Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Simulasi di perangkat lunak khusus membantu kami menemukan bug tanpa merusak robot sungguhan. - Simulations in special software help us find bugs without damaging the real robot.

In everyday tech talk, people often also just say software, but in formal writing (books, documentation, news) you will very often see perangkat lunak.

Why is it di perangkat lunak khusus and not dalam perangkat lunak khusus?

Both di and dalam can sometimes be translated as “in”, but they’re not identical:

di = at / in / on (a location, place, or platform), more general and very common
dalam = inside, within (emphasizes being inside something)

In this sentence, di perangkat lunak khusus treats the software like a “place” where the simulation happens, similar to “in the software” in English. That’s very natural in Indonesian IT language.

dalam perangkat lunak khusus is not wrong, but it sounds a bit more formal or bookish and emphasizes “inside the software” more strongly. Most native speakers would prefer di here.

Why does the adjective khusus come after perangkat lunak, not before it?

In Indonesian, descriptive adjectives usually come after the noun they describe:

perangkat lunak khusus = special software
robot sungguhan = real robot(s)
mobil baru = new car

So perangkat lunak khusus literally is “software special”, which we translate as “special (purpose) software”.

If you put khusus before a noun, it often changes the meaning or sounds odd. For example:

perangkat lunak khusus = software that is special / specialized
khusus perangkat lunak = “(intended) specifically for software”
- Example: Kebijakan ini khusus perangkat lunak. = “This policy is specifically for software.”

So in your sentence, you need perangkat lunak khusus to say “specialized software”.

What is the difference between kami and kita, and why is kami used here?

Both mean “we / us”, but:

kami = we (not including you) → exclusive
kita = we (including you) → inclusive

In membantu kami menemukan bug, the speaker is talking about “us” as a group that does not include the listener (for example: our robotics team, our company, our lab).

If the speaker wanted to include the listener in the group, they would say:

Simulasi … membantu kita menemukan bug…
= “Simulation helps us (you and me) find bugs…”

Because the sentence likely describes the work of a specific team or group, kami is the natural choice.

Could you also say membantu kami untuk menemukan bug? Is there any difference?

Yes, you can say:

Simulasi … membantu kami untuk menemukan bug …

Both forms are grammatically correct:

membantu kami menemukan bug
membantu kami untuk menemukan bug

Differences:

In modern Indonesian, it’s very common to drop “untuk” when you have “membantu + person + verb”.
Adding untuk makes the purpose relationship a bit clearer and sounds slightly more formal or careful.

In everyday speech and standard writing, version without untuk (membantu kami menemukan bug) is more natural.

Why is the English word bug used instead of an Indonesian word?

In the IT and programming world, Indonesian borrows a lot of English terms. Bug is one of them and is extremely common among programmers and tech people in Indonesia.

Possible Indonesian equivalents include:

galat (more formal, used e.g. in some software messages)
kesalahan (error, mistake)

But in realistic technical conversations, you will almost always hear bug. It’s considered part of Indonesian tech vocabulary now, just like server, driver, update, etc.

How does tanpa merusak work grammatically? Why not tidak merusak?

Structure:

tanpa = without
tanpa + verb = without doing [that verb]

So:

tanpa merusak robot sungguhan = “without damaging real robots”

If you said tidak merusak robot sungguhan, it would mean “(it) does not damage real robots”, just a simple negative statement.

Compare:

Simulasi … membantu kami menemukan bug tanpa merusak robot sungguhan.
= Simulation helps us find bugs without damaging real robots.
Simulasi … tidak merusak robot sungguhan.
= Simulation does not damage real robots.

To express the idea “without V‑ing”, Indonesian uses tanpa + verb, not tidak.

What is the nuance of robot sungguhan? Could I say robot nyata instead?

Both sungguhan and nyata relate to the idea of “real”, but they feel a bit different:

sungguhan ≈ real, genuine, not fake / not just for practice
- robot sungguhan = real, actual robots (as opposed to virtual robots, toy robots, examples in theory, etc.)
nyata ≈ real, actual, concrete, not imaginary
- dunia nyata = the real world
- masalah nyata = real problems

In this sentence, robot sungguhan is very natural: it contrasts simulated robots vs physical, actual robots.

robot nyata is understandable and not wrong, but it’s less common in this exact context. It might sound a bit more like “robots that exist in reality” in a broader, more philosophical sense. Most native speakers would choose robot sungguhan here.

Why don’t we mark the plural in robot sungguhan? How do we know it means “real robots” and not “a real robot”?

Indonesian usually does not mark plural on nouns unless it needs to emphasize or clarify.

robot sungguhan can mean:
- a real robot (singular), or
- real robots (plural)

Which one it is depends on context. In this sentence, the context is general testing and finding bugs, so logically it refers to robots in general → real robots.

If you really want to show plural explicitly, you can use reduplication:

robot‑robot sungguhan = real robots (plural explicitly marked)

But even then, Indonesians often still just say robot sungguhan and let context tell you whether it’s singular or plural.

What is the difference between merusak and merusakkan, and which one is correct here?

The base word is rusak = damaged, broken.

From this, we get:

merusak = to damage / to break (something)
- Simulasi ini tidak akan merusak robot.
  = This simulation will not damage the robot.
merusakkan also exists, but it’s:
- much less common in everyday usage
- often used when you explicitly mention what is being harmed or spoiled (sometimes in a more abstract sense)
- feels more formal or old‑fashioned in many contexts

In your sentence, the natural and standard choice is merusak:

tanpa merusak robot sungguhan
= without damaging real robots

Most native speakers would not say tanpa merusakkan robot sungguhan here.

Is Simulasi di perangkat lunak khusus the full subject? Could I move di perangkat lunak khusus later in the sentence?

Yes, in the original sentence:

Simulasi di perangkat lunak khusus is the subject phrase
membantu kami menemukan bug tanpa merusak robot sungguhan is the predicate

Literally:
“Simulation in special software helps us find bugs without damaging real robots.”

You can move di perangkat lunak khusus, but the meaning focus changes depending on where you put it:

Simulasi di perangkat lunak khusus membantu kami menemukan bug tanpa merusak robot sungguhan.
- Emphasis: The simulation itself is in special software.
Simulasi membantu kami menemukan bug di perangkat lunak khusus tanpa merusak robot sungguhan.
- Now di perangkat lunak khusus most naturally attaches to menemukan bug:
  → “helps us find bugs in specialized software” (i.e. bugs that exist in some special software).

So yes, you can move it, but then you’re more likely to be saying “find bugs in special software” rather than “simulation in special software”. The original word order is the clearest for the intended meaning.