Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Kami mencari bug di kode singkat itu.

Kemarin kami mencari bug di kode singkat itu.
“Yesterday we looked for a bug …”
Sekarang kami mencari bug di kode singkat itu.
“Now we are looking for a bug …”

So Kami mencari bug di kode singkat itu by itself is neutral; in many contexts, it will naturally be understood as present (“are looking for”) or habitual (“look for”).

Can I add sedang to show “are currently looking for”?

Yes. Sedang marks a progressive action (in progress now). Both are correct:

Kami mencari bug di kode singkat itu.
Neutral about time; often read as present or habitual.
Kami sedang mencari bug di kode singkat itu.
Emphasizes that the action is going on right now.

You can also hear lagi in colloquial speech with a similar meaning:

Kami lagi mencari bug di kode singkat itu. (more informal)

Exactly what does mencari mean here? Is it “look for” or “search for”?

Mencari literally means “to look for / to search for”.

It doesn’t mean “find”; that would be menemukan or menemui (depending on context).

Some related verbs:

mencari – to look for, to search for
mencari-cari – to keep looking, to look around (often suggests effort or searching repeatedly)
menemukan – to find, to discover

So:

Kami mencari bug di kode singkat itu.
“We are looking for a bug in that short code.”
Kami menemukan bug di kode singkat itu.
“We found a bug in that short code.”

Is bug actually used in Indonesian, or is it better to use a different word?

In IT / programming contexts, bug is very commonly used in Indonesian, just like in English.

Alternatives:

bug – very common in tech speech and writing
kesalahan – “error, mistake” (general and also used in programming)
galat – more technical, often in formal/official translations for “error”

Examples:

Kami mencari bug di kode singkat itu.
Kami mencari kesalahan di kode singkat itu.
Kami mencari galat di kode singkat itu. (more formal / technical)

All are understandable; bug and kesalahan are the most natural in everyday programming talk.

How do you show plural “bugs”? Should it be bug-bug?

Indonesian doesn’t have to mark plural the way English does. Bug can mean “bug” or “bugs” depending on context.

If you really want to emphasize plurality, you have options:

banyak bug – many bugs
beberapa bug – several bugs
semua bug – all the bugs

Reduplication (bug-bug) is technically possible to mark plurality, but it sounds odd with this English loanword. Native-style plural would typically be:

banyak bug (rather than bug-bug)

What does kode mean here? Is it specifically “programming code”?

Kode in Indonesian is a general word for “code” (can be code of conduct, secret code, programming code, etc.).

In a programming context, kode by itself is normally understood as source code / program code, especially if the context is clear. You can be more specific:

kode program – program code
kode sumber – source code

So:

Kami mencari bug di kode singkat itu.
In a programming context: “We are looking for a bug in that short piece of code.”

Why is the adjective singkat after kode? Can I say singkat kode?

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

kode singkat – short code
rumah besar – big house
buku baru – new book

Singkat kode is wrong for “short code” as a noun phrase.

If you reverse them and say:

Kode itu singkat.
That’s a full sentence: “That code is short.”
(kode = subject, singkat = predicate/adjective)

What does itu do here, and why is it at the end of the noun phrase?

Itu is a demonstrative meaning roughly “that” and it also functions a bit like a definite marker (“the”).

Typical noun phrase order:

noun + adjective + itu/ini

So:

kode singkat itu
literally: “that short code” / “the short code (that one)”

Variations:

kode itu singkat. – “That code is short.” (a sentence)
itu kode singkat – sounds incomplete or unusual by itself; you’d normally say itu kode singkat kita, etc.

Switching itu:

kode singkat ini – this short code (near speaker)
kode singkat itu – that short code (farther / already known in context)

What’s the role of di here? How do I know it’s a preposition and not the passive prefix di-?

Here di is a preposition meaning “in / at / on”, followed by a noun phrase:

di kode singkat itu – “in that short code”

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

dicari – is/was looked for
ditemukan – is/was found

So:

di kode (with a space) = preposition “in the code”
dicode (no space) = would look like a passive verb form, but is not a normal word

Because di is followed by kode (a noun) and there’s a space, it’s clearly a preposition here.

Could we say di dalam kode singkat itu instead of di kode singkat itu? Is there a difference?

Yes, both are possible:

di kode singkat itu – “in that short code”; very natural and common
di dalam kode singkat itu – literally “inside that short code”; slightly more explicit/emphatic about the idea of inside but often interchangeable in this context.

In many everyday sentences, di alone is enough:

di rumah vs di dalam rumah
Both can mean “in the house”; di dalam just sounds a bit more explicit (“inside the house”).

Can I drop kami and just say Mencari bug di kode singkat itu?

You can drop the subject in Indonesian if it’s clear from context, but how it sounds depends on context:

Mencari bug di kode singkat itu.
– Could sound like a note or fragment: “(We are) looking for a bug in that short code.”
– Works in bullet points, chat messages, titles, etc.

In a full, normal sentence, especially in writing or formal speech, it’s more natural to keep kami:

Kami mencari bug di kode singkat itu.

Is this sentence formal, informal, or neutral? Would it be okay in professional contexts?

Kami mencari bug di kode singkat itu. is neutral Indonesian:

Not slangy
Not extremely formal

It’s appropriate for:

talking to colleagues
writing chat messages in a work group
casual written text (emails, documentation)

For more formal style (e.g., in official documentation), you might tweak vocabulary:

Kami sedang mencari kesalahan pada kode singkat tersebut.
(“tersebut” is a more formal equivalent of “that/said/aforementioned”)

How would the meaning change if I rearranged it to Kami mencari bug itu di kode singkat.?

Changing the order changes the focus:

Kami mencari bug di kode singkat itu.
Neutral: “We’re looking for a bug in that short code.”
(the code is specified; the bug is not)
Kami mencari bug itu di kode singkat.
More like: “We’re looking for that (specific) bug in short code.”
Here bug itu is definite/specific, and kode singkat is left more general.

The original sentence sounds more natural if what’s already known or pointed out is the code, not a particular bug.