Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Teman saya membelikan kopi panas untuk saya di kantin sekolah. - My friend buys hot coffee for me at the school canteen.

membeli = to buy something
- Teman saya membeli kopi panas. → My friend buys/bought hot coffee.
membelikan = to buy something for someone (benefactive, using -kan)
- Teman saya membelikan kopi panas (untuk saya). → My friend buys/bought hot coffee for me.

So membelikan already includes the idea that the action benefits another person. In this sentence, it shows that the friend is doing the buying for the speaker, not just buying coffee in general.

If membelikan already means “to buy for someone”, why do we still have untuk saya? Isn’t that redundant?

It is a bit redundant, but it’s not wrong.

membelikan kopi panas already implies “buy hot coffee for (someone)”.
Adding untuk saya:
- makes the beneficiary explicit and clear (for me, not someone else),
- can add emphasis to “for me”.

Many speakers, especially in more careful or formal speech, don’t mind this kind of double marking.

You could also say either of these:

Teman saya membeli kopi panas untuk saya di kantin sekolah.
Teman saya membelikan saya kopi panas di kantin sekolah. (colloquial, no untuk)

All are understandable; the original sentence is just slightly more explicit.

Can we drop the second saya and just say Teman saya membelikan kopi panas di kantin sekolah?

You can say it, but the meaning changes.

Teman saya membelikan kopi panas untuk saya di kantin sekolah.
→ My friend bought hot coffee for me at the school canteen.
Teman saya membelikan kopi panas di kantin sekolah.
→ My friend bought hot coffee at the school canteen (for someone, not clearly “for me”).

Without untuk saya, the sentence no longer clearly says who the coffee was for. It just says that your friend bought hot coffee, possibly for someone else.

Why is it teman saya and not saya teman for “my friend”?

Indonesian usually puts the possessed noun first, then the possessor:

teman saya = friend my = my friend
rumah mereka = house their = their house
buku guru = book teacher = the teacher’s book

So:

teman (friend) + saya (I/me) → teman saya (my friend)

The order saya teman is not grammatical as “my friend.”
If you want to say “I have a friend,” you would say Saya punya teman, which is a different structure.

Why is it kopi panas and not panas kopi?

In Indonesian, adjectives normally come after the noun:

kopi panas = coffee hot = hot coffee
baju merah = shirt red = red shirt
mobil baru = car new = new car

So:

kopi (coffee) + panas (hot) → kopi panas (hot coffee)

Putting the adjective first (panas kopi) is ungrammatical in standard Indonesian.

Could untuk saya go in a different position in the sentence?

The most natural positions are:

Teman saya membelikan kopi panas untuk saya di kantin sekolah.
Teman saya membelikan kopi panas di kantin sekolah untuk saya.

Both are acceptable. The first is more common and feels a bit smoother.

These versions sound unnatural:

✗ Teman saya untuk saya membelikan kopi panas di kantin sekolah.
✗ Teman saya membelikan untuk saya kopi panas di kantin sekolah.

So, usually: verb + object + untuk + person + (place/time) is the comfortable pattern.

What exactly does di kantin sekolah mean? Is it “at the school canteen” or “in the canteen of the school”?

di kantin sekolah is a location phrase:

di = at / in
kantin sekolah = school canteen / the canteen of the school
- kantin (canteen) + sekolah (school)
- noun + noun → “canteen belonging to / associated with the school”

So di kantin sekolah = at/in the school canteen.

Compare:

di sekolah = at school
di kantin = in/at the canteen
di kantin sekolah saya = at my school’s canteen

How do we know this sentence is in the past (bought) and not present or future?

Indonesian verbs don’t change form for tense. The verb membelikan itself is tenseless.

The time is understood from:

context,
or time words (like tadi, kemarin, besok, sedang, akan).

For example:

Tadi teman saya membelikan kopi panas untuk saya di kantin sekolah.
→ Earlier, my friend bought me hot coffee at the school canteen.
Besok teman saya akan membelikan kopi panas untuk saya di kantin sekolah.
→ Tomorrow, my friend will buy me hot coffee at the school canteen.

Without extra words, membelikan could be translated as “buys,” “is buying,” or “bought,” depending on context.

Can I replace saya with aku in this sentence?

Yes, but you should usually stay consistent: use either saya (more formal/neutral) or aku (more informal/intimate), not both in the same sentence.

Possible versions:

Formal/neutral:
Teman saya membelikan kopi panas untuk saya di kantin sekolah.
Informal:
- Teman aku membelikan kopi panas untuk aku di kantin sekolah. (common in speech)
- Teman aku membelikan kopi panas untukku di kantin sekolah. (more standard with aku)

Note: untuk aku is very common in spoken Indonesian, but in writing you’ll often see untukku as the more “correct” form with aku.

What’s the difference between untuk and buat here?

Both can mean for, but they differ in tone:

untuk
- more neutral / formal, used in writing and polite speech
- fits all contexts
- Teman saya membelikan kopi panas untuk saya di kantin sekolah.
buat
- more informal/colloquial, common in everyday conversation
- feels more relaxed
- Teman saya membelikan kopi panas buat saya di kantin sekolah.

Meaning is basically the same; it’s a matter of style and register.

Why is there no word for “a” in kopi panas (like “a hot coffee”)?

Indonesian normally doesn’t use articles like “a/an” or “the.”

kopi panas can mean:
- hot coffee
- a hot coffee
- some hot coffee

The exact meaning depends on context. If you need to be explicit, you can use other words:

secangkir kopi panas = a cup of hot coffee
segelas kopi panas = a glass of hot coffee

Is there any difference between Teman saya membelikan kopi panas untuk saya di kantin sekolah and Teman saya membeli kopi panas untuk saya di kantin sekolah?

Both are correct and very close in meaning:

membeli … untuk saya
→ to buy something for me (neutral)
membelikan … (untuk saya)
→ to buy something for me, with a bit more focus on the idea of doing it for my benefit (benefactive nuance)

In everyday conversation, many speakers use membeli … untuk saya more often, and reserve membelikan for when they want to highlight that someone is doing you a favor or specifically getting something on your behalf.