Saya tidak suka pergi ke gym di malam hari.

I don't like going to the gym at night.

Breakdown of Saya tidak suka pergi ke gym di malam hari.

• saya: I
• suka: to like
• di: at
• malam hari: the night
• tidak: not
• pergi: to go
• ke: to
• gym: the gym

Questions & Answers about Saya tidak suka pergi ke gym di malam hari.

What does each word in Saya tidak suka pergi ke gym di malam hari literally mean?

Word by word:

• saya = I / me (formal‑neutral)
• tidak = not / do not
• suka = like
• pergi = go
• ke = to / towards (direction)
• gym = gym (loanword from English)
• di = at / in / on (here: at as a time expression)
• malam = night
• hari = day (literally), but malam hari together = at night / nighttime

So a very literal breakdown is: I not like go to gym at night day.
Natural English: I don’t like going to the gym at night.

Why is tidak used here instead of bukan?

Indonesian has two common negators:

• tidak negates:
  • verbs (actions, states) → tidak suka, tidak pergi
  • adjectives → tidak besar (not big)
• bukan negates:
  • nouns → bukan dokter (not a doctor)
  • entire noun phrases / statements for correction or contrast

In Saya tidak suka pergi ke gym di malam hari we are negating suka (a verb-like word: to like), so we must use tidak, not bukan.

Using bukan suka would be incorrect here.

Could I drop saya and just say Tidak suka pergi ke gym di malam hari?

Yes, in conversation Indonesians often drop the subject when it’s clear from context.

• Tidak suka pergi ke gym di malam hari.
  This can still mean I don’t like going to the gym at night, if it’s clear you’re talking about yourself.

If you need to be clear or formal (e.g., in writing, in a polite conversation), keeping saya is better.

Also note pronoun choices:

• saya = neutral / polite
• aku = informal, friendly
• gue / gua (Jakarta slang) = very informal

So you might also hear: Aku nggak suka pergi ke gym di malam hari.

Why do we say pergi ke gym? Can I just say saya tidak suka ke gym di malam hari?

Both are possible, but there is a nuance:

• pergi ke gym = go to the gym (explicitly mentions the action of going)
• ke gym alone can sound a bit clipped; usually it attaches to a preceding verb.

In actual speech, people often drop pergi if the verb is understood:

• Saya tidak suka ke gym di malam hari.
  This is colloquial and usually understood as I don’t like going to the gym at night.

However, for learners and in more careful Indonesian, pergi ke gym is clearer and more standard.

What’s the function of ke and di here? They both can mean something like “to/at”, right?

Yes, but they’re used differently:

• ke = to / toward (movement, direction)
  → pergi ke gym = go to the gym
• di = in / at / on (location or time)
  → di malam hari = at night

So:

• Movement: pergi ke rumah, pergi ke sekolah, pergi ke gym
• Static location: di rumah, di sekolah, di gym
• Time expression: di malam hari, di pagi hari, di siang hari

Using ke malam hari here would be wrong, because you’re not moving towards the night; you’re talking about a time at night.

Why is it di malam hari and not just di malam or pada malam hari?

All of these are possible, with small differences in style:

• di malam hari
  Very common, neutral. Literally “in the night day”, but idiomatically “at night”.
• pada malam hari
  Slightly more formal; pada is the “proper” preposition for time in textbooks, but di malam hari is widely used in speech.
• malam hari (without di/pada)
  Often fine in context:
  Saya tidak suka pergi ke gym malam hari.
• di malam
  Less natural by itself; sounds incomplete. Normally you’d say di malam hari or just malam/malam hari without di.

For everyday speech, di malam hari or just malam hari are very natural.

Is gym an Indonesian word, or just English put inside Indonesian?

Gym is a loanword in Indonesian, borrowed from English. It’s very common in cities.

Other options you might see:

• tempat gym = the gym place
• tempat fitness / tempat fitnes (spelled locally)
• pusat kebugaran = fitness center (more formal)
• fitness center (English phrase, but also used in Indonesia)

There’s no article like a/the before gym; Indonesian normally doesn’t mark that.
If you want to say that gym, you can say gym itu.

In English we say “going to the gym”. Why does Indonesian say pergi ke gym, not something like pergi gym?

Indonesian generally needs a preposition before a place when it follows a movement verb:

• pergi ke sekolah = go to school
• pergi ke kantor = go to the office
• pergi ke pasar = go to the market

So pergi ke gym follows the same pattern.
pergi gym would sound ungrammatical or very odd to native speakers.

How would I say I didn’t like going to the gym at night (in the past)? This sentence looks present tense.

Indonesian doesn’t mark tense with verb endings like English. Saya tidak suka pergi ke gym di malam hari can mean:

• I don’t like going to the gym at night (general)
• I didn’t like going to the gym at night (if the context is past)

To make the past sense clearer, you can add time words:

• Dulu saya tidak suka pergi ke gym di malam hari.
  = In the past, I didn’t like going to the gym at night.

Or specify a time:

• Kemarin saya tidak suka pergi ke gym di malam hari sounds odd (liking is usually not just for one day),
  but Waktu saya masih kuliah, saya tidak suka pergi ke gym di malam hari.
  = When I was still in college, I didn’t like going to the gym at night.

Can I say Aku tidak suka pergi ke gym di malam hari instead of Saya? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can. The main difference is formality and relationship:

• saya
  Neutral, polite. Safe in almost any situation: with strangers, older people, formal settings.
• aku
  Informal, used with friends, family, people your own age in casual situations.

So:

• Talking to your teacher, boss, or in a formal interview:
  Saya tidak suka pergi ke gym di malam hari.
• Talking to a close friend:
  Aku nggak suka pergi ke gym di malam hari.

Note: nggak / gak / enggak are informal forms of tidak.

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

All three can express liking, but with different nuances:

• suka
  Most general, very common. Like/enjoy.
  → Saya tidak suka pergi ke gym di malam hari. (sounds perfectly normal)
• senang
  Literally “happy, pleased”. Often used with a person or situation, less common for routine habits like “going to the gym”.
  → Saya senang pergi ke gym sounds like “I’m pleased/happy to go to the gym” (a bit different nuance).
• gemar
  Means “fond of, keen on”; sounds slightly more formal or bookish.
  → Saya tidak gemar pergi ke gym di malam hari. is grammatically fine, but less natural in casual speech.

For everyday conversation, suka is the best and most natural choice.

Can I change the word order, like Saya tidak suka di malam hari pergi ke gym?

That word order is grammatically possible but sounds awkward or overly heavy in normal Indonesian.

The natural word orders are:

• Saya tidak suka pergi ke gym di malam hari.
• Saya tidak suka pergi ke gym malam hari.
• Saya tidak suka ke gym di malam hari. (more colloquial)

Putting di malam hari right after suka (…suka di malam hari pergi ke gym) is not how people normally talk and may confuse the listener at first.

How would I say I really don’t like going to the gym at night or I hate going to the gym at night?

You can strengthen the dislike with extra words:

• Saya benar‑benar tidak suka pergi ke gym di malam hari.
  = I really don’t like going to the gym at night.
• Saya sangat tidak suka pergi ke gym di malam hari.
  = I really / strongly don’t like going to the gym at night.
• Saya benci pergi ke gym di malam hari.
  = I hate going to the gym at night.

benci is closer to “hate”, stronger than tidak suka.