Kami menabur benih di tanah di belakang rumah nenek.

We scatter seeds on the soil behind grandmother's house.

Breakdown of Kami menabur benih di tanah di belakang rumah nenek.

• rumah: the house
• kami: we
• di: on
• nenek: the grandmother
• di belakang: behind
• menabur: to scatter
• benih: the seed
• tanah: the ground

Questions & Answers about Kami menabur benih di tanah di belakang rumah nenek.

What is the difference between kami and kita, and why is kami used here?

Indonesian has two different words for we:

• kami = we (but not you) — excludes the listener
• kita = we (including you) — includes the listener

In Kami menabur benih…, kami means the speaker is talking about a group that does not include the person being spoken to.

If the speaker wanted to say “you and I sowed the seeds”, they would use kita instead:
Kita menabur benih di tanah…

Does menabur mean past, present, or future? How is tense shown in Indonesian?

Menabur itself is tenseless. It just means to sow / sowing.

The sentence Kami menabur benih di tanah di belakang rumah nenek could mean:

• We sowed seeds… (past)
• We are sowing seeds… (present)
• We will sow seeds… (future)

To show time more clearly, Indonesians usually add time words:

• Kemarin kami menabur benih… (Yesterday we sowed seeds…)
• Sekarang kami menabur benih… (Now we are sowing seeds…)
• Besok kami akan menabur benih… (Tomorrow we will sow seeds…)

What exactly does menabur mean, and how is it formed?

The base verb is tabur (to scatter, to sprinkle, to sow).

With the prefix meN-, it becomes menabur, which is the active verb form: to sow / to scatter something.

Pattern:

• tabur → menabur (meN- + tabur)

So menabur benih = to sow seeds, to scatter seeds.

What is the difference between benih, biji, and bibit?

All three can relate to seeds, but they are used a bit differently:

• benih

  • seed as a concept, especially in agriculture or cultivation
  • often used for seeds meant for growing plants
  • e.g. benih padi (rice seed), benih sayuran (vegetable seeds)

• biji

  • the physical seed/stone inside a fruit, or a single seed
  • e.g. biji salak (snake fruit seed), biji jagung (corn kernel)
  • also used more broadly for small seed-like things

• bibit

  • seedlings or young plants used for planting
  • sometimes used for high-quality seed stock
  • e.g. bibit mangga (young mango plant / grafted plant)

In this sentence, benih is appropriate because we are talking about sowing seeds in the soil.

Does di tanah mean “on the ground” or “in the soil”? Why use di?

Tanah can mean soil, earth, or ground, depending on context.

Di tanah literally means at/on/in the soil/ground, and can be translated as:

• on the ground
• in the soil

The preposition di usually means at / in / on (location, not movement).
So:

• di tanah = at/on/in the soil (location)
• ke tanah = to the ground/soil (movement toward)

In the context of sowing seeds, di tanah is often translated as in the soil.

Why is di repeated in di tanah di belakang rumah nenek? Can one of them be dropped?

In Indonesian, each separate location phrase normally uses its own di:

• di tanah (on/in the ground)
• di belakang rumah nenek (behind grandma’s house)

Putting them together:

• di tanah di belakang rumah nenek
  = on/in the ground that is behind grandma’s house

If you drop one di, the sentence sounds unnatural or unclear. So you should keep both:

• ✅ Kami menabur benih di tanah di belakang rumah nenek.
• ❌ Kami menabur benih di tanah belakang rumah nenek. (sounds off)

Can I change the word order of the location part, like move di belakang rumah nenek earlier?

You have some flexibility, but you need to keep the location phrases together and clear.

Natural options include:

• Kami menabur benih di tanah di belakang rumah nenek.
• Kami menabur benih di belakang rumah nenek, di tanah. (less common but possible)

But you would not usually split the location too much, for example:

• ❌ Kami di belakang rumah nenek menabur benih di tanah. (grammatically possible but unusual in simple narrative speech)

The original sentence is the most natural and neutral ordering.

How does rumah nenek mean “grandma’s house” if there is no ’s?

Indonesian often shows possession just by placing two nouns together:

• rumah nenek = house grandmother → grandmother’s house
• buku saya = book I → my book
• mobil ayah = car father → father’s car

So rumah nenek naturally means grandma’s house.
If you want to be more explicit about my grandmother, you can say:

• rumah nenek saya = my grandmother’s house
• rumah nenekku (more informal, using -ku)

What does nenek mean exactly? Can it also be used as a way to address someone?

Nenek means:

1. grandmother (family term)
2. old lady / grandma (when referring to or addressing an elderly woman, sometimes affectionately, sometimes just descriptive)

In the sentence rumah nenek, context usually makes it clear that it’s grandma’s house (your own grandmother or someone’s grandmother).

As a form of address, children can say:

• Nenek, ayo makan. (Grandma, let’s eat.)

But you normally use nenek for someone you actually consider a grandmother or for a very old lady in context. You don’t just call random older women nenek unless it’s culturally appropriate and not rude in that situation.

There is no word for the or a before benih. How do articles work in Indonesian?

Indonesian has no direct equivalent of English a/an/the.

Benih by itself can mean:

• seed
• a seed
• seeds
• the seed(s)

The exact meaning comes from context. If you really need to specify quantity, you add numbers or classifiers, e.g.:

• satu benih (one seed)
• beberapa benih (some seeds)
• banyak benih (many seeds)

So Kami menabur benih… could be translated as We sow(ed) seeds… or We sow(ed) the seeds… depending on context.

Is menabur transitive? Could I say menaburkan benih instead, and is there a difference?

Yes, menabur is a transitive verb (it takes an object: benih).

There is also menaburkan, which uses the suffix -kan. Roughly:

• menabur benih = to sow/scatter seeds (more neutral/basic)
• menaburkan benih = to sow/scatter seeds onto/over something (focus slightly more on the target surface)

For everyday speech about planting, menabur benih is perfectly natural and probably more common. Menaburkan benih is also correct, especially if you emphasize where you’re putting them:

• Kami menaburkan benih di seluruh ladang.
  (We scattered seeds all over the field.)

Could the subject kami be dropped, like in some other languages?

Yes, Indonesian often drops the subject if it’s clear from context.

So if it’s already known you are talking about us, you could say:

• Menabur benih di tanah di belakang rumah nenek.

This is still understandable, especially in casual speech or in a list of actions.
However, for a standalone, clear sentence (like in a textbook example), keeping kami is better:

• Kami menabur benih di tanah di belakang rumah nenek.

Do we always need di before belakang, or can we just say belakang rumah nenek?

For expressing location, you normally use di before location nouns like belakang:

• di belakang rumah nenek = behind grandma’s house

Without di, belakang rumah nenek is more like a noun phrase (the back of grandma’s house), not a full location phrase.

Compare:

• Kami berdiri di belakang rumah nenek. (We stand behind grandma’s house.)
• Belakang rumah nenek sempit. (The back of grandma’s house is narrow.)

In your sentence, you need di belakang rumah nenek because it’s a location where the action happens.