Saya menghafal kata sandi itu.

I memorize that password.

Breakdown of Saya menghafal kata sandi itu.

• itu: that
• saya: I
• kata sandi: the password
• menghafal: to memorize

Questions & Answers about Saya menghafal kata sandi itu.

What is the nuance of saya here? Could I use aku instead?

Saya is the neutral, polite, and slightly formal way to say I. It’s safe in almost all situations: with strangers, older people, at work, in writing, etc.

You can replace it with aku, but the tone changes:

• Aku menghafal kata sandi itu.
  – more informal, intimate, or casual (friends, close family, people your age or younger).

So the sentence is correct with either:

• Saya menghafal kata sandi itu. – polite/neutral
• Aku menghafal kata sandi itu. – casual/intimate

You just need to match the pronoun to the social situation.

How is tense expressed? How do I know this means past and not present or future?

Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense. Menghafal itself is tenseless; it just means to memorize.

Time is usually understood from context or from time words. For example:

• Saya sudah menghafal kata sandi itu. – I have already memorized that password.
• Tadi saya menghafal kata sandi itu. – I memorized that password earlier.
• Besok saya akan menghafal kata sandi itu. – I will memorize that password tomorrow.

Your sentence Saya menghafal kata sandi itu. could mean:

• I memorize that password.
• I memorized that password.
• I am memorizing that password.

The exact tense is inferred from the larger context.

What does the prefix meng- in menghafal do?

Meng- is a common verb-forming prefix (part of the meN- family of prefixes). It usually turns a root into an active verb.

• Root: hafal – to know by heart / to have something memorized
• With meng-: menghafal – to actively memorize, to learn something by heart

So:

• Saya hafal kata sandi itu. – I (already) know that password by heart.
• Saya menghafal kata sandi itu. – I am working on memorizing / I (actively) memorized that password.

The meng- prefix focuses on the action of memorizing, not just the result.

Is there a difference between hafal, menghafal, and menghafalkan?

Yes, there are subtle differences:

• hafal (no meN-):

  • adjective/verb meaning to know by heart / be memorized
  • Saya hafal kata sandi itu. – I (already) know that password by heart.

• menghafal:

  • active verb: to memorize
  • Saya menghafal kata sandi itu. – I (am) memorize(ing) that password.

• menghafalkan:

  • grammatically possible, but in modern usage menghafal is far more common.
  • menghafalkan can sound more formal or bookish, and may emphasize causing something to be memorized, but in everyday speech people usually just say menghafal.

For normal conversation, stick with hafal and menghafal.

Could I use ingat instead of menghafal?

Not exactly. Ingat and menghafal are related but different:

• ingat – to remember (to have something come to mind)

  • Saya ingat kata sandi itu. – I remember that password.

• menghafal – to memorize (to deliberately learn something by heart)

  • Saya menghafal kata sandi itu. – I memorize / am memorizing / memorized that password.

So:

• If you are in the process of memorizing something, use menghafal.
• If you’re talking about being able to recall it now, use ingat or hafal.

What does kata sandi literally mean, and is it the normal word for “password”?

Literally:

• kata – word
• sandi – code / cipher

So kata sandi literally is code word, and it’s the standard Indonesian term for password (especially in formal or neutral contexts, software translations, websites, etc.).

In casual speech, many people also just say password, especially in tech contexts:

• Saya menghafal kata sandi itu. – formal/neutral
• Saya menghafal password itu. – informal, but very common

Both are understandable; kata sandi is the more “Indonesian” term.

Why is it kata sandi and not sandi kata? Aren’t both possible?

Both combinations exist, but they mean different things:

• kata sandi – password, code word (what you want here)
• sandi kata – crossword (literally “word code,” a puzzle)

So for “password,” you must use kata sandi, not sandi kata.

Why is itu at the end? How does kata sandi itu work?

In Indonesian, demonstratives like ini (this) and itu (that) usually come after the noun:

• kata sandi itu – that password
• kata sandi ini – this password

So kata sandi itu is a noun phrase:

• kata sandi – password
• itu – that
• Together: that password

The normal order is noun + itu / ini, not itu + noun (although itu kata sandi can occur, it usually has a different structure/meaning, e.g. “that is a password” in some contexts).

What’s the difference between itu and ini here?

• itu – that (farther away, or already mentioned, or not right here)
• ini – this (near the speaker, or the one we’re focusing on right now)

So:

• Saya menghafal kata sandi itu. – I memorize(d) that password (the one we talked about earlier / not this one here).
• Saya menghafal kata sandi ini. – I memorize(d) this password (the specific one I’m currently looking at, for example).

Both are grammatically the same; only the reference changes.

Can I drop saya and just say Menghafal kata sandi itu?

Yes, in many contexts you can drop the subject pronoun when it’s clear from context:

• Menghafal kata sandi itu. – (I’m) memorizing that password.

Indonesian often omits saya/aku if:

• the subject is obvious from the situation or from earlier sentences,

• or in instructions / diary-like notes:

  • Jangan lupa menghafal kata sandi itu. – Don’t forget to memorize that password.
  • Hari ini: menghafal kata sandi baru. – Today: memorize the new password.

However, when you’re making a standalone sentence and you want to be very clear, Saya menghafal… is safer.

Is the word order Saya menghafal kata sandi itu fixed? Could I move things around?

The normal, neutral order is:

Subject – Verb – Object
Saya – menghafal – kata sandi itu

This is the most natural way to say it.

Other orders are possible but would sound unusual or would change the structure and meaning. For example:

• Kata sandi itu saya hafal.
  – possible, but this sounds more like “[As for] that password, I know it by heart,” often with a subtle emphasis on kata sandi itu and using hafal, not menghafal.

For a learner, stick with:

• Saya menghafal kata sandi itu.

How would I say “I have already memorized that password”?

You add sudah to express the idea of “already / have (done)”:

• Saya sudah menghafal kata sandi itu.

This clearly indicates the action is completed.
Without sudah, it can still be past, but sudah makes the completion explicit.

How would I talk about memorizing more than one password? How do I make kata sandi plural?

Indonesian usually does not change the noun form for plural. Context often tells you if it’s singular or plural.

So:

• Saya menghafal kata sandi itu.
  – usually understood as that password (singular), because of itu.

To clearly say those passwords, you can:

• Saya menghafal kata-kata sandi itu. – literally “those passwords” (reduplication kata-kata).
• Saya menghafal semua kata sandi itu. – I memorize(d) all those passwords.
• Saya menghafal beberapa kata sandi. – I memorize(d) several passwords.

Reduplication or words like beberapa (several), banyak (many), semua (all) mark plurality more clearly.

Is Saya menghafal kata sandi itu formal or informal? How would I say it very casually?

Saya menghafal kata sandi itu. is neutral and acceptable in both semi-formal and casual contexts.

To make it very casual, people might use:

• Gue hafal password itu. – in Jakarta-style slang
• Aku hafal password itu. – casual, non-slang

You’ll notice two changes in very casual speech:

• saya → aku / gue,
• kata sandi → password,
• and sometimes menghafal → hafal (focusing on “I know it by heart” rather than the process).

For learners, Saya menghafal kata sandi itu. is a good, neutral sentence to use.