Saya naik pesawat untuk pertama kali tahun ini.

I flew on a plane for the first time this year.

Breakdown of Saya naik pesawat untuk pertama kali tahun ini.

• saya: I
• untuk: for
• naik: to ride
• pesawat: the plane
• tahun ini: this year
• pertama kali: first

Questions & Answers about Saya naik pesawat untuk pertama kali tahun ini.

What does naik literally mean, and why does it mean “to fly / to take a plane” here?

Literally, naik means to go up / to climb / to get on.

By extension, Indonesian uses naik for getting on / riding / taking a vehicle or animal:

• naik pesawat – to take a plane / fly (by plane)
• naik kereta – to take the train
• naik bus – to take the bus
• naik motor – to ride a motorbike
• naik kuda – to ride a horse

So in this sentence, Saya naik pesawat is best translated as “I took a plane / I flew (by plane)”, not literally “I went up a plane.”

Why is there no past tense marker? How do we know this means “I flew” (past) and not “I fly” (present)?

Indonesian verbs don’t change form for tense (past, present, future). There is no equivalent of English “-ed,” “will,” etc.

Time is usually shown by:

• time expressions: kemarin (yesterday), tahun ini (this year), besok (tomorrow), etc.
• or aspect words: sudah (already), belum (not yet), baru (just).

In Saya naik pesawat untuk pertama kali tahun ini:

• tahun ini = “this year,” giving a time frame that includes the past up to now.
• In English, we normally say “I flew / I have flown for the first time this year”, so we pick a past-like tense.

The Indonesian sentence itself is tense-neutral; context tells you it’s talking about something that has happened (or at least started to happen) this year.

Why is there no word for “a” or “the” before pesawat?

Indonesian does not use articles like a / an / the. Nouns like pesawat are bare:

• pesawat can mean a plane, the plane, planes – context decides.

If you need to be very specific, you add other words:

• sebuah pesawat – a (single) plane (more explicit “one plane”)
• pesawat itu – that plane / the plane

But in everyday Indonesian, Saya naik pesawat is perfectly natural and is understood as “I took a (the) plane.”

What exactly does pesawat mean? Isn’t pesawat terbang the word for airplane?

Originally:

• pesawat = device / machine
• pesawat terbang = flying machine = airplane

In modern Indonesian:

• In most casual contexts, pesawat by itself is understood as “airplane / plane”.
• pesawat terbang is still correct but can sound more formal or old-fashioned in daily speech.

So:

• Saya naik pesawat – completely natural for “I took a plane / I flew.”
• Saya naik pesawat terbang – correct, but feels more formal or textbook-y in many contexts.

What does untuk pertama kali mean literally, and is untuk really necessary?

Literally:

• untuk = for / in order to
• pertama = first
• kali = time (occurrence)

So untuk pertama kali = for the first time.

You can often omit untuk and just say pertama kali:

• Saya naik pesawat pertama kali tahun ini.
• Saya naik pesawat untuk pertama kali tahun ini.

Both are acceptable. With untuk, it sounds a bit more like the English “for the first time”; without it, it’s more compact but still very natural.

Why is tahun ini at the end? Could I say tahun ini saya naik pesawat untuk pertama kali instead?

Yes, you can move tahun ini around. Indonesian word order is quite flexible with time expressions. All of these are grammatical and natural:

• Tahun ini saya naik pesawat untuk pertama kali.
• Saya naik pesawat tahun ini untuk pertama kali.
• Saya naik pesawat untuk pertama kali tahun ini.

The meaning stays essentially the same: “This year, I took a plane for the first time.”

Putting tahun ini at the beginning emphasizes “this year”; putting it at the end sounds more like a natural afterthought in speech. The original sentence is already very normal.

Would pada tahun ini or di tahun ini be better than just tahun ini?

They’re possible, but not usually necessary:

• tahun ini – most natural and common in speech and informal writing.
• pada tahun ini – more formal, often in written or prepared speech: reports, essays, announcements.
• di tahun ini – heard in speech, but many style guides consider di with time words less formal; pada is the “correct” preposition for time in careful writing.

In a normal conversational sentence like this, tahun ini by itself is the most natural choice.

Does this sentence mean “first time in my life” or just “first time this year”?

As written, Saya naik pesawat untuk pertama kali tahun ini most naturally means:

• “I took a plane for the first time this year.”

That can mean:

• It’s your first time ever, and it happened this year, or
• You have flown before in previous years, but this year was the first time you flew (for this year).

Context usually clarifies.

