Saya suka pelajaran psikologi di perpustakaan.

I like psychology lessons at the library.

Breakdown of Saya suka pelajaran psikologi di perpustakaan.

• saya: I
• suka: to like
• di: at
• pelajaran: the lesson
• perpustakaan: the library
• psikologi: psychology

Questions & Answers about Saya suka pelajaran psikologi di perpustakaan.

In pelajaran psikologi, what exactly does pelajaran mean? Is it a “class”, a “lesson”, or a “subject”?

The word pelajaran is quite broad. It can mean:

• a school subject → e.g. pelajaran matematika = the subject “math”
• a lesson / material you study → today’s lesson, what you learn
• sometimes close to “class” in the school sense

So pelajaran psikologi most naturally means:

• the subject of psychology, or
• psychology lessons / psychology class

Native speakers often understand it from context. If you specifically want “class” as in “my psychology class”, you can also say:

• kelas psikologi = psychology class
• mata pelajaran psikologi = the school subject psychology (more formal/school-ish)

Could I just say Saya suka psikologi? How is that different from Saya suka pelajaran psikologi?

Yes, you can say Saya suka psikologi, but the nuance changes a bit.

• Saya suka psikologi

  • “I like psychology (as a field / in general).”
  • More abstract: you like the science/discipline of psychology.

• Saya suka pelajaran psikologi

  • “I like psychology lessons / the psychology subject.”
  • More concrete and school-related: you like taking psychology as a class, or you enjoy studying it as a subject at school/university.

So if you’re talking about enjoying your school subject, pelajaran psikologi fits very well.

Does di perpustakaan mean “in the library” or “at the library”? How does di work here?

Di is a general preposition for location (“at / in / on”), and Indonesian usually doesn’t distinguish as finely as English.

• di perpustakaan can be translated as either “in the library” or “at the library” depending on context.

Examples:

• Saya belajar di perpustakaan.
  → I study at/in the library.

• Dia bekerja di perpustakaan.
  → He/She works at the library.

So in your sentence, Saya suka pelajaran psikologi di perpustakaan, a natural translation is:

• “I like the psychology lessons at the library.”

If you really need to emphasize “inside”, Indonesian can add words like di dalam perpustakaan (“inside the library”), but for most cases di perpustakaan is enough.

Is it clear that di perpustakaan goes with pelajaran psikologi and not with saya suka?

By default, Indonesian speakers will usually read it as attached to the closest relevant phrase, which is pelajaran psikologi.

So Saya suka pelajaran psikologi di perpustakaan is normally understood as:

• “I like the psychology lessons that are at the library.”

If you wanted to say “When I am at the library, I like psychology lessons”, you would usually rephrase, for example:

• Kalau saya di perpustakaan, saya suka pelajaran psikologi.
  (“When I’m at the library, I like psychology lessons.”)

Or to clearly attach the location to the verb:

• Di perpustakaan, saya suka pelajaran psikologi.
  (Fronting di perpustakaan makes it sound more like “At the library, I like psychology lessons.”)

Can di perpustakaan be moved to another position in the sentence? Does the meaning change?

Yes, you can move di perpustakaan, and the basic meaning stays similar, but the emphasis changes slightly.

1. Saya suka pelajaran psikologi di perpustakaan.

   • Most neutral.
   • Emphasis on the psychology lessons that take place at the library.

2. Saya suka pelajaran psikologi, di perpustakaan.

   • With a pause/comma in speech, this can sound like adding extra information:
     “I like psychology lessons — at the library (specifically).”

3. Di perpustakaan, saya suka pelajaran psikologi.

   • Emphasizes the location:
     “At the library, I like psychology lessons.”
   • Could contrast with other places: maybe at home you like something else.

All are grammatically fine; it’s mostly about what you want to highlight.

Why is there no word for “the” in perpustakaan? How do I say “the library” in Indonesian?

Indonesian generally does not use articles like “a” or “the”.

• perpustakaan can mean:
  
  • “a library”
  • “the library”
  • “libraries” (in some contexts)

Which one is intended is understood from context.

If you really need to specify a particular library, you could add more detail:

• perpustakaan sekolah = the school library
• perpustakaan kampus = the campus library
• perpustakaan itu = that library / the library (already known in the conversation)

But in everyday Indonesian, perpustakaan alone is usually enough.

How would I change Saya suka pelajaran psikologi di perpustakaan to talk about past or future? Indonesian doesn’t seem to change the verb form.

Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense. Instead, you add time words.

• Present / general habit

  • Saya suka pelajaran psikologi di perpustakaan.
    → I like / I enjoy psychology lessons at the library.

• Past (I liked / used to like)

  • Dulu saya suka pelajaran psikologi di perpustakaan.
    (dulu = in the past / before)
  • Kemarin saya suka pelajaran psikologi di perpustakaan.
    (kemarin = yesterday; sounds more like “I enjoyed my psychology lesson at the library yesterday.”)

• Future (I will like / I’m going to like)

  • Nanti saya akan suka pelajaran psikologi di perpustakaan.
    (akan = will; nanti = later)
  • More natural in context might be:
    Saya rasa saya akan suka pelajaran psikologi di perpustakaan.
    → I think I will like psychology lessons at the library.

So suka itself stays the same; tense comes from words like dulu, kemarin, besok (tomorrow), akan, nanti, etc.

Is saya necessary here, or can I drop it and just say Suka pelajaran psikologi di perpustakaan?

You can drop saya in some casual situations, but it’s not always natural.

• Saya suka pelajaran psikologi di perpustakaan.

  • Clear: “I like psychology lessons at the library.”

• Suka pelajaran psikologi di perpustakaan.

  • Grammatically possible, but feels incomplete unless the subject is very obvious from context (for example, in a texting conversation after someone asks “Do you like it?”).
  • By itself, it can sound like a fragment, a caption, or informal note.

In neutral, clear Indonesian—especially for learners—keep the subject: Saya suka ...

What’s the difference between suka, cinta, gemar, and senang? Could I replace suka with them here?

They all relate to “liking” or “being pleased”, but each has its own nuance.

• suka

  • The most common, neutral “like”.
  • Works for activities, objects, subjects, people, etc.
  • Saya suka pelajaran psikologi. = I like psychology lessons.

• cinta

  • Strong romantic or deep love.
  • Not used for school subjects in normal speech.
  • Saya cinta pelajaran psikologi sounds exaggerated / poetic or joking.

• gemar

  • Means “to be fond of”, often for hobbies or interests.
  • Somewhat more formal or written.
  • Saya gemar pelajaran psikologi di perpustakaan is grammatically OK, but sounds a bit stiff/formal.

• senang

  • Means “happy / pleased / glad”.
  • Often used with verbs or situations:
    
    • Saya senang belajar psikologi. = I’m happy to study psychology.
  • Saya senang pelajaran psikologi is possible, but it focuses more on the feeling of happiness than on liking as a stable preference.

In your sentence, suka is the most natural and common choice.

What is the root of pelajaran and what does the -an ending do here?

The root is ajar = “to teach / to instruct”.

From ajar, Indonesian builds related words:

• ajar → base root
• belajar (prefix be-
  • ajar) → “to study / to learn”
• mengajar (meng-
  • ajar) → “to teach”
• pelajar (pe-
  • ajar) → “student” (literally “one who studies”)
• pelajaran (pe-
  • ajar
    • -an) →
      
      • lesson, subject, something that is taught/learned

So pelajaran psikologi is literally “the psychology lesson / teaching / subject”.

If I want to emphasize that I like all my psychology classes at the library, should I make pelajaran plural?

Indonesian often does not need explicit plural marking. Context usually tells you.

• Saya suka pelajaran psikologi di perpustakaan.
  
  • Can already mean: “I like psychology lessons at the library” (in general, including all of them).

If you really want to emphasize plurality, you have a few options:

• Saya suka semua pelajaran psikologi di perpustakaan.

  • “I like all the psychology lessons at the library.”

• Saya suka pelajaran-pelajaran psikologi di perpustakaan.

  • Reduplication (pelajaran-pelajaran) marks plural, but this can sound a bit heavy or formal in this context.

Most of the time, the singular form is enough, and listeners will understand you mean the lessons in general.