Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Dia memilih ransel kecil agar bisa berjalan lebih cepat di jalur pendaki yang sempit. - She/He chose a small backpack so that she/he could walk faster on the narrow hikers’ trail.

From this sentence alone, you cannot tell whether dia is male or female. Context from the larger text or conversation is needed if you want to know the gender specifically.

What is the difference between memilih and the base word pilih?

The base word is pilih (to choose).

Memilih is formed by adding the prefix me-:

me- + pilih → memilih = “to choose / to select”

In actual sentences, you almost always use memilih, not bare pilih, unless:

you’re using pilih in imperative form: Pilih satu! (Choose one!)
or in fixed phrases/labels (e.g. a menu button named Pilih).

So:

Dia memilih ransel kecil… = “He/She chose a small backpack…”
Pilih ransel kecil! = “Choose a small backpack!”

Why is it ransel kecil and not kecil ransel? What is the usual adjective order?

In Indonesian, adjectives usually come after the noun:

ransel kecil = small backpack
rumah besar = big house
kucing hitam = black cat

So:

ransel = backpack
kecil = small
ransel kecil = “small backpack”

Kecil ransel is not grammatical in this context. The normal pattern is: > [noun] + [adjective]

Could you replace ransel with tas or tas punggung? Are they the same?

Ransel = backpack (the most direct equivalent)
Tas = bag (very general: handbag, suitcase, plastic bag, etc.)
Tas punggung = literally “back bag” → backpack

In everyday use:

ransel and tas punggung can both mean backpack.
tas alone is less specific; it may or may not be a backpack.

In this hiking context, ransel is perfectly natural and clear. Tas punggung would also be fine and clear. Tas kecil would just mean “a small bag”, not necessarily a backpack.

What does agar mean here, and how is it different from supaya, untuk, or biar?

In this sentence:

agar introduces a purpose clause:
agar bisa berjalan lebih cepat = “so that (he/she) can walk faster”

Some near-synonyms:

agar – formal/neutral, often in writing
supaya – neutral, very common in speech and writing
biar – informal/colloquial
untuk – “for / to (do something)”, often used with a verb in more non‑finite forms

You could say:

Dia memilih ransel kecil agar bisa berjalan lebih cepat…
Dia memilih ransel kecil supaya bisa berjalan lebih cepat…
Dia memilih ransel kecil biar bisa berjalan lebih cepat… (more casual)

Using untuk here would often require a slightly different structure, e.g.:

Dia memilih ransel kecil untuk berjalan lebih cepat…

This is understandable but sounds a bit less natural; agar/supaya/biar are more typical for “so that … can …” in a full clause.

Is bisa (can) necessary? Could the sentence be agar berjalan lebih cepat?

Both are possible, but there is a nuance.

agar bisa berjalan lebih cepat
- literally “so that (he/she) can walk faster”
- emphasizes the ability or possibility
agar berjalan lebih cepat
- literally “so that (he/she) walks faster”
- more direct, sounds slightly more formal or written

In everyday spoken Indonesian, including bisa (or dapat) is very common for this meaning, and the original sentence sounds very natural: > Dia memilih ransel kecil agar bisa berjalan lebih cepat…

What is the difference between berjalan and jalan?

Base word: jalan (road / street / to walk).
With the prefix ber-: berjalan = to walk.

In sentences:

berjalan is the standard verb form “to walk”:
- Dia berjalan cepat. = He/She walks quickly.
Bare jalan can also function as a verb in informal speech:
- Dia jalan cepat. (colloquial, very common in conversation)

In this more neutral style, berjalan is slightly more standard and fits well: > agar bisa berjalan lebih cepat

How does lebih cepat work? Is this how you make a comparative like “faster”?

Yes. Lebih is a comparative marker meaning more or -er (in English):

cepat = fast
lebih cepat = faster / more quickly
lebih besar = bigger
lebih indah = more beautiful

So: > berjalan lebih cepat = “to walk faster”

For the superlative (“the fastest”, “the most …”), you use:

paling cepat = the fastest
paling indah = the most beautiful

What exactly does jalur pendaki mean, and how is it different from jalur pendakian?

Breakdown:

jalur = route / path / trail
pendaki = hiker / climber (from daki = to climb, with peN- making it a person who climbs)
pendakian = hiking / climbing (the activity or process)

So:

jalur pendaki = “hikers’ trail / trail for hikers”
jalur pendakian = “hiking trail / climbing route”

Both can be used to talk about a trail used for hiking or climbing.
In many contexts, jalur pendakian is a very common phrase for “hiking trail”, but jalur pendaki is also understandable and means essentially “the trail used by hikers”.

Why do we say jalur pendaki yang sempit instead of just jalur pendaki sempit? What does yang do here?

Yang introduces a kind of relative clause or descriptive phrase.

jalur pendaki yang sempit
literally “the hiking trail that is narrow”

Grammatically:

jalur pendaki = hiking trail (base noun phrase)
yang sempit = “which is narrow” / “that is narrow”

You could say jalur pendaki sempit, and many speakers would accept it, but:

jalur pendaki yang sempit sounds smoother and more natural, clearly indicating that sempit specifically describes the jalur pendaki.

In many cases, Indonesian uses yang + adjective to clearly attach an adjective to a specific noun phrase, especially when the noun phrase is more complex (like jalur pendaki, not just jalur).

Why is there no word for “a” in “a small backpack”? How do articles work in Indonesian?

Indonesian normally does not use articles like a/an or the.

Dia memilih ransel kecil
can mean:
- “He/She chose a small backpack”
- or “He/She chose the small backpack” depending on context.

If you really want to emphasize “one” item, you can use sebuah (for things) or satu (the number one):

Dia memilih sebuah ransel kecil.
Dia memilih satu ransel kecil.

But in natural Indonesian, if it’s already clear from context, you simply say: > Dia memilih ransel kecil…

The English translation is in the past (“chose”). How is past tense shown here? There is no past marker like “did” or “-ed”.

Indonesian verbs usually do not change form for tense. Time is understood from:

context
time adverbs (e.g. kemarin = yesterday, tadi = earlier, besok = tomorrow)

So:

Dia memilih ransel kecil…
can mean:
- “He/She chooses a small backpack…” (present)
- “He/She chose a small backpack…” (past) depending on the context.

If you need to be explicit, you add time words:

Kemarin dia memilih ransel kecil… = Yesterday he/she chose a small backpack…
Setiap kali dia mendaki, dia memilih ransel kecil… = Every time he/she hikes, he/she chooses a small backpack…

Can we move parts of the sentence around, like putting di jalur pendaki yang sempit earlier or later?

Yes, Indonesian word order is relatively flexible, but some orders sound more natural.

Original: > Dia memilih ransel kecil agar bisa berjalan lebih cepat di jalur pendaki yang sempit.

A few natural variations:

Dia memilih ransel kecil di jalur pendaki yang sempit agar bisa berjalan lebih cepat.
(focuses a bit more on where he/she made the choice.)
Di jalur pendaki yang sempit, dia memilih ransel kecil agar bisa berjalan lebih cepat.
(fronts the location for emphasis; more written/storytelling style.)

What you generally don’t do is break the core verb phrase in a strange way, like:

✗ Dia di jalur pendaki yang sempit memilih ransel kecil agar bisa berjalan lebih cepat.
(understandable but awkward; splitting dia memilih this way feels odd in neutral style.)

The original order is very natural and clear.