Saya bicara bahasa ibu di rumah.

I speak my mother tongue at home.

Breakdown of Saya bicara bahasa ibu di rumah.

• rumah: the house
• saya: I
• di: at
• bicara: to speak
• bahasa ibu: the native language

Questions & Answers about Saya bicara bahasa ibu di rumah.

Why does the sentence use bicara and not berbicara? Are both correct?

Both bicara and berbicara are correct here:

• Saya bicara bahasa ibu di rumah.
• Saya berbicara bahasa ibu di rumah.

They mean the same thing: I speak my mother tongue at home.

Nuance:

• berbicara is a bit more formal and is common in writing, news, speeches, or polite conversation.
• bicara is slightly more neutral/colloquial and is very common in everyday speech.

So for this sentence, you can safely use either one.

How do we know the tense of bicara? Could this mean past, present, or future?

Indonesian verbs, including bicara, do not change form for tense.

Saya bicara bahasa ibu di rumah can mean:

• I speak my mother tongue at home. (habitual / general fact)
• I was speaking my mother tongue at home. (if the context or time word shows past)
• I will speak my mother tongue at home. (with a future time word)

To make the time clearer, Indonesians usually add time expressions or aspect markers, for example:

• Tadi saya bicara bahasa ibu di rumah. – I spoke my mother tongue at home earlier.
• Sekarang saya bicara bahasa ibu di rumah. – Now I speak my mother tongue at home.
• Besok saya akan bicara bahasa ibu di rumah. – Tomorrow I will speak my mother tongue at home.
• Biasanya saya bicara bahasa ibu di rumah. – I usually speak my mother tongue at home.

Without extra words, the default reading is a general/habitual statement.

Should it be bahasa ibu saya instead of just bahasa ibu to mean my mother tongue?

Both are possible, but bahasa ibu without saya is very natural here.

• bahasa ibu literally: mother tongue (in general)
• In real usage, in a sentence like Saya bicara bahasa ibu di rumah, most listeners will automatically interpret bahasa ibu as my mother tongue because the subject is saya.

You would use bahasa ibu saya when:

• You want to emphasize that it is my mother tongue, maybe contrasting with someone else’s:
  • Saya bicara bahasa ibu saya, bukan bahasa ibu suami saya.
• The context is ambiguous and you need to be explicit.

So the original sentence is natural and not “missing” saya.

Is bahasa ibu the most natural way to say native language in Indonesian?

Yes, bahasa ibu is a very common and natural way to say mother tongue or native language.

Other related terms:

• bahasa pertama – first language (more technical/linguistic)
• bahasa asli – original / native language (can sound more like “original language of a place/people”)
• bahasa daerah – regional/local language (e.g., Javanese, Sundanese, Balinese)

For everyday conversation about someone’s native language, bahasa ibu is perfectly idiomatic.

Can I drop Saya and just say Bicara bahasa ibu di rumah?

You can drop Saya, but the meaning and feel change.

• Saya bicara bahasa ibu di rumah.
  Clear personal statement: I speak my mother tongue at home.

• Bicara bahasa ibu di rumah.
  Without a subject, this can sound like:

  • a general rule or instruction: [You/people should] speak your mother tongue at home, or
  • a sentence fragment, depending on context.

Indonesian often drops subject pronouns when context is obvious, but for a simple stand‑alone sentence expressing your own habit, it is more natural and clearer to keep Saya.

Can di rumah move to another position, like Di rumah saya bicara bahasa ibu?

Yes, Indonesian word order is flexible, and you can move di rumah for emphasis:

• Saya bicara bahasa ibu di rumah.
  Neutral word order (most common).

• Di rumah, saya bicara bahasa ibu.
  Emphasis on at home (contrast with other places where you may speak a different language).

• Saya di rumah bicara bahasa ibu.
  Possible, but less natural in careful speech; usually you’d say Di rumah, saya bicara bahasa ibu instead.

Default, unmarked order is subject–verb–object–place:

Saya (subject) bicara (verb) bahasa ibu (object) di rumah (place).

Why is the preposition di used in di rumah and not ke rumah?

In Indonesian:

• di = at / in / on (location, no movement)
• ke = to (movement toward a place)

In Saya bicara bahasa ibu di rumah, the sentence describes an action happening at home, not movement to home, so di rumah is correct.

Examples for contrast:

• Saya di rumah. – I am at home.
• Saya pergi ke rumah. – I go to the house / home.

Is this sentence formal, informal, or neutral in tone?

The sentence Saya bicara bahasa ibu di rumah is neutral and acceptable in most situations.

A few variations:

• More formal/polished:
  • Saya berbicara dalam bahasa ibu di rumah.
• More casual:
  • Aku ngomong pakai bahasa ibu di rumah.
  • Di rumah, aku ngomong bahasa ibu.

Key points:

• saya = neutral/polite
• aku, gue, gua = more informal, depending on region and social context
• bicara / berbicara = neutral to formal
• ngomong = informal/colloquial

Can I use berbahasa instead of bicara bahasa? For example: Saya berbahasa ibu di rumah?

You can use berbahasa with a specific language name, but berbahasa ibu is not idiomatic.

Natural uses of berbahasa:

• Ia berbahasa Indonesia. – She/He speaks Indonesian.
• Mereka berbahasa Jawa di rumah. – They speak Javanese at home.

With bahasa ibu, you would normally say:

• Saya bicara bahasa ibu di rumah.
• Saya berbicara dalam bahasa ibu di rumah.

So:

• berbahasa + [language name] works well.
• With the phrase bahasa ibu, you usually use (ber)bicara (dalam) bahasa ibu, not berbahasa ibu.

Do I need a preposition like dalam before bahasa ibu? Should it be berbicara dalam bahasa ibu?

Both patterns are used in Indonesian:

1. (ber)bicara + [language]

   • Saya bicara bahasa ibu di rumah.
   • Dia bicara bahasa Inggris dengan anak‑anaknya.

2. (ber)bicara dalam [language]

   • Saya berbicara dalam bahasa ibu di rumah.
   • Dia berbicara dalam bahasa Inggris di kantor.

Nuance:

• bicara bahasa X is very common and natural in everyday speech.
• berbicara dalam bahasa X sounds slightly more formal or careful, often used in writing, presentations, or explanations.

Your original sentence is fully correct and natural without dalam.