Log inSign up

Saya ikut kursus daring bahasa Indonesia setiap Sabtu pagi.

Saya ikut kursus daring bahasa Indonesia setiap Sabtu pagi.
I join an online Indonesian course every Saturday morning.
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Indonesian grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning Indonesian now

Questions & Answers about Saya ikut kursus daring bahasa Indonesia setiap Sabtu pagi.

What does ikut mean here? Is it like “take a course”, “join”, or “attend”?

Ikut literally means to follow / to join (in).

In this sentence, Saya ikut kursus… is best understood as “I take / attend a course…”.

  • ikut focuses on joining / participating in something that already exists.
  • It is very common and natural before activities:
    • Saya ikut kursus bahasa Indonesia. – I take/attend an Indonesian course.
    • Dia ikut lomba itu. – He/She joins that competition.
    • Mau ikut? – Want to join?

So you can think of ikut kursus ≈ “to attend a course” or “to take a course”.

Can I say Saya mengikuti kursus daring bahasa Indonesia… instead? What’s the difference between ikut and mengikuti?

Yes, you can say:

Saya mengikuti kursus daring bahasa Indonesia setiap Sabtu pagi.

It’s also correct.

Difference in nuance:

  • ikut

    • Short, very common in speech.
    • Slightly more casual/neutral.
    • Everyday style: Saya ikut kursus…

  • mengikuti

    • More formal, sounds a bit “fuller”.
    • Common in written language, reports, official contexts.
    • E.g. in a certificate: Ia telah mengikuti kursus bahasa Indonesia…

Meaning-wise, in this sentence they are practically the same. Use ikut for relaxed conversation; mengikuti if you want to sound more formal or in writing.

Could I drop ikut and just say Saya kursus daring bahasa Indonesia…?

Yes, in everyday, informal Indonesian you might hear:

Saya kursus bahasa Indonesia.
Dia les bahasa Inggris.

Here, kursus (and les) are used like verbs: “to take a course / to have private lessons”.

However:

  • Saya ikut kursus… sounds more standard and clear, especially for learners.
  • Saya kursus… is fine in casual speech, but can feel a bit clipped or informal in writing.

So:

  • For safe, neutral Indonesian: Saya ikut kursus daring bahasa Indonesia…
  • For casual, spoken style: Saya kursus bahasa Indonesia online…
What exactly is kursus? Is it the same as class or lesson in English?

Kursus usually means a course, often:

  • outside formal school/university,
  • focused on a skill (languages, computers, music, etc.),
  • with a set program over some time.

Rough comparison:

  • kursus ≈ course (often private, like a language course)
  • kelas ≈ class / classroom / class group
  • pelajaran ≈ lesson / subject (more “academic”)

Examples:

  • Saya ikut kursus bahasa Indonesia. – I take an Indonesian course.
  • Kelas saya mulai jam sembilan. – My class starts at nine.
  • Pelajaran bahasa Indonesia hari ini sulit. – Today’s Indonesian lesson is difficult.

So in your sentence, kursus is a structured language course, not just one single lesson.

What does daring mean? I thought Indonesians say online.

daring is the official Indonesian term for online. It comes from dalam jaringan (“in the network”).

  • kursus daring = online course
  • kelas daring = online class

In real life:

  • Many people say online in everyday speech:
    kursus online, kelas online.
  • daring appears more in formal writing, government documents, and by people who prefer pure Indonesian vocabulary.

In normal conversation, both kursus daring and kursus online are understood. Your sentence with daring sounds good and standard.

Why is it kursus daring bahasa Indonesia and not kursus bahasa Indonesia daring? Does word order matter here?

Indonesian noun/adjective phrases are generally:

Head noun + modifiers (adjectives / other descriptors)

In your phrase:

  • kursus = head noun (course)
  • daring = adjective (online)
  • bahasa Indonesia = what the course is about (Indonesian language)

Both of these are grammatically possible:

  • kursus daring bahasa Indonesia
  • kursus bahasa Indonesia daring

In practice:

  • People more often say kursus bahasa Indonesia daring or kursus bahasa Indonesia online (= an Indonesian language course that is online).
  • kursus daring bahasa Indonesia (= an online course in Indonesian) is also understandable and not wrong; it just organizes the information as “online course” + “of Indonesian”.

For a learner, you can safely use either, but kursus bahasa Indonesia daring/online might sound a bit more typical.

Why is there no word like “a” or “the” before kursus? How do articles work?

Indonesian has no articles like a, an, the.

  • Saya ikut kursus daring bahasa Indonesia…
    can mean:
    • I take a course…
    • I take the course…
    • I take Indonesian online courses (in general context)

Specificity is understood from context or added words:

  • kursus itu – that course / the course
  • sebuah kursus – a course (one course; more explicit but not always needed)

So you don’t add anything for “a/the” here; kursus alone is correct.

What does bahasa Indonesia mean exactly? Do I always need bahasa before Indonesia?

bahasa Indonesia literally = Indonesian language.

  • bahasa = language
  • Indonesia = Indonesia

So:

  • bahasa Indonesia – the Indonesian language
  • kursus bahasa Indonesia – Indonesian language course

You normally must keep bahasa when you mean the language:

  • Saya belajar bahasa Indonesia. – I’m learning Indonesian (language).

If you say kursus Indonesia, it sounds odd/unclear (a course about the country? about Indonesian culture?).

So for the language, use bahasa Indonesia.

How should bahasa Indonesia be capitalized?

Official modern rules (PUEBI) say:

  • bahasa Indonesia – lowercase b in bahasa, uppercase I in Indonesia.

Reason:
bahasa is a common noun (“language”), while Indonesia is a proper name.

So your sentence’s bahasa Indonesia is correctly capitalized according to standard rules, especially in formal writing.

In informal contexts, you may see Bahasa Indonesia with capital B as well, but bahasa Indonesia is the recommended standard.

What exactly does setiap Sabtu pagi mean? Are there alternatives?

setiap Sabtu pagi = every Saturday morning.

  • setiap = every / each
  • Sabtu = Saturday
  • pagi = morning

Common alternatives:

  • tiap Sabtu pagi – tiap is a more casual form of setiap.
  • setiap hari Sabtu pagi – literally “every Saturday day morning”; grammatically okay, but hari is usually dropped as unnecessary.
  • Sabtu pagi (without setiap) – “on Saturday mornings / on Saturday morning” (one specific Saturday, depending on context).

So for “every Saturday morning”, setiap Sabtu pagi is clear and natural.

Do I need pada (like a preposition) before Sabtu or setiap Sabtu pagi?

You can add pada, but you don’t need to.

  • Informal / neutral (very common):
    • Saya ikut kursus… setiap Sabtu pagi.
  • More formal / careful:
    • Saya ikut kursus… pada setiap Sabtu pagi.
    • Saya ikut kursus… pada Sabtu pagi.

In everyday speech and most writing, people often omit pada with days and times. Your original sentence without pada is completely natural.

Can I move setiap Sabtu pagi to the beginning of the sentence?

Yes. Time expressions are flexible in Indonesian.

Both are correct:

  1. Saya ikut kursus daring bahasa Indonesia setiap Sabtu pagi.
  2. Setiap Sabtu pagi, saya ikut kursus daring bahasa Indonesia.
  • Starting with Setiap Sabtu pagi puts extra emphasis on when it happens.
  • Both word orders are natural. Just avoid splitting the verb phrase awkwardly, e.g.
    ✗ Saya setiap Sabtu pagi ikut kursus… (not wrong, but can sound a bit clunky for a learner).
Why do we use saya here? Could I say aku instead?

Both mean “I”, but they differ in formality and region:

  • saya

    • Polite, neutral, safe in almost any situation.
    • Used in formal speech, with strangers, in writing.

  • aku

    • More intimate / casual.
    • Used with friends, family, people you’re close to.
    • Common in many regions and in songs, social media, etc.

So:

  • Saya ikut kursus… – polite/neutral, fits textbooks, teachers, strangers.
  • Aku ikut kursus… – to friends or family in a casual setting.

For learners, saya is the safest default until you understand the social context.

How do we know the sentence is about a habit (something done regularly) if Indonesian verbs don’t change for tense?

Indonesian doesn’t change the verb form for past/present/future, so context words show the time and aspect.

Here, setiap (“every”) signals a habitual action:

  • Saya ikut kursus daring bahasa Indonesia setiap Sabtu pagi.
    = I regularly take an Indonesian online course every Saturday morning.

Compare:

  • Saya ikut kursus daring bahasa Indonesia kemarin.
    – I took an Indonesian online course yesterday. (past: kemarin)
  • Besok saya ikut kursus daring bahasa Indonesia.
    – Tomorrow I will take an Indonesian online course. (future: besok)
  • Saya sedang ikut kursus daring bahasa Indonesia.
    – I am currently taking an Indonesian online course. (ongoing: sedang)

So the habitual meaning comes from setiap Sabtu pagi, not from a change in the verb form.