Guru bahasa kami menjelaskan padanan kata Indonesia dan Inggris di perpustakaan.

Our language teacher explains Indonesian and English word equivalents in the library.

Breakdown of Guru bahasa kami menjelaskan padanan kata Indonesia dan Inggris di perpustakaan.

• di: in
• bahasa: the language
• guru: the teacher
• dan: and
• Indonesia: Indonesian
• perpustakaan: the library
• menjelaskan: to explain
• kami: our
• kata: the word
• Inggris: English
• padanan: the equivalent

Questions & Answers about Guru bahasa kami menjelaskan padanan kata Indonesia dan Inggris di perpustakaan.

What does guru bahasa kami literally mean, and how is it different from just guru kami?

• guru = teacher
• bahasa = language
• guru bahasa = language teacher (a teacher whose subject is a language)
• kami = our (or “we” excluding the listener)

So guru bahasa kami literally means “our language teacher” (the teacher who teaches a language, usually clear from context which language).

If you say guru kami, that’s just “our teacher” (no information about the subject). Both are correct; guru bahasa kami is just more specific.

What is the difference between kami and kita? Why is kami used here?

Both can translate as “we/our”, but:

• kami = we (excluding the person spoken to)
  
  • “we but not you”
• kita = we (including the person spoken to)
  
  • “you and I / all of us”

In guru bahasa kami, the speaker is probably talking to someone outside the class (e.g. a friend from another class), so the teacher is “our” teacher, not yours → kami.

If the speaker were talking to classmates (who share the same teacher), they might say guru bahasa kita (“our language teacher, including you”).

How does Indonesian express past tense in a sentence like this? There’s no word for “explained”.

Indonesian usually does not change the verb form for tense. menjelaskan can mean:

• explain / is explaining / explained / will explain

The tense is understood from context or from time words:

• Kemarin, guru bahasa kami menjelaskan…
  Yesterday, our language teacher explained…
• Tadi pagi, guru bahasa kami menjelaskan…
  This morning, our language teacher explained…

So your sentence can mean “explained” if the context is past, even though the verb form itself does not change.

What exactly does menjelaskan mean, and is there a difference from saying menjelaskan tentang?

• menjelaskan = to explain, to make something clear
  
  • menjelaskan + object: “explain [object]”

In this sentence:

• menjelaskan padanan kata…
  = “explained the word equivalents…”

If you say menjelaskan tentang padanan kata…:

• tentang = about
• Literally, “explained about the word equivalents…”

Both are often used in speech, and both are understandable.
However, more natural and concise Indonesian usually prefers menjelaskan + object without tentang when the object is already there:

• Better: Guru bahasa kami menjelaskan padanan kata…
• Less natural / wordier: Guru bahasa kami menjelaskan tentang padanan kata…

What does padanan kata mean, and how is it different from terjemahan?

• padanan = equivalent, counterpart, matching item
• kata = word
• padanan kata = word equivalent, “a word that matches or corresponds to another word.”

So menjelaskan padanan kata Indonesia dan Inggris means:

explained the Indonesian and English word equivalents
(which Indonesian word corresponds to which English word)

terjemahan = translation (the result of translating):

• terjemahan kata = translation of a word
• terjemahan buku = translation of a book

In practice:

• padanan kata focuses on the matching pair: word ↔ word
• terjemahan is more general: any kind of translation (word, phrase, text)

Why is it padanan kata (singular) and not padanan kata-kata (plural)? Aren’t there many words?

Indonesian often does not mark plural forms when it’s obvious from context.

• padanan kata can mean:
  • “a word equivalent” (singular)
  • or “word equivalents” (plural)

Reduplication (repeating the noun) marks explicit plural:

• kata-kata = words
• padanan kata-kata is grammatically possible but sounds a bit heavy and less natural here.

Because the sentence clearly refers to multiple Indonesian and English words, padanan kata is naturally understood as plural without needing kata-kata.

In padanan kata Indonesia dan Inggris, does Indonesia here mean the language or the country? Why not say bahasa Indonesia?

In everyday Indonesian, Indonesia by itself often stands for bahasa Indonesia when we talk about words, vocabulary, speaking, etc.

So:

• kata Indonesia is understood as “Indonesian words”
• kata Inggris is understood as “English words”

You could also say:

• padanan kata bahasa Indonesia dan bahasa Inggris

That is more explicit and fully correct, just a bit longer.
The shorter kata Indonesia dan Inggris is very common and natural.

What is the function of di perpustakaan and can it be placed elsewhere in the sentence?

• di = at / in / on (location preposition)
• perpustakaan = library
• di perpustakaan = in/at the library

It shows where the explaining happened.

Indonesian word order is flexible for location phrases. All of these are correct, with slightly different emphasis:

1. Guru bahasa kami menjelaskan padanan kata Indonesia dan Inggris di perpustakaan.
   (Neutral: focus on what was explained; location comes last.)
2. Di perpustakaan, guru bahasa kami menjelaskan padanan kata Indonesia dan Inggris.
   (Emphasis on the location “In the library, our language teacher explained…”)

So yes, di perpustakaan can go at the beginning for stylistic or emphasis reasons.

Does di perpustakaan mean “at the library” or “in the library”? How precise is di?

di is a general location preposition. In English it could be:

• “in” the library
• “at” the library

Indonesian usually doesn’t distinguish as precisely as English:

• di perpustakaan covers both “in the library building” and “at the library (as a place)”.
  If you need more precision, you add more words (e.g. di dalam perpustakaan = inside the library), but normally di perpustakaan is enough.

Is Guru bahasa kami menjelaskan padanan kata Indonesia dan Inggris an example of a basic Indonesian sentence structure? How does S–V–O work here?

Yes, it follows the common S–V–O (Subject–Verb–Object) pattern:

• Subject (S): Guru bahasa kami
  → our language teacher
• Verb (V): menjelaskan
  → explained / explains
• Object (O): padanan kata Indonesia dan Inggris
  → Indonesian and English word equivalents
• Adverbial (place): di perpustakaan
  → in the library

So the core S–V–O is:

Guru bahasa kami – menjelaskan – padanan kata Indonesia dan Inggris.

Then di perpustakaan is added to show where.

Is perpustakaan a simple word or does it have parts with meanings?

perpustakaan is derived from pustaka:

• pustaka = book, literature (a bit formal/old-fashioned by itself)
• per- … -an = a common noun-forming circumfix

So:

• per + pustaka + an → perpustakaan
  literally: “a place related to books” → library

You rarely use pustaka alone in daily conversation; it appears more in formal or compound words like:

• perpustakaan = library
• penerbitan pustaka = book publishing
• pustaka rujukan = reference works

Is there anything in this sentence that sounds especially formal or informal?

Overall, the sentence is neutral and fits well in:

• school / academic contexts
• written explanations
• polite spoken language

Some notes:

• Guru bahasa kami – neutral, standard
• menjelaskan padanan kata – slightly bookish because of padanan, but very normal in a school setting
• di perpustakaan – neutral

In very casual speech, students might say something like:

• Tadi di perpustakaan, guru bahasa kami jelasin padanan kata Indonesia dan Inggris.
  (using jelasin instead of menjelaskan, which is more colloquial)

But your original sentence is perfectly natural standard Indonesian.