Komuter itu duduk di bangku dekat jendela sambil membaca koran.

In Indonesian, demonstratives like ini and itu usually come after the noun.

So:

• komuter itu = that commuter
• bangku itu = that bench/seat

This is the normal word order in Indonesian. English says that commuter, but Indonesian says commuter that.

Komuter means commuter, someone who regularly travels between home and work or another destination.

It is a modern loanword and is understandable in Indonesian, especially in urban contexts. Depending on context, Indonesian might also use other phrases to describe a person traveling on public transport, but komuter is a direct and natural equivalent here.

Indonesian verbs usually do not change form for tense the way English verbs do.

So duduk can mean:

• sit
• sits
• is sitting
• sat

The exact time is understood from context or from time words such as:

• sekarang = now
• kemarin = yesterday
• besok = tomorrow
• sedang = in the process of

In this sentence, without extra context, English could translate it as is sitting or sat, depending on the situation.

Here, di is a preposition meaning in, on, or at, depending on context.

So:

• di bangku = on the bench/seat
• di rumah = at home
• di kantor = at the office

Important: this di is separate from the following word because it is a preposition.

Compare:

• di bangku = on the seat
• dibaca = is read / read (passive)

In dibaca, di- is a prefix attached to a verb, not a separate preposition.

Both can be possible, but they are used a little differently.

In this sentence:

• bangku dekat jendela = the seat near the window

Here dekat jendela directly describes bangku.

You could also say:

• duduk di dekat jendela = sit near the window

That version focuses more on the location of sitting.

So in the original sentence, dekat jendela is functioning like a modifier of bangku: the seat near the window.

Sambil means while, whilst, or at the same time as.

It connects one action with another action happening simultaneously.

So:

• duduk ... sambil membaca koran = sitting ... while reading a newspaper

Other examples:

• Dia makan sambil menonton TV. = He eats while watching TV.
• Mereka berjalan sambil berbicara. = They walk while talking.

It is a very common word in Indonesian for describing two actions done at the same time.

Membaca is the meN- form of baca.

• baca = read
• membaca = to read / reading

The prefix meN- often forms active verbs. With baca, it becomes membaca.

This is very common:

• tulis → menulis = write
• lihat → melihat = see
• baca → membaca = read

In many sentences, using the meN- form sounds more natural and grammatically complete for an active verb.

Indonesian does not usually use articles like English a, an, and the.

So koran can mean:

• a newspaper
• the newspaper
• newspapers in some contexts

The intended meaning comes from context.

If needed, Indonesian can add words to make it more specific, for example:

• sebuah koran = a newspaper
• koran itu = that/the newspaper

But very often, the noun appears by itself.

Literally, bangku can mean bench, seat, or sometimes stool, depending on context.

In this sentence, because we are talking about a commuter and a window, seat is probably the most natural English translation. But the Indonesian word itself is broader than any one English word.

So:

• bangku dekat jendela could be the seat near the window
• in another context, bangku might be bench

By itself, jendela does not mark definiteness clearly.

So dekat jendela can mean:

• near a window
• near the window

Context decides which English version sounds best.

This is normal in Indonesian. Nouns often do not show whether they are definite or indefinite unless something else makes it clear, such as:

• jendela itu = that/the window
• sebuah jendela = a window

The structure is:

• Komuter itu = subject
• duduk = main verb
• di bangku dekat jendela = location phrase
• sambil membaca koran = simultaneous action phrase

So it breaks down as:

[Subject] + [main action] + [place] + [while doing another action]

This kind of structure is very common in Indonesian.

Yes. Although itu literally corresponds to that, in many contexts noun + itu can also be translated naturally as the ... in English.

So:

• komuter itu can be that commuter
• or simply the commuter

The best translation depends on context and on what sounds natural in English.

You could add sedang before the verb:

• Komuter itu duduk di bangku dekat jendela sambil sedang membaca koran.

But in practice, sambil already strongly suggests an ongoing simultaneous action, so sedang is often unnecessary here.

A more natural way to emphasize ongoing action in a simpler sentence would be:

• Komuter itu sedang membaca koran. = The commuter is reading a newspaper.

In the original sentence, the ongoing sense is already clear enough from context and from sambil.