Aku ngidam pecel; kita patungan, ya.

It is casual / conversational Indonesian.

Clues:

• aku = informal I
• ngidam = colloquial form
• ya at the end softens the sentence in a friendly way
• patungan is very common in everyday speech

You would use this with friends, family, a partner, or people you are close to. It would sound too casual in a formal setting.

Ngidam is a colloquial shortened form of mengidam.

In everyday spoken Indonesian, especially informal speech, people often reduce meN- verbs:

• mengidam → ngidam
• menonton → nonton
• mengobrol → ngobrol

So ngidam is very natural in speech and texting, while mengidam sounds more standard or formal.

Ngidam means to crave something strongly, especially food.

It often suggests a more intense, sudden, or specific craving than just wanting something.

For example:

• Aku mau pecel = I want pecel.
• Aku ngidam pecel = I’m really craving pecel.

A learner should also know that ngidam/mengidam is often associated with pregnancy cravings, but in everyday speech people also use it casually for ordinary cravings.

No. It is very often associated with pregnancy, but it does not always mean that.

In real conversation, someone can say:

• Aku ngidam bakso
• Aku lagi ngidam manis
• Aku ngidam kopi

and just mean I’m craving it.

So the pregnancy association exists, but context tells you whether that meaning is intended.

Pecel is an Indonesian dish, especially associated with Javanese cuisine.

It usually consists of:

• boiled or blanched vegetables
• peanut sauce
• sometimes rice, tofu, tempeh, or crackers on the side

A rough English explanation might be vegetables with peanut sauce, but that does not fully capture the dish, so it is often best to keep the word pecel untranslated.

Because aku is the informal word for I.

Compare:

• aku = casual, personal, friendly
• saya = polite, neutral, more formal

Since the whole sentence is informal, aku fits naturally.

If you changed it to saya, the sentence would sound less casual, but the rest of the sentence would still be fairly conversational because of ngidam, patungan, and ya.

Because kita includes the listener, while kami does not.

• kita = we