Saya berjanji tidak akan terlambat lagi.

I promise I will not be late again.

Breakdown of Saya berjanji tidak akan terlambat lagi.

• saya: I
• tidak: not
• akan: will
• terlambat: late

Questions & Answers about Saya berjanji tidak akan terlambat lagi.

Why does the sentence start with saya? Can I use aku instead?

Yes. Saya means I and is the more neutral or polite choice.

You can often replace it with aku in casual speech:

• Saya berjanji tidak akan terlambat lagi.
• Aku berjanji tidak akan terlambat lagi.

Both mean the same thing, but aku sounds more informal and personal.

What does berjanji mean, and why isn’t it just janji?

Janji is the base word meaning promise.

With the prefix ber-, berjanji becomes a verb meaning to make a promise / to promise.

So:

• janji = promise
• berjanji = to promise

In everyday Indonesian, people also very often say saya janji in casual speech, even though berjanji is the more standard full verb.

What does the prefix ber- do in berjanji?