Kami bersyukur karena keberuntungan kecil hari ini.

We are grateful for today's small bit of luck.

Breakdown of Kami bersyukur karena keberuntungan kecil hari ini.

• kami: we
• hari ini: today
• karena: because
• kecil: small
• bersyukur: to be grateful
• keberuntungan: the good luck

Questions & Answers about Kami bersyukur karena keberuntungan kecil hari ini.

What is the difference between kami and kita, and why does this sentence use kami?

Indonesian has two words for we:

• kami = we (excluding the listener)
• kita = we (including the listener)

So:

• Kami bersyukur... = We are grateful (but not including you, the listener).
• Kita bersyukur... = We are grateful (including you, the listener).

The sentence uses kami because the group feeling grateful does not include the person being talked to. If you want to include the listener, you would say:

• Kita bersyukur karena keberuntungan kecil hari ini.

What does bersyukur literally mean, and how is it different from berterima kasih?

Both relate to gratitude, but they are used differently:

• bersyukur

  • Base word: syukur (gratitude, thankfulness, often with a spiritual or emotional nuance)
  • bersyukur = to be grateful / to feel thankful (often to God, fate, or life in general)
  • Used for a general attitude or feeling of gratitude.

• berterima kasih

  • Base phrase: terima kasih (thank you)
  • berterima kasih = to thank (someone)
  • Used more when directing thanks to a specific person.

In this sentence, Kami bersyukur... describes an internal feeling of gratitude for the good fortune, not explicitly thanking a person.

Why do we use karena here, and what does it do in the sentence?

karena means because. It introduces the reason or cause:

• Kami bersyukur = We are grateful
• karena keberuntungan kecil hari ini = because of today’s little bit of luck

So the structure is:

[main clause] Kami bersyukur
[reason clause] karena keberuntungan kecil hari ini

You can think of it as: We are grateful because (of) the small piece of luck today.

Could we replace karena with atas here? For example, Kami bersyukur atas keberuntungan kecil hari ini?

Yes, that is possible, and it sounds natural:

• Kami bersyukur karena keberuntungan kecil hari ini.

  • Focuses on the reason: we are grateful because this happened.

• Kami bersyukur atas keberuntungan kecil hari ini.

  • atas = for / over / regarding
  • Emphasizes what we are grateful for.

Both are correct. With atas, the phrase feels slightly more formal or written, but it is very common.

What is the function of the ke- … -an in keberuntungan, and how is it different from untung or beruntung?

• untung (base form) can mean:

  • luck, profit, or
  • lucky (in some contexts)

• keberuntungan uses the circumfix ke- … -an, which often makes an abstract noun:

  • beruntung = to be lucky
  • keberuntungan = luck, good fortune (the noun, more abstract)

So:

• untung = luck / profit (more general, sometimes casual)
• beruntung = to be lucky
• keberuntungan = luck / good fortune (as a concept, more formal/neutral)

The sentence uses keberuntungan because it is talking about the luck itself as a thing that happened.

Why is it keberuntungan kecil and not kecil keberuntungan? Does Indonesian have a fixed adjective order?

Yes, Indonesian usually puts adjectives after the noun they describe.

• keberuntungan = luck
• kecil = small / little

So:

• keberuntungan kecil = small luck / a little bit of luck

Putting kecil before the noun (kecil keberuntungan) is incorrect in standard Indonesian.

Pattern:
noun + adjective

• rumah besar = big house
• mobil baru = new car
• keberuntungan kecil = small luck

Does kecil here mean “small” in size or “a little bit of”? Would sedikit keberuntungan mean something different?

In this context:

• keberuntungan kecil is understood as:
  • a small piece of good fortune
  • a modest / minor bit of luck

kecil can literally mean small in size, but with abstract nouns like keberuntungan, it often means not much / not big, similar to “a small blessing” or “a little bit of luck”.

You could also say:

• sedikit keberuntungan = a little (amount of) luck

Both are acceptable.
Nuance:

• keberuntungan kecil feels a bit more descriptive or literary.
• sedikit keberuntungan more directly emphasizes the small amount.

Can we move hari ini to another position, like Hari ini kami bersyukur karena keberuntungan kecil? Is that still correct?

Yes, Indonesian word order is fairly flexible for time expressions like hari ini.

All of these are grammatically correct:

1. Kami bersyukur karena keberuntungan kecil hari ini.
2. Kami bersyukur hari ini karena keberuntungan kecil.
3. Hari ini kami bersyukur karena keberuntungan kecil.

Differences:

• Starting with Hari ini (option 3) emphasizes today:

  • Hari ini, kami bersyukur... = Today, we are grateful...

• Keeping hari ini at the end (option 1) is very natural and neutral; it simply adds “today” as extra information at the end.

How is tense expressed here? How do we know if this is past, present, or future?

Indonesian usually does not mark tense with verb changes. Instead, context and time words show when something happens.

In this sentence:

• Kami bersyukur can mean:

  • we are grateful
  • we were grateful
  • we feel/felt grateful

• hari ini = today
  This gives a time frame, usually present or very recent past.

Possible English interpretations:

• We are grateful for the little bit of luck today.
• We were grateful for the little bit of luck we had today.

The exact tense is understood from context, not grammar.

Can we omit kami and just say Bersyukur karena keberuntungan kecil hari ini?

You can omit kami in some informal spoken situations, but it changes the feel:

• Kami bersyukur karena keberuntungan kecil hari ini.

  • Clear subject: we (excluding you).

• Bersyukur karena keberuntungan kecil hari ini.

  • Feels like a fragment, slogan, or caption:
    • “[We are] grateful for the little bit of luck today.”
    • It’s understood that someone (often “we” or “I”) is grateful, but it is not grammatically explicit.

In normal, complete sentences, especially in writing or formal speech, it’s better to keep kami.

Is Kami bersyukur karena keberuntungan kecil hari ini formal, informal, or neutral? How would this be said more casually?

The sentence is neutral and suitable for most contexts (spoken and written).

More casual variations might be:

• Kita bersyukur banget sama keberuntungan kecil hari ini.

  • banget = very (slangy)
  • sama used like “for / because of” in casual speech

• Syukur banget, kita masih dapet sedikit keberuntungan hari ini.

But in standard, polite Indonesian, your original sentence is already natural and appropriate.

Can we add sangat (very) or other adverbs, and where would they go?

Yes, you can modify bersyukur with adverbs such as:

• sangat = very
• begitu = so (much)
• sekali (usually at the end) = very

Common patterns:

• Kami sangat bersyukur karena keberuntungan kecil hari ini.
• Kami bersyukur sekali karena keberuntungan kecil hari ini.

Both mean roughly: We are very grateful for today’s little bit of luck.