Teman saya bekerja di start-up kecil di pusat kota.

My friend works at a small start-up in the city center.

Breakdown of Teman saya bekerja di start-up kecil di pusat kota.

• di: in
• teman: the friend
• di: at
• bekerja: to work
• kecil: small
• pusat kota: the city center
• start-up: the start-up

Questions & Answers about Teman saya bekerja di start-up kecil di pusat kota.

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

In Indonesian, the usual way to say my X is:

[noun] + [possessive pronoun]

So:

• teman saya = my friend
• ibu saya = my mother
• rumah saya = my house

Putting saya in front (saya teman) does not mean my friend; it just sounds like you’re listing two things: I, friend (and is ungrammatical as a noun phrase).

So the natural order is always:

• teman saya (not saya teman)
• guru saya (not saya guru for my teacher — saya guru would mean I am a teacher in the right context).

Can teman saya mean both my friend and my friends?

Yes. Indonesian usually does not mark plural on the noun:

• teman can mean friend or friends
• teman saya can mean my friend or my friends, depending on context.

If you really want to be clear that it’s plural, you can say:

• teman-teman saya = my friends
  (reduplication often marks plurality)

Or you can use numbers:

• dua teman saya = two of my friends

What’s the difference between teman saya and temanku?

Both mean my friend, but they differ in style and formality:

• teman saya
  
  • More neutral / polite
  • Common in formal and semi-formal situations
• temanku (teman
  • suffix -ku)
    
    • More informal / casual
    • Often used in writing (messages, social media), and sometimes in speech

So:

• Talking to a teacher or in formal writing: teman saya
• Texting a close friend: temanku is fine (along with even more casual forms like temen gue, depending on dialect).

Why is the verb bekerja used, and not just kerja?

The root is kerja (work). The verb to work in standard Indonesian is:

• bekerja = to work

The prefix be- often creates intransitive verbs (activities someone does).

However, in everyday informal speech, people often shorten:

• Saya bekerja di… → Saya kerja di…
• Dia sedang bekerja. → Dia lagi kerja.

For a learner and in writing, bekerja is the safest, most correct standard form.

There is no word like is or does. How can bekerja mean works / is working without any tense?

Indonesian verbs do not change for tense. Bekerja on its own can mean:

• work, works, worked, is working, was working, etc.

The time is usually clear from context or from time words:

• Teman saya bekerja di start-up kecil.
  → My friend works / is working at a small start-up.
• Kemarin teman saya bekerja sampai larut.
  → Yesterday my friend worked until late.
• Besok teman saya akan bekerja dari rumah.
  → Tomorrow my friend will work from home.

To emphasize right now, you can add sedang or colloquial lagi:

• Teman saya sedang bekerja. = My friend is working (now).

Why is it di start-up kecil, not di kecil start-up? Where do adjectives go?

In Indonesian, adjectives normally come after the noun:

• start-up kecil = small start-up
• rumah besar = big house
• kota baru = new city

So the natural order is:

[preposition] + [noun] + [adjective]
di start-up kecil = at a small start-up

Putting the adjective before the noun (kecil start-up) is ungrammatical in standard Indonesian.

What exactly does di mean here, and why is it used twice (di start-up kecil di pusat kota)?

Di is the basic preposition for in / at / on (location).

In the sentence:

• bekerja di start-up kecil = works at a small start-up
• di pusat kota = in the city center

Each location phrase needs its own di, so you naturally get:

• …bekerja di start-up kecil di pusat kota.

You cannot usually drop the second di and say:

• ✗ bekerja di start-up kecil pusat kota

That sounds incomplete or unnatural. You need:

• bekerja di start-up kecil di pusat kota
• or, if you restructure: bekerja di sebuah start-up kecil yang berada di pusat kota (more formal/long).

What does pusat kota literally mean, and is it the same as downtown?

Literally:

• pusat = center
• kota = city

So pusat kota = the center of the city, which often corresponds to English downtown / city center.

Some related expressions:

• di pusat kota = in the city center
• di tengah kota = in the middle of the city (similar idea, a bit more descriptive)
• di pinggir kota = on the outskirts of the city

So di pusat kota is the normal way to say in the city center / downtown.

Is there no word for a in a small start-up? Why not sebuah start-up kecil?

Indonesian doesn’t need an article like a/an/the. The sentence:

• Teman saya bekerja di start-up kecil di pusat kota.

already means:

• My friend works at a small start-up in the city center.

However, you can add a classifier like sebuah (for inanimate objects, including companies) to emphasize one:

• Teman saya bekerja di sebuah start-up kecil di pusat kota.
  = My friend works at a small start-up (one such small start-up) in the city center.

Both versions are correct; the one without sebuah is more neutral and very common.

Is start-up really Indonesian? Is there a more “Indonesian” word for it?

Indonesian borrows many English business/tech words, and start-up (often written startup or start up) is widely understood, especially in cities and professional contexts.

There is a more “Indonesian” term:

• perusahaan rintisan = literally pioneering company → start-up

Some style guides or government documents prefer perusahaan rintisan, but in everyday speech and in the tech scene, start-up is very common and natural.

You could say:

• Teman saya bekerja di start-up kecil… (very natural in modern usage)
• Teman saya bekerja di perusahaan rintisan kecil… (more fully Indonesian, a bit more formal)