.

How do I know the tense? Why doesn’t suka change form for past, present, or future?

Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense.
The verb suka stays the same whether you mean:

I like stories… (in general, present)
I liked stories… (talking about the past habit)
I have always liked stories…

To show time more clearly, Indonesians add time words, for example:

Dulu saya suka kisah… – I used to like stories…
Sekarang saya suka kisah… – Now I like stories…
Nanti saya akan suka kisah… – In the future I will like stories…

The base verb suka itself does not change.

What is the difference between saya and aku? Could I say Aku suka kisah… instead?

Both saya and aku mean I.

saya – neutral and polite; safe in almost all situations (formal or informal)
aku – more informal/intimate; used with friends, family, in songs, or literature

So:

Saya suka kisah tentang keluarga di desa kecil. – neutral/polite
Aku suka kisah tentang keluarga di desa kecil. – casual, a bit more personal

In formal writing or with people you don’t know well, saya is usually better.

What’s the difference between kisah and cerita? Can I say cerita here instead of kisah?

Both kisah and cerita can be translated as story/stories, but their nuance is slightly different:

cerita – very common, neutral word for story, tale, narrative; used in everyday speech
kisah – often sounds a bit more literary, emotional, or serious; used for life stories, love stories, religious stories, legends, etc.

In this sentence you can say:

Saya suka cerita tentang keluarga di desa kecil.

It sounds a little more everyday and casual.
Using kisah makes it feel slightly more “tales” or “narratives”, possibly with more emotional or literary flavor. Both are correct.

What does tentang mean exactly, and could I leave it out?

tentang means about or regarding.
The phrase kisah tentang keluarga is literally stories about family/families.

If you remove tentang, you get kisah keluarga, which usually means family story or the story of a family, often referring to a particular family rather than stories about families in general.

Saya suka kisah tentang keluarga… – I like stories about families… (topic: families)
Saya suka kisah keluarga itu. – I like that family’s story.

So in your sentence, tentang is natural and important to keep the “about” meaning.

What does di mean in di desa kecil, and how is it different from ke?

di is a preposition meaning in, at, or on (location).
ke means to (movement toward a place).

So:

di desa kecil – in a small village / at a small village (location)
ke desa kecil – to a small village (movement)

Your sentence is describing where the family is (or where the story takes place), not where someone is going, so di is correct.

Why is kecil after desa instead of before it, like in English small village?

In Indonesian, adjectives usually come after the noun they modify.

desa kecil – small village (literally: village small)
keluarga besar – big/extended family
rumah baru – new house

So the pattern is typically:

noun + adjective

That’s why we say desa kecil, not kecil desa.

Does keluarga here mean one family or many families? How do I show plural clearly?

The word keluarga can mean family (singular) or families (plural).
Indonesian does not always mark plural explicitly; context usually tells you.

To show plural more clearly, you can use:

keluarga-keluarga – families (reduplication)
banyak keluarga – many families
beberapa keluarga – several families

For example:

Saya suka kisah tentang keluarga-keluarga di desa kecil. – I like stories about families in small villages.

In everyday speech, many people still just say keluarga, and listeners infer singular/plural from context.

Can I drop saya and just say Suka kisah tentang keluarga di desa kecil?

In natural spoken Indonesian, the subject pronoun is sometimes dropped when context is clear, but:

Suka kisah tentang keluarga di desa kecil. on its own sounds incomplete or like a fragment.

People might say this in a conversation where “I” is already obvious, but for clear, correct, neutral Indonesian, it’s better to keep saya:

Saya suka kisah tentang keluarga di desa kecil.

As a learner, keeping the subject pronoun is a good habit until you’re very comfortable with when dropping it sounds natural.

How can I say “I really like / I love stories about families in small villages” more strongly?

You can intensify suka in a few common ways:

Saya sangat suka kisah tentang keluarga di desa kecil.
– I really like / I like very much…
Saya suka sekali kisah tentang keluarga di desa kecil.
– I like stories very much…
Saya suka banget kisah tentang keluarga di desa kecil. (colloquial)
– I really, really like / I’m crazy about…

The verb cinta is usually for love between people, or for very strong emotional attachment (e.g. Saya cinta keluarga saya – I love my family), and is less natural for I love stories. sangat suka or suka sekali is the usual choice.

Is this sentence formal or informal? How would a casual version look?

With saya, this sentence is neutral and polite; it’s fine in writing, in class, and in a normal conversation:

Saya suka kisah tentang keluarga di desa kecil.

A more casual version might change both the pronoun and some word choices, for example:

Aku suka cerita tentang keluarga di desa kecil. – casual, still standard
Gue suka cerita tentang keluarga di kampung kecil. – very informal Jakarta-style, using gue and kampung

Your original version is a safe, standard form that works in most situations.

Could I say Saya suka kisah keluarga tentang desa kecil instead? Is the word order flexible?

Changing the order changes the meaning and can sound unnatural.

kisah tentang keluarga di desa kecil – stories about families in a small village
kisah keluarga tentang desa kecil – sounds like family stories about a small village, focusing on stories (from a family) whose topic is a small village; this is unusual phrasing.

In Indonesian, kisah tentang X is a fixed, natural pattern (story about X).
Putting keluarga between kisah and tentang or after kisah like kisah keluarga tentang… creates a different, often awkward structure.

So for your intended meaning, Saya suka kisah tentang keluarga di desa kecil. is the most natural word order.