Kami belajar di lantai atas supaya kebisingan jalan tidak mengganggu kami.

Breakdown of Kami belajar di lantai atas supaya kebisingan jalan tidak mengganggu kami.

tidak
not
kami
we
belajar
to study
di
on
supaya
so that
mengganggu
to disturb
kami
us
atas
top/upper
lantai
floor
kebisingan
noise
jalan
street
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Questions & Answers about Kami belajar di lantai atas supaya kebisingan jalan tidak mengganggu kami.

Why does the sentence use kami instead of kita?

Kami means we/us (excluding the listener). Kita means we/us (including the listener).
So Kami belajar... implies the speaker’s group is studying, and the person being spoken to is not necessarily part of that group.


Does belajar mean “study” or “learn” here?

Both are possible in Indonesian, but in this context belajar most naturally means to study (doing study activity), because it’s paired with a location: belajar di lantai atas = study upstairs.


What’s the function of di in di lantai atas?

di marks a location (static position): at/on/in.
So di lantai atas = on the upper floor / upstairs.
If it were movement toward a place, you’d typically use ke: Kami belajar ke lantai atas = We went up to the upper floor to study (less common phrasing, but possible depending on context).


Why is it lantai atas and not atas lantai?

lantai atas is a common fixed noun phrase meaning upper floor. The modifier atas comes after the noun lantai.
atas lantai would more likely mean above the floor (as in physically above the floor surface), which is a different meaning.


Is di lantai atas the same as di atas?

Not exactly.

  • di lantai atas = on the upper floor / upstairs (talking about which floor in a building)
  • di atas = above / on top (more general spatial meaning)
    You can say di atas in some contexts (like upstairs), but di lantai atas is clearer for floors in a building.

What does supaya mean, and how is it used grammatically?

supaya introduces a purpose/result clause, like so that / in order that.
Structure: [main clause] + supaya + [desired outcome]
Here: Kami belajar di lantai atas supaya ... tidak mengganggu kami = We study upstairs so that ... doesn’t disturb us.


Is there a difference between supaya and agar?

They’re very similar and often interchangeable.

  • agar can sound a bit more formal/neutral in some contexts
  • supaya is very common in everyday speech
    In this sentence, either works: ... agar kebisingan jalan tidak mengganggu kami.

What does kebisingan mean, and why not just bising?
  • bising is an adjective: noisy
  • kebisingan is a noun meaning noise (literally “noisiness”), formed with ke- ... -an
    So kebisingan jalan means the noise from the road/street, which fits because it’s the thing that might disturb them.

Does jalan here mean “road” or “to walk”?

Here jalan means road/street, because it follows kebisingan: kebisingan jalan = street noise.
Indonesian jalan can also mean to walk/go, but the noun phrase structure here strongly points to road/street.


Why is it kebisingan jalan, not kebisingan dari jalan?

Indonesian often uses simple noun–noun phrases to show relationships, like X Y = “Y-related X”.
So kebisingan jalan naturally means road noise.
kebisingan dari jalan is also correct and a bit more explicit: noise from the road.


How does tidak mengganggu kami work—what’s the grammar of mengganggu?

mengganggu is an active verb meaning to disturb/bother [someone].

  • tidak negates it: tidak mengganggu = does not disturb
  • kami is the object: disturb us
    So the clause means: the road noise doesn’t disturb us.

Is it necessary to repeat kami at the end? Could it be omitted?

Usually you keep it, because mengganggu normally needs an object: disturb (someone).
You can omit it if the context already makes the object obvious, but it may sound incomplete. A common alternative that avoids repeating kami is to use the passive:

  • ... supaya kami tidak terganggu oleh kebisingan jalan. = so that we aren’t disturbed by street noise.

Why is the sentence in active voice rather than passive?

Active voice (kebisingan jalan tidak mengganggu kami) is straightforward and common.
If you want to emphasize the people being affected (the students), passive is often used:

  • ... supaya kami tidak terganggu (oleh) kebisingan jalan.
    Both are natural; the choice depends on what you want to foreground.

What’s the natural English-like word order here, and is Indonesian word order flexible?

Indonesian word order is generally S–V–(O) + adverbials, but it’s fairly flexible. This sentence follows a very standard pattern:

  • Kami (subject) + belajar (verb) + di lantai atas (place) + supaya (purpose) + kebisingan jalan (subject of the purpose clause) + tidak mengganggu kami (verb + object).
    You could move some adverbials for emphasis, but the given order is very natural.