Dulu saya belajar di desa kecil.

I used to study in a small village.

Breakdown of Dulu saya belajar di desa kecil.

• saya: I
• di: in
• belajar: to study
• kecil: small
• desa: the village
• dulu: formerly

Questions & Answers about Dulu saya belajar di desa kecil.

How do we know this sentence is about the past when the verb belajar doesn’t change form?

Indonesian verbs don’t change form for tense. Belajar is the same form for past, present, and future.

We know it’s about the past because of the time word dulu.
Dulu signals that the whole situation happened in the past, often with a nuance like “back then / formerly / used to.”

So:

• Saya belajar di desa kecil. = context decides: I study / am studying / studied in a small village.
• Dulu saya belajar di desa kecil. = clearly past: I used to study / Back then I studied in a small village.

What exactly does dulu mean here? Is it the same as “used to”?

In this sentence, dulu means something like:

• back then
• in the past
• formerly
• before (at some earlier time)

Often, when talking about habits or a former state, dulu corresponds quite well to English “used to”, e.g.:

• Dulu saya belajar di desa kecil.
  ≈ I used to study in a small village.

However, dulu itself doesn’t require the idea of repetition or habit; it just places the event or situation in an earlier time. Context tells you whether it was a one‑time event or a habit.

Note: dulu can also mean “earlier / before this” in shorter time frames, like “earlier today.” The exact time span is inferred from context.

Can dulu appear in another position, like Saya dulu belajar di desa kecil? Is there any difference?

Yes, you can move dulu:

• Dulu saya belajar di desa kecil.
• Saya dulu belajar di desa kecil.
• Saya belajar dulu di desa kecil. (less common in this meaning; can sound like “I studied first in a small village, then …”)

The two most natural variants for this meaning are:

1. Dulu saya belajar di desa kecil.
2. Saya dulu belajar di desa kecil.

Both normally mean the same thing: I used to study in a small village.

Subtle nuance (not always strong, and often ignored in everyday speech):

• Dulu saya…: slightly more focus on “back then” as your starting point.
• Saya dulu…: slightly more focus on “I (in the past)” as opposed to “I now.”

In practice, both are fine and very commonly used.

Why is it desa kecil and not kecil desa? Where do adjectives go in Indonesian?

In Indonesian, descriptive adjectives typically come after the noun they describe.

• desa kecil = small village (literally “village small”)
• rumah besar = big house
• baju merah = red shirt

So:

• desa kecil (correct)
• kecil desa (incorrect as a normal noun phrase; sounds wrong to native speakers)

If you want to be more explicit, you can say desa yang kecil (“village that is small”), but you don’t need yang here. Desa kecil is the normal, simple way to say “small village.”

Do we need a word for “a” in “a small village”? Why is there no article?

Indonesian has no articles like “a” or “the” by default. Nouns are usually bare:

• desa kecil can mean:
  • a small village
  • the small village
  • small villages (in some contexts)

If you really want to emphasize “a / one small village”, you can add a classifier like sebuah:

• Dulu saya belajar di sebuah desa kecil.
  ≈ I used to study in a small village (one particular small village).

But in most contexts, di desa kecil without sebuah is perfectly natural and usually translated as “in a small village.”

What does di do here? Is it like “in” or “at,” and can it be omitted?

Di is a preposition of location, usually translated as:

• in
• at
• sometimes on (depending on the noun)

In this sentence:

• di desa kecil = in a small village / at a small village

You generally cannot omit di when you want to express location. Without it:

• desa kecil alone is just a noun phrase (small village), not a prepositional phrase.

So the structure is:

• belajar di [place]
• belajar di desa kecil = study in a small village

Is belajar “to study” or “to learn”? How is it used?

Belajar covers both English ideas “to study” and “to learn”, depending on context.

1. With an object (what you’re learning):

   • Saya belajar bahasa Indonesia.
     = I study / am learning Indonesian.

2. With a place:

   • Saya belajar di desa kecil.
     = I study / studied in a small village.

3. With a teacher (using dengan):

   • Saya belajar dengan guru privat.
     = I study / learn with a private tutor.

It does not mean “to teach” — that’s mengajar.

If dulu already shows past time, can I also add sudah or pernah? For example: Dulu saya sudah belajar di desa kecil?

You can combine them, but each word adds its own nuance:

• Dulu saya belajar di desa kecil.
  Neutral past: Back then / I used to study in a small village.

• Dulu saya sudah belajar di desa kecil.
  Adds the idea of completion: Back then, I had already studied in a small village (for example, before doing something else).

• Dulu saya pernah belajar di desa kecil.
  Adds the idea of “at least once / at some point in my life”:
  In the past, I once studied in a small village (experience).

If you just want a simple “I used to study in a small village,”
Dulu saya belajar di desa kecil is enough and most natural.

Is saya formal? Could I say Aku dulu belajar di desa kecil instead?

Yes:

• Saya: polite/neutral, used in most situations (talking to strangers, in writing, in formal or semi‑formal speech).
• Aku: more casual/intimate, used with friends, family, or people of the same age group (depending on region and relationship).

Both are grammatically correct:

• Dulu saya belajar di desa kecil. (neutral/polite)
• Dulu aku belajar di desa kecil. (more casual/intimate)

The choice depends on who you are talking to and the level of formality you want.

Can the subject saya be dropped? For example, just Dulu belajar di desa kecil?

Yes, Indonesian often drops pronouns when the subject is clear from context.

• Dulu belajar di desa kecil.
  could mean: I/you/he/she/they used to study in a small village, depending on context.

However, as a standalone sentence with no context, Dulu saya belajar di desa kecil is clearer, especially for learners. In real conversations, people frequently omit saya if it’s obvious who is being talked about.

Does this sentence imply a habit (regular studying), or could it be just one past event?

By itself, Dulu saya belajar di desa kecil is neutral:

• It can mean a period of time in your life when you studied there (like school years) — which is the most natural reading.
• It can, in certain contexts, also refer to a single past event.

Because belajar often implies an ongoing activity, and dulu points to an earlier period, many listeners will naturally interpret it as a past situation or phase, similar to English “I used to study in a small village.”

If you wanted to stress a one‑time event, you’d usually add more detail (e.g., a specific time, duration, or occasion).

How would I say “I used to study in that small village”?

You can specify “that” using itu:

• Dulu saya belajar di desa kecil itu.

Structure:

• desa kecil = small village
• itu = that
• desa kecil itu = that small village
• di desa kecil itu = in that small village
• Dulu saya belajar di desa kecil itu. = I used to study in that small village.

Is there any difference between desa kecil and kampung kecil?

Both can refer to a small settlement, but there are nuances:

• desa

  • Official term for a village, used in administration.
  • Slightly more neutral/formal.

• kampung

  • Can mean village, but also neighbourhood / hometown area, often with a more informal or emotional feel.
  • orang kampung can mean “villager,” sometimes with a nuance of “country person / not very urban.”

So:

• Dulu saya belajar di desa kecil.
  Neutral: I used to study in a small village.

• Dulu saya belajar di kampung kecil.
  Similar meaning, but kampung can sound a bit more colloquial or evocative, depending on context.

For most learners, treating desa as “village (neutral/formal)” and kampung as “village / hometown area (more informal)” is a good starting point.