Saya pulang dulu, nanti kita bicara lagi.

Not quite. Pulang specifically means to go home or to return home.

So in Saya pulang dulu, the speaker is not just leaving in general. They are going back home.

Compare:

• pergi = to go, to leave
• pulang = to go home, return home

That is why pulang is the natural choice here.

Here, dulu does not literally mean only in the past. In everyday Indonesian, it often means something like:

• first
• for now
• ahead of others
• let me do this before anything else

So Saya pulang dulu means something like:

• I’ll head home first
• I’m going home for now
• Let me go home first

It sounds natural and polite, especially when leaving a conversation or group.

No. Dulu has several common meanings depending on context:

• formerly / in the past
  Dulu saya tinggal di Jakarta = I used to live in Jakarta
• first / for now
  Saya makan dulu = I’ll eat first
• go ahead first
  Kamu masuk dulu = You go in first

In this sentence, it is clearly the first / for now meaning.

Nanti usually means later, in a little while, or at some later time. It is somewhat flexible and does not give an exact time.

In nanti kita bicara lagi, it means:

• we’ll talk again later
• let’s talk again later

So the speaker is ending the conversation now, but expects to continue it afterward.

This is a very important Indonesian distinction.

• kita = we, including the person being spoken to
• kami = we, excluding the person being spoken to

Since the sentence means you and I / we all will talk again later, kita is correct.

If the speaker said kami bicara lagi, it would mean we but not you, which would not fit the situation.

Lagi here means again.

So:

• bicara = talk, speak
• bicara lagi = talk again

It shows that the conversation is not finished forever, only paused.

A very natural English equivalent is:

• We’ll talk again later
• Let’s talk more later

Yes, bicara is a normal and fairly neutral word for talk/speak. It is not extremely formal, but it is a bit more standard than some casual alternatives.

Other possibilities include:

• ngomong = talk, say, speak; more casual
• ngobrol = chat; more conversational and friendly
• berbicara = speak; more formal

So depending on tone, you might also hear:

• Nanti kita ngomong lagi
• Nanti kita ngobrol lagi

Your original sentence sounds natural and polite.

Indonesian often does not need a separate future marker if the time is already clear from context.

Here, nanti already signals the future, so kita bicara lagi naturally means we will talk again.

Indonesian frequently relies on time words like:

• sekarang = now
• besok = tomorrow
• nanti = later
• kemarin = yesterday

Because of that, a direct equivalent of English will is often unnecessary.

Sometimes yes, if the context is very clear.

For example, in conversation, a person might simply say:

• Pulang dulu, nanti kita bicara lagi.

This is natural in speech because the listener can understand that the speaker means I’m heading home first.

However, including saya makes the sentence clearer and a bit more complete.

Both are possible, but they give different tones.

• saya = polite, neutral, standard
• aku = more informal, personal, intimate

So:

• Saya pulang dulu sounds polite and neutral
• Aku pulang dulu sounds more casual and closer

If you are speaking to friends, family, or someone you are close to, aku may be very natural. In more neutral or polite situations, saya is safer.

Yes, very natural.

It sounds like the speaker is saying:

• I’m heading home now, and we can continue this later

The word dulu helps make the departure sound softer and less abrupt. Without it, Saya pulang can sound more direct and final.

If you want to make it even warmer, spoken Indonesian might add something like:

• Saya pulang dulu, ya. Nanti kita bicara lagi.

The ya softens the tone and makes it friendlier.

The comma mainly shows a pause between two connected ideas:

• Saya pulang dulu
• nanti kita bicara lagi

It helps the reader see that the first part is about leaving now, and the second part is about continuing the conversation later.

In informal writing, people may omit the comma, but using it is helpful and natural here.