Saya mau membaca buku tentang dunia di perpustakaan.

I want to read a book about the world in the library.

Breakdown of Saya mau membaca buku tentang dunia di perpustakaan.

• sebuah: a
• buku: the book
• saya: I
• di: in
• membaca: to read
• tentang: about
• mau: want
• perpustakaan: the library
• dunia: the world

Questions & Answers about Saya mau membaca buku tentang dunia di perpustakaan.

What exactly does mau mean here? Is it “want” or does it mark the future like “going to”?

Mau basically means “want (to)”.

• Saya mau membaca… = I want to read…
• It can also imply a near-future plan, like English “I’m going to read…”, but the core idea is still desire/intention, not grammatical future tense.
• Indonesian does not have a strict future tense the way English does; mau often covers both want and going to, depending on context.

What’s the difference between mau and ingin?

Both express wanting, but they differ in tone and frequency:

• mau
  • Very common in everyday speech.
  • Neutral/informal tone.
  • Used all the time in conversation: Saya mau makan, Saya mau pergi.
• ingin
  • Slightly more formal or “careful” Indonesian.
  • Often used in writing, speeches, or more polite contexts.
  • Saya ingin membaca buku tentang dunia sounds a bit more formal or thoughtful.

In most casual spoken Indonesian, mau is more natural than ingin.

Is saya formal? Could I use aku instead?

Yes:

• saya

  • Neutral and polite.
  • Safe in almost any situation: with strangers, in class, at work.
  • Works in both spoken and written Indonesian.

• aku

  • More informal and intimate.
  • Used with friends, family, or people close in age/status.
  • Often appears in songs, social media, casual conversation.

Your sentence with aku:

• Aku mau membaca buku tentang dunia di perpustakaan.

Meaning stays the same; only the level of formality changes.

Why is it membaca and not just baca?

Membaca is the formal/polite and grammatically complete verb form.

• Base verb (root): baca = “read”
• Prefix meN-
  • baca → membaca

In standard Indonesian, after mau, you can use either:

• mau membaca (more formal/neutral)
• mau baca (more casual/colloquial)

So:

• Formal/neutral: Saya mau membaca buku…
• Everyday speech: Saya mau baca buku…

Both are correct; the version in your sentence sounds more standard.

What does the meN- prefix in membaca do?

The meN- prefix is a very common verb-forming prefix in Indonesian.

• Root: baca (read)
• meN-
  • baca → membaca (to read)

In general, meN-:

• Turns a root into an active verb
• Often corresponds to English “to _” (to read, to write, to eat, etc.)

Other examples:

• tulis → menulis (to write)
• makan → memakan (to eat – though makan is already common)
• lihat → melihat (to see)

You don’t always have to use the meN- form in speech, but it’s important to recognize it and know it’s the “standard” active verb form.

Why is there no word for “a” in buku? How do you say “a book” vs “the book”?

Indonesian has no articles like a / an / the.

• buku can mean a book, the book, or just book(s) in a general sense.
• Context tells you which is meant.

Your sentence:

• Saya mau membaca buku tentang dunia di perpustakaan.
  • Most naturally: I want to read a book about the world at the library.

If you really want to emphasize “one book”, you can add sebuah:

• Saya mau membaca sebuah buku tentang dunia di perpustakaan. But sebuah is often optional and sounds a bit more careful or written.

Why is tentang dunia after buku? Could it come earlier in the sentence?

In Indonesian, modifying phrases usually come after the noun.

• buku tentang dunia
  • Literally: book about world
  • Natural word order: noun + modifier

Putting tentang dunia elsewhere is possible but changes the structure:

• Saya mau membaca tentang dunia di perpustakaan.
  • This means “I want to read about the world at the library.”
  • Now “about the world” modifies the action of reading, not specifically “a book”.
  • It sounds more like reading articles, information, anything about the world, not necessarily a specific book.

So if you specifically mean “a book about the world”, buku tentang dunia is best.

Could I say “buku dunia” instead of “buku tentang dunia”?

Generally no; buku dunia would be weird or unclear.

• buku tentang dunia = a book about the world (correct and natural)
• buku dunia could be interpreted as “world book” but doesn’t sound like normal Indonesian; it lacks the preposition tentang (“about”).

In Indonesian, for “a book about X”, the common pattern is:

• buku tentang X
  e.g. buku tentang sejarah (a book about history), buku tentang binatang (a book about animals).

What exactly does di perpustakaan mean? How is di different from ke?

• di = at / in / on (location)

  • di perpustakaan = at the library / in the library

• ke = to (direction, movement toward a place)

  • ke perpustakaan = to the library

Your sentence:

• Saya mau membaca buku tentang dunia di perpustakaan.
  • Focus is on where you will read: at the library.

If you want to say you’re going to the library to read:

• Saya mau pergi ke perpustakaan untuk membaca buku tentang dunia.
  • “I want to go to the library to read a book about the world.”

Can di perpustakaan be moved to another position in the sentence?

Yes, Indonesian word order is fairly flexible. All of these are possible:

1. Saya mau membaca buku tentang dunia di perpustakaan.
   – Neutral, very natural.

2. Di perpustakaan, saya mau membaca buku tentang dunia.
   – Emphasizes the location first: “At the library, I want to read a book about the world.”

3. Saya di perpustakaan mau membaca buku tentang dunia.
   – Sounds more conversational; suggests “When I’m at the library, I want to read a book about the world.”

The original order (with di perpustakaan at the end) is the most neutral and typical.

Does this sentence sound natural in everyday spoken Indonesian?

Yes, it’s natural, especially in a neutral or slightly formal context.

In more casual speech, people might simplify it a bit:

• Aku mau baca buku tentang dunia di perpustakaan.
• Aku mau ke perpustakaan baca buku tentang dunia.

Changes in casual versions:

• saya → aku
• membaca → baca
• sometimes add ke perpustakaan
  • baca instead of membaca … di perpustakaan, which sounds very conversational.

How would I say “I am going to the library to read a book about the world”?

You’d normally make the movement explicit with pergi and ke:

• Saya mau pergi ke perpustakaan untuk membaca buku tentang dunia.

Breakdown:

• Saya – I
• mau – want / am going to
• pergi – go
• ke perpustakaan – to the library
• untuk – in order to / to
• membaca buku tentang dunia – read a book about the world

How do I make this sentence past tense, like “I wanted to read a book about the world at the library”?

Indonesian doesn’t change the verb form for tense. You add time words or context:

1. Using a past-time adverb:

   • Tadi saya mau membaca buku tentang dunia di perpustakaan.
     – Earlier I wanted to read a book about the world at the library.
   • Kemarin saya mau membaca…
     – Yesterday I wanted to read…

2. To be very explicit you can say:

   • Dulu saya ingin/mau membaca buku tentang dunia di perpustakaan.
     – I used to want / I once wanted to read a book about the world at the library.

The verb membaca stays the same; the time word (like tadi, kemarin, dulu) carries the past meaning.