Saya menyimpan daftar belanja di buku harian.

I keep the shopping list in the diary.

Breakdown of Saya menyimpan daftar belanja di buku harian.

• buku: the book
• saya: I
• di: in
• harian: daily
• menyimpan: to keep
• daftar belanja: the shopping list

Questions & Answers about Saya menyimpan daftar belanja di buku harian.

What exactly does menyimpan mean here? Is it “to write,” “to save,” or “to keep”?

Menyimpan literally means to keep / to store / to put away (for later use).
In this sentence, it suggests you keep your shopping list in the diary, not necessarily that you’re in the act of writing it.

If you want to emphasize the act of writing, you might say:

• Saya menulis / mencatat daftar belanja di buku harian. – I write / note down the shopping list in the diary.

So:

• menyimpan = focus on keeping/storing it there
• menulis / mencatat = focus on writing/recording it there

Why is it daftar belanja and not something like list belanja or belanjaan?

Daftar belanja literally means shopping list:

• daftar = list
• belanja = shopping

You could say list belanja, and people would understand, but daftar belanja is the more standard, natural Indonesian.

Belanjaan usually refers to the things you shopped for / the purchases rather than the list itself. For example:

• Belanjaan saya banyak. – My purchases are many / I bought a lot.

Does di buku harian really mean “in the diary”? Should it be di dalam buku harian to mean “inside”?

Both are possible, but di buku harian is very natural and commonly used.

• di buku harian = in/inside the diary (context makes the meaning clear)
• di dalam buku harian = literally “inside the diary,” a bit more explicit or emphatic

In everyday speech and writing, Indonesians often just use di + noun to mean in / on / at, and the exact sense (“in” vs “on”) comes from context.

Should it be buku harian saya to mean “my diary”? Why is saya not there?

You can say buku harian saya to make “my diary” explicit, and that’s perfectly correct.

However, Indonesian can sometimes omit the possessor when it’s obvious from the situation.
If the context already makes it clear we’re talking about my own diary, buku harian alone is often enough.

So both are fine:

• Saya menyimpan daftar belanja di buku harian.
• Saya menyimpan daftar belanja di buku harian saya. (slightly more explicit)

Can I change the word order to Saya menyimpan di buku harian daftar belanja?

That word order is technically understandable but sounds unnatural.

In Indonesian, the usual pattern is:
Subject – Verb – Object – (Place/Time)

So:

• Saya (subject)
• menyimpan (verb)
• daftar belanja (object)
• di buku harian (place)

Putting di buku harian between the verb and the object is not typical here, so it’s better to keep the original order.

How do I know if this is past, present, or future? Indonesian verbs don’t change form—so what is the tense here?

Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense. Menyimpan stays the same for past, present, and future.

The tense is understood from context or from time words like:

• tadi (earlier), kemarin (yesterday)
• sekarang (now)
• besok (tomorrow), nanti (later)

For example:

• Tadi saya menyimpan daftar belanja di buku harian. – I saved the shopping list in the diary (earlier).
• Besok saya akan menyimpan daftar belanja di buku harian. – Tomorrow I will save the shopping list in the diary.

Is di here a preposition or the passive prefix di-? How can I tell the difference?

Here, di is a preposition meaning in / at / on. You can tell because:

• It stands separately: di buku harian.

The passive prefix di- is attached directly to a verb, with no space:

• ditulis – is written / was written
• disimpan – is stored / was stored

So:

• di buku harian = “in the diary” (preposition)
• disimpan = “is/was kept” (passive verb)

Could I omit Saya and just say Menyimpan daftar belanja di buku harian?

You can drop Saya, but then the sentence becomes incomplete and unclear in most contexts—more like a fragment or instruction, e.g. in notes or a to-do list:

• Menyimpan daftar belanja di buku harian. – (To) store the shopping list in the diary.

For a normal, full sentence stating what you do, it’s better to keep Saya:

• Saya menyimpan daftar belanja di buku harian.

What’s the difference between Saya and Aku here? Could I say Aku menyimpan daftar belanja di buku harian?

Yes, you can say Aku menyimpan daftar belanja di buku harian. It’s grammatically correct.

The difference is in formality and tone:

• Saya is more formal / neutral, used in most situations (with strangers, at work, in writing).
• Aku is more informal / intimate, used with close friends, family, or in certain literary styles.

So:

• Written exercise, formal context: Saya menyimpan …
• Talking to a close friend: Aku menyimpan …

Is this sentence formal, or how would it sound in casual spoken Indonesian?

Saya menyimpan daftar belanja di buku harian. sounds neutral to slightly formal, and is very suitable for written Indonesian or polite speech.

In casual spoken Indonesian, you might hear:

• Aku simpen daftar belanja di buku harian.

Notes in casual speech:

• Saya → Aku
• menyimpan → simpen (informal, reduced pronunciation)

What exactly is buku harian? Is it the same as diary, journal, or agenda?

Buku harian most directly corresponds to diary: a personal book where you write daily notes, thoughts, or events.

Related words:

• jurnal – journal (often more formal, scientific, or reflective writing)
• agenda – planner/scheduler, mainly for appointments and plans

In daily life, buku harian is the standard way to say a personal diary.