If you want to clearly say first time in my life, you can use:

• Ini pertama kalinya saya naik pesawat. – This is the first time in my life that I’ve flown.
• Saya baru pertama kali naik pesawat tahun ini. – This year is (literally) my first time ever flying. (baru strongly suggests “not until now.”)

Could I say Saya sudah naik pesawat untuk pertama kali tahun ini? What difference does sudah make?

Yes, that sentence is grammatical.

• sudah = already

So:

• Saya naik pesawat untuk pertama kali tahun ini.
  – Neutral statement; context implies it happened.
• Saya sudah naik pesawat untuk pertama kali tahun ini.
  – Emphasizes that the event has already occurred.

You’d especially use sudah if someone asks:

• Kamu sudah pernah naik pesawat? – Have you ever flown?
  
  • Ya, saya sudah naik pesawat untuk pertama kali tahun ini.
    – Yes, I’ve (already) flown for the first time this year.

What’s the difference between saya and aku here? Could I say Aku naik pesawat…?

Both saya and aku mean “I / me.”

• saya – more formal / polite / neutral, safe in almost any situation (talking to strangers, at work, in writing).
• aku – more informal / intimate, used with friends, family, people your age or younger, song lyrics, etc.

So:

• Saya naik pesawat untuk pertama kali tahun ini. – neutral–polite.
• Aku naik pesawat untuk pertama kali tahun ini. – sounds more casual and personal.

Grammatically both are correct; you choose based on level of formality and relationship with the listener.

Can I drop the pronoun and just say Naik pesawat untuk pertama kali tahun ini?

Yes, in Indonesian you can often omit the subject pronoun if it’s clear from context.

• Naik pesawat untuk pertama kali tahun ini.

This might appear:

• In a diary entry (where “I” is obvious).
• In casual speech where the topic has already been established.
• As a caption or note: “(I) flew for the first time this year.”

However, if you’re writing a full, clear sentence (especially as a learner), including Saya is safer and more standard:

• Saya naik pesawat untuk pertama kali tahun ini.

Is naik pesawat the same as saying “boarding a plane”? Should I ever say menaiki pesawat?

naik pesawat is the normal, everyday way to say you travel by plane:

• Saya naik pesawat – I travel/take a flight by plane.

menaiki pesawat uses the me- verb form and sounds:

• more formal,
• more literal “to get onto / to mount a plane.”

You might see menaiki pesawat in formal descriptions (e.g., official reports, instructions), but in normal conversation:

• Saya naik pesawat is overwhelmingly more common.

For “boarding,” you’d often express it with time or aspect:

• Kami sedang naik pesawat. – We are boarding / getting on the plane (right now).
• Penumpang sudah naik pesawat. – The passengers have already boarded.

Where exactly does untuk pertama kali go in the sentence? Can I put it earlier?

You have some flexibility. All of these are acceptable:

1. Saya naik pesawat untuk pertama kali tahun ini.
2. Saya untuk pertama kali naik pesawat tahun ini.
3. Untuk pertama kali, saya naik pesawat tahun ini.

Nuances:

• (1) is the most neutral and common: verb + object, then the “for the first time this year” info.
• (2) brings “for the first time” closer to saya, a bit like “I, for the first time, took a plane this year.”
• (3) puts strong emphasis on “for the first time” – stylistic, like in storytelling.

As a learner, option (1) (the original sentence) is the safest and most natural pattern.

How would I say “It was my first time flying this year” in a more natural Indonesian way?

Several natural options:

1. Tahun ini adalah pertama kalinya saya naik pesawat.

   • “This year is the first time I’ve ever taken a plane.”

2. Ini pertama kalinya saya naik pesawat, tahun ini.

   • “This is the first time I’ve flown, and it’s this year.” (more conversational/storytelling)

3. Saya baru pertama kali naik pesawat tahun ini.

   • Emphasizes “only now, this year, I finally flew for the first time.”

Your original sentence:

• Saya naik pesawat untuk pertama kali tahun ini.

is already good and natural for “I flew (by plane) for the first time this year.”

How do you pronounce saya, naik, and pesawat?

Approximate English-like pronunciation (each syllable clear):

• saya – sa-ya

  • sa like “sah”
  • ya like “yah”

• naik – na-ik (two syllables)

  • na like “nah”
  • ik like “eek” but shorter; sounds close to “nah-eek” blended smoothly

• pesawat – pe-sa-wat

  • pe like “peh” (short e)
  • sa like “sah”
  • wat like English “wut” (short u), not like “watt” in British English

Indonesian vowels are generally short and pure (no diphthongs like in English “say” or “go”).