Teman saya berasal dari Bandung.

My friend comes from Bandung.

Breakdown of Teman saya berasal dari Bandung.

• teman: the friend
• saya: my
• Bandung: Bandung
• berasal dari: to come from

Questions & Answers about Teman saya berasal dari Bandung.

Why is it teman saya (friend my) instead of saya teman (my friend)?

In Indonesian, possessives usually come after the noun:

• teman saya = friend my → my friend
• rumah mereka = house their → their house

Putting saya before teman (→ saya teman) is not how possession is shown; it sounds wrong or at least very odd. Saya before a noun is typically a subject pronoun:
Saya teman dia = I am his/her friend.

So:

• teman saya = my friend (possessive)
• saya teman dia = I am his/her friend (subject + predicate)

What exactly does berasal mean, and why do we need dari after it?

Berasal comes from:

• ber- (a common verb prefix)
• asal (origin, source)

So berasal roughly means “to have an origin / to come (originally)”.

The expression berasal dari is a fixed combination and means “to be from / to originate from”:

• berasal dari Bandung = to be from Bandung / to come from Bandung (by origin)

You normally must keep dari with berasal. Saying just berasal Bandung is ungrammatical; dari introduces the place of origin.

Could I say Teman saya dari Bandung instead of Teman saya berasal dari Bandung?

Yes, you can, and it is very common.

• Teman saya dari Bandung.
  Literally: My friend from Bandung.
  Meaning: My friend is from Bandung. (simple, neutral)

• Teman saya berasal dari Bandung.
  Slightly more formal/explicit, often used in writing, introductions, or when emphasizing origin rather than just current location.

In everyday speech, Teman saya dari Bandung is perfectly natural and very frequent. Berasal dari adds a small nuance of “by origin” or sounds a bit more formal.

Where is the verb “is” in this sentence? Why is it missing?

Indonesian normally does not use a separate “to be” verb (like am / is / are) in simple present descriptive sentences.

The structure here is:

• Teman saya = subject (“my friend”)
• berasal dari Bandung = predicate (“is from Bandung / originates from Bandung”)

You don’t need a word for “is”; berasal already functions as the main predicate verb.
So:

• Teman saya berasal dari Bandung. → My friend is from Bandung.
• Dia dokter. → He/She is a doctor. (no “is” word used)
• Rumah itu besar. → That house is big.

Can I say Teman saya adalah dari Bandung?

This is grammatically odd and sounds unnatural.

• adalah is used mainly to link a subject to a noun phrase:
  • Dia adalah dokter. = He/She is a doctor.
  • Ini adalah rumah saya. = This is my house.

But with from + place, Indonesian usually does not use adalah:

• ✅ Teman saya dari Bandung.
• ✅ Teman saya berasal dari Bandung.
• ❌ Teman saya adalah dari Bandung. (feels wrong to native speakers)

So do not insert adalah before dari or berasal dari in this kind of sentence.

What’s the difference between Teman saya berasal dari Bandung and Teman saya orang Bandung?

Both can translate as “My friend is from Bandung”, but with nuance:

• Teman saya berasal dari Bandung.
  Focus: place of origin (where they come from).
  Neutral, slightly more formal.

• Teman saya orang Bandung.
  Literally: “My friend is a Bandung person.”
  Focus: identity as a person of Bandung (local, native, or culturally from Bandung).

Everyday meaning often overlaps, but orang Bandung sounds like saying “a Bandung native / a person from Bandung”, while berasal dari Bandung just states origin more neutrally.

How would I say “My friends are from Bandung”?

You have a few natural options:

1. Teman-teman saya berasal dari Bandung.

   • teman-teman = plural of teman
   • Clear plural: “My friends are from Bandung.”

2. Teman saya berasal dari Bandung. (with plural context)
   Indonesian often doesn’t mark plural if the context already makes it clear you mean “friends.” In conversation, this can also mean “My friends are from Bandung.”

If you want to be explicitly plural, use teman-teman saya.

Can I attach -ku and say temanku berasal dari Bandung instead of teman saya? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can, and it’s correct:

• teman saya = my friend (using saya after the noun)
• temanku = my friend (using the suffix -ku)

Nuance:

• teman saya

  • Neutral, clear, slightly more formal.
  • Works well in both spoken and written Indonesian.

• temanku

  • A bit more informal or personal.
  • Very common in speech, messages, storytelling.

Meaning-wise, both are “my friend”. For a beginner, teman saya is the safest default.

What’s the difference between saya and aku in this kind of sentence?

Both mean “I / me”, but the style level is different:

• saya

  • More formal and polite.
  • Used with strangers, elders, in professional contexts, in writing.
  • Fits well with neutral sentences like Teman saya berasal dari Bandung.

• aku

  • More informal / intimate.
  • Used with close friends, family, in casual speech, songs.
  • You could say Teman aku berasal dari Bandung. or more naturally Temanku berasal dari Bandung.

Grammatically both are fine; choose based on formality and relationship.

Is teman always “friend”? Does it imply a close friend?

Teman is a general word for friend, but the closeness can vary:

• teman = friend (could be casual or fairly close)
• sahabat = very close friend, best friend
• kenalan = acquaintance

So Teman saya berasal dari Bandung just means “My friend is from Bandung” without specifying how close the friendship is.

How do you pronounce berasal and Bandung?

Approximate English-like guide (Indonesian pronunciation is regular):

• berasal: buh-RAH-sahl

  • be-: like “beh” in “bed” (short e)
  • ra: “rah” (as in “rah-rah”)
  • sal: “sahl” (a as in “father”)

• Bandung: BAHN-doong

  • Ban: “bahn” (short a as in “father”, not “bayn”)
  • dung: “doong” (u like “oo” in “book” but a bit longer; final ng as in “sing”)

Stress is usually on the second-to-last syllable, so:

• be-RA-sal
• BAN-dung (here the first syllable is stressed)

Do I always capitalize Bandung?

Yes. Bandung is a proper noun (a city name in Indonesia), so it is always written with a capital B in Indonesian, just like city names in English:

• Bandung, Jakarta, Surabaya, London, Tokyo.