Foto keluarga kami dipajang di ruang tamu.

Our family photo is displayed in the living room.

Breakdown of Foto keluarga kami dipajang di ruang tamu.

• di: in
• ruang tamu: the living room
• kami: our
• dipajang: to be displayed
• foto keluarga: the family photo

Questions & Answers about Foto keluarga kami dipajang di ruang tamu.

In the sentence Foto keluarga kami dipajang di ruang tamu, what exactly does dipajang mean, and how is it formed?

Dipajang comes from the root verb pajang, which means to display, to put on display, or to set out (e.g., on a wall, shelf, etc.).

• pajang = to display
• memajang = to display (active voice: to display something)
• dipajang = to be displayed (passive voice: something is displayed)

So foto keluarga kami dipajang literally means our family photo is displayed / is being displayed.
The prefix di- marks a passive form, so the photo is the thing receiving the action of displaying.

Why is kami placed after keluarga (as in keluarga kami) instead of before, like in English our family?

In Indonesian, possessive pronouns usually come after the noun, not before it.

• English: our family
• Indonesian: keluarga kami

Structure:

• keluarga = family
• kami = we / us (exclusive: not including the listener)

So keluarga kami literally means family we/us, i.e. our family.

This same pattern appears with other nouns:

• rumah saya = my house
• teman mereka = their friend
• mobilmu = your car

So foto keluarga kami is photo of our family.

What is the difference between kami and kita, and could we say foto keluarga kita instead?

Both kami and kita mean we / us, but they differ in who is included:

• kami = we / us, not including the person being spoken to (exclusive)
• kita = we / us, including the person being spoken to (inclusive)

Foto keluarga kami
→ our family photo, but the listener is not part of that family.

Foto keluarga kita
→ our family photo, and the listener is included in that family.

So whether you can say foto keluarga kita depends on context:

• If you’re talking to a sibling about your parents, then foto keluarga kita is natural.
• If you’re talking to a friend who is not in your family, then foto keluarga kami is correct.

Is kami necessary here? What is the difference between Foto keluarga dipajang di ruang tamu and Foto keluarga kami dipajang di ruang tamu?

Both are grammatical, but the meaning changes:

• Foto keluarga dipajang di ruang tamu
  = A / the family photo is displayed in the living room.
  It sounds more general; it doesn’t clearly say whose family it is. It could be yours, but it’s not explicit.

• Foto keluarga kami dipajang di ruang tamu
  = Our family photo is displayed in the living room.
  This clearly states it is our (speaker’s) family.

So kami makes the ownership explicit. Without kami, you are just talking about a family photo that is displayed there.

Why is there no word like a or the in Foto keluarga kami dipajang di ruang tamu? How do we know if it means a family photo or the family photo?

Indonesian usually does not use articles like a / an / the. Nouns often stand alone, and the context tells you whether it is a or the.

• foto can mean a photo, the photo, or just photo in general.
• foto keluarga kami is naturally understood as our family photo or the photo of our family.

If you wanted to emphasize one single photo, you could add sebuah:

• Sebuah foto keluarga kami dipajang di ruang tamu.
  = One photo of our family is displayed in the living room.

But in everyday speech, people usually just say Foto keluarga kami dipajang di ruang tamu, and the listener understands it as our (particular) family photo from context.

What is the difference between di in dipajang and di in di ruang tamu? Are they the same word?

They are spelled the same, but grammatically they are different:

1. di- in dipajang

   • This is a prefix attached to a verb root (pajang) to form a passive verb.
   • dipajang = is displayed / is being displayed.

2. di in di ruang tamu

   • This is a preposition meaning in / at / on (location).
   • di ruang tamu = in the living room.

So:

• di- (prefix) + pajang (root) → dipajang (passive verb)
• di (preposition) + ruang tamu (noun phrase) → di ruang tamu (location phrase)

They look the same, but they function differently in the sentence.

Could I change the word order and say Di ruang tamu, foto keluarga kami dipajang? Does it sound natural?

Yes, that is perfectly natural and common.

Both:

• Foto keluarga kami dipajang di ruang tamu.
• Di ruang tamu, foto keluarga kami dipajang.

are grammatical and natural.

The difference is just emphasis / focus:

• Original order emphasizes the photo first.
• Starting with Di ruang tamu emphasizes the location first (in the living room).

Indonesian word order is fairly flexible, especially when moving adverbial phrases like places and times to the front for emphasis.

What is the difference between ruang tamu and ruang keluarga? Could I say Foto keluarga kami dipajang di ruang keluarga?

Yes, you can say that, but the meaning changes slightly:

• ruang tamu
  = literally guest room, but in a house it means the living room where guests are received or the front sitting area.

• ruang keluarga
  = family room, the more private sitting area mainly for family members, often less formal.

So:

• Foto keluarga kami dipajang di ruang tamu.
  = Our family photo is displayed in the living room (where guests come).

• Foto keluarga kami dipajang di ruang keluarga.
  = Our family photo is displayed in the family room.

Both are correct; you just choose the one that matches the actual room you mean.

Is keluarga singular or plural? How would I say family photos in the plural?

Keluarga itself can be understood as a group noun, just like English family: it refers to one family, but that family consists of multiple people.

In foto keluarga kami, the default interpretation is:

• foto = one photo
• keluarga kami = our family (one family)

To make photo clearly plural, Indonesian often uses reduplication or a number:

• foto-foto keluarga kami = our family photos (several photos)
• banyak foto keluarga kami = many photos of our family
• dua foto keluarga kami = two photos of our family

So:

• Foto keluarga kami dipajang di ruang tamu.
  → One (or an unspecified number of) family photo(s) is displayed there, but usually understood as one unless context says otherwise.

• Foto-foto keluarga kami dipajang di ruang tamu.
  → Our family photos are displayed in the living room (clearly plural).

Could I use gambar instead of foto, like Gambar keluarga kami dipajang di ruang tamu? Does it still sound natural?

Yes, but the nuance changes:

• foto = photograph, taken with a camera or phone.
• gambar = picture / image / drawing / illustration (more general).

So:

• Foto keluarga kami dipajang di ruang tamu.
  → specifically, a photograph of our family.

• Gambar keluarga kami dipajang di ruang tamu.
  → a picture of our family, which could be:

  • a drawing or painting of your family
  • a printed illustration
  • sometimes even a photo, but foto is more precise for that.

If you mean an actual photograph, foto is the usual and clearer choice.

How do we know the tense of Foto keluarga kami dipajang di ruang tamu? Does it mean is displayed, was displayed, or will be displayed?

Indonesian verbs like dipajang do not change form for tense. The same form can refer to present, past, or future. The time is usually understood from context or from extra time words.

On its own:

• Foto keluarga kami dipajang di ruang tamu.
  Most naturally: Our family photo is displayed in the living room (present, a general fact).

If you want to be more explicit, you add time markers:

• Tadi foto keluarga kami dipajang di ruang tamu.
  → Earlier, our family photo was displayed in the living room.

• Besok foto keluarga kami akan dipajang di ruang tamu.
  → Tomorrow, our family photo will be displayed in the living room.

So dipajang itself is tenseless; the surrounding words and context give you the time.