Breakdown of Orang tua saya membayar biaya sekolah setiap bulan.
Questions & Answers about Orang tua saya membayar biaya sekolah setiap bulan.
Literally, orang tua means old person / old people, but in everyday Indonesian it is also the normal, neutral way to say parents.
- orang tua saya = my parents
- orang tua itu (without a possessor) can mean that old person (context decides)
In this sentence, because it’s followed by saya (“my”) and they’re paying school fees, the meaning is clearly my parents.
Indonesian usually does not mark singular vs plural on nouns; context tells you.
- orang tua saya can mean my parent or my parents, but in normal use it almost always means my parents (both of them together).
If you really want to emphasize:
- kedua orang tua saya = both my parents
- salah satu orang tua saya = one of my parents
- ayah saya = my father
- ibu saya = my mother
So in this sentence, orang tua saya is best translated as my parents.
In Indonesian, possessors usually come after the thing they own:
- orang tua saya = my parents
- rumah saya = my house
- teman saya = my friend(s)
So the pattern is:
[thing] + [possessor]
You normally do not say saya orang tua to mean my parents; that sounds like “I am a parent / older person”.
Indonesian verbs do not change form based on the subject (no subject–verb agreement).
- Saya membayar = I pay
- Dia membayar = He/She pays
- Mereka membayar = They pay
- Orang tua saya membayar = My parents pay
It’s always membayar; you never add -s or change it for singular/plural or person.
Yes, you can.
- membayar = more formal/complete verb form
- bayar = shorter, more colloquial, common in speech
In conversation, Orang tua saya bayar biaya sekolah setiap bulan is very natural.
In writing or more formal speech, membayar is safer and more standard.
The meaning is basically the same here.
- biaya = cost / fee(s) / charge
- sekolah = school
So:
- biaya sekolah = school fees / school costs
Membayar sekolah is usually understood as “pay (for) school”, which is a bit vague.
Membayar biaya sekolah clearly says you are paying the fees, not (for example) building or buying a school.
You might also hear:
- uang sekolah = literally “school money”, often used in everyday speech for school fees
In this sentence, untuk is not needed and would sound unnatural or redundant.
- Correct/natural: membayar biaya sekolah
- Odd: membayar untuk biaya sekolah (too much like English structure)
In Indonesian, once you have a direct object (biaya sekolah), you usually don’t add untuk like English for.
You could say:
- membayar untuk sekolah = pay for school (more general)
But with biaya sekolah, just membayar biaya sekolah is best.
Literally:
- biaya = cost/fee
- sekolah = school
So biaya sekolah is school cost/fee, i.e. school fees.
The pattern is:
[head noun] + [modifying noun]
biaya (fee) + sekolah (school) → “school fee(s)”
This noun–noun pattern is very common:
- buku sekolah = school book
- guru bahasa = language teacher
- uang makan = meal money
Yes. Both are correct:
- Orang tua saya membayar biaya sekolah setiap bulan.
- Setiap bulan, orang tua saya membayar biaya sekolah.
Indonesian word order is quite flexible with time expressions (kemarin, besok, setiap bulan, etc.). Putting setiap bulan at the front can give it a bit more emphasis: Every month, my parents pay…
They mean the same thing: every month.
- setiap = every (slightly more formal/neutral)
- tiap = a shortened form, very common in speech, a bit more casual
You can say:
- setiap bulan or tiap bulan = every month
- setiap hari or tiap hari = every day
You add saya after the whole noun phrase:
- biaya sekolah saya = my school fees
Compare:
- biaya sekolah = school fees (general)
- biaya sekolah saya = my school fees
- biaya sekolah anak saya = my child’s school fees
Pattern:
[head noun] + [modifier(s)] + [possessor]
biaya + sekolah + saya
Orang tua saya is usually understood as both parents, unless context says otherwise. To be clear:
- Ayah saya membayar biaya sekolah setiap bulan.
= My father pays the school fees every month. - Ibu saya membayar biaya sekolah setiap bulan.
= My mother pays the school fees every month. - Salah satu orang tua saya membayar biaya sekolah setiap bulan.
= One of my parents pays the school fees every month.
Yes. The verb membayar itself does not show tense. The sentence:
- Orang tua saya membayar biaya sekolah setiap bulan.
can mean:
- My parents pay the school fees every month. (habitual present)
- My parents paid the school fees every month. (habitual past, from context)
- My parents will pay the school fees every month. (if you’re talking about a plan)
Indonesian uses time words and context (like kemarin, tahun depan) to show time, not verb changes.
- saya = I, me, my (doesn’t distinguish inclusive/exclusive)
- kami = we / our (excluding the listener)
- kita = we / our (including the listener)
So:
- orang tua saya = my parents
- orang tua kami = our parents (but not including the person you are talking to)
- orang tua kita = our parents (including the listener; e.g. siblings speaking to each other)
In this sentence, orang tua saya talks about your own parents.
Orang tua saya membayar biaya sekolah setiap bulan. is:
- Neutral, polite, and fine in both spoken and written Indonesian.
- Suitable for talking to teachers, in school, in writing, etc.
More casual ways to say my parents include:
- ortu saya / orangtua saya (shortened, informal but common)
- Very slangy: bokap nyokap gue (Jakarta slang, young people, very informal)
For general learning and polite contexts, stick with orang tua saya.
Indonesian has no direct equivalent of English the or a/an. Biaya sekolah can mean:
- school fees
- the school fees
Context supplies the “the”. If the conversation is already about your school, biaya sekolah will naturally be understood as the school fees for that school.
If you need to be specific, you can add more information:
- biaya sekolah di SD itu = the school fees at that elementary school
- biaya sekolah anak saya = my child’s school fees
But you still don’t add an article word like the.