Tetangga kami menyambut tamu baru itu dengan ramah.

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

So tetangga kami can mean our neighbor or our neighbors, depending on context.

In this sentence, the meaning is usually understood from the situation. If the intended meaning shown to the learner is singular, that is perfectly normal. Indonesian often leaves this kind of thing unstated unless it needs to be specific.

It can mean either one.

In Indonesian, many nouns do not change form for singular vs. plural. So tetangga can be:

• neighbor
• neighbors

Context tells you which meaning is intended. If you really want to make it clearly plural, you could say tetangga-tetangga kami, but that is not always necessary.

This is a very important distinction in Indonesian.

• kami = we/us/our, but not including the person being spoken to
• kita = we/us/our, including the person being spoken to

So tetangga kami means our neighbor(s), where our refers to the speaker and someone else, but not the listener.

If the speaker wanted to include the listener, they would say tetangga kita.

The base word is sambut, which relates to welcoming or receiving someone.

menyambut is formed from:

• meN-
  • sambut → menyambut

This meN- prefix often makes an active verb, especially in formal or neutral standard Indonesian.

So:

• sambut = welcome / receive
• menyambut = to welcome / to receive

In this sentence, menyambut is the main verb: welcomed.

This happens because of how the meN- prefix changes shape depending on the first sound of the root word.

For roots beginning with s, the s usually disappears and meN- becomes meny-.

So:

• sambut → menyambut

This is a normal sound-change pattern in Indonesian morphology.

Other similar examples:

• sapu → menyapu
• sewa → menyewa

In Indonesian noun phrases, the usual order is:

noun + modifier(s) + demonstrative

So here:

• tamu = guest
• baru = new
• itu = that / the one in question

Together: tamu baru itu = that new guest or, depending on context, the new guest

This is a very common pattern in Indonesian:

• rumah besar itu = that big house
• buku menarik itu = that interesting book

Because Indonesian usually puts adjectives after the noun, unlike English.

So:

• tamu baru = new guest
• literally: guest new

This is one of the most basic word-order differences between English and Indonesian.

More examples:

• mobil merah = red car
• orang baik = good person
• rumah besar = big house

Itu often means that, but in natural translation it can also function a bit like the, depending on context.

In tamu baru itu, it points to a specific guest already known in the conversation or visible in the situation.

So it can feel like:

• that new guest
• the new guest

Indonesian does not have a separate word exactly equivalent to English the, so words like itu often help mark something as definite or identifiable.

Dengan ramah literally means with friendliness or in a friendly manner.

It is a very common Indonesian way to express manner:

• dengan = with
• ramah = friendly / courteous

So dengan ramah means:

• friendly
• warmly
• in a friendly way

Indonesian often uses a prepositional phrase like this where English might use an adverb ending in -ly.

Yes, ramah is basically an adjective meaning friendly, polite, or courteous.

In the phrase dengan ramah, it works inside a prepositional phrase to describe how the action was done.

So the structure is:

• menyambut = welcomed
• dengan ramah = in a friendly way

You can think of it as functioning adverbially in the sentence, even though ramah itself is an adjective.

No, that would sound ungrammatical or at least very unnatural in standard Indonesian.

To express manner naturally, Indonesian usually needs a form such as:

• dengan ramah = in a friendly way
• or another adverbial expression

So dengan is important here.

Without it, ramah would not connect properly to the verb menyambut.

It is neutral to fairly standard Indonesian.

Nothing in it is slangy. It would be fine in:

• everyday conversation
• writing
• exercises
• textbooks

The verb menyambut is a standard, complete verb form, so it may sound a bit more careful or polished than very casual spoken Indonesian, but it is completely natural.

Yes. Depending on context, menyambut can mean:

• to welcome
• to receive
• to greet on arrival

It often suggests a positive or intentional reception. In this sentence, because of dengan ramah, the idea is clearly warm and friendly.

So the overall meaning is not just that they met the guest, but that they welcomed the guest in a friendly way.

The sentence breaks down like this:

• Tetangga kami = subject
• menyambut = verb
• tamu baru itu = object
• dengan ramah = adverbial phrase of manner

So the pattern is basically:

Subject + Verb + Object + Manner

That is a very common sentence structure in Indonesian.

Indonesian stress is usually not as strong or contrastive as in English, but a natural reading would flow like this:

Tetangga kami / menyambut / tamu baru itu / dengan ramah.

Each phrase is said smoothly, and the last syllable of a word is not usually heavily stressed the way English learners sometimes expect.

A rough pronunciation guide:

• tetangga → te-TANG-ga
• kami → KA-mi
• menyambut → men-YAM-but
• tamu → TA-mu
• baru → ba-RU
• itu → I-tu
• dengan → DE-ngan
• ramah → RA-mah

This is only approximate, but it helps show the rhythm.

Yes, and context matters.

Baru can describe something as:

• new
• recent
• newly arrived in some contexts

So tamu baru usually means new guest, but that could mean:

• a guest who has just arrived
• a guest who is new to the group or place
• a different guest being introduced

The sentence itself does not force just one interpretation. The surrounding context would tell you which nuance is meant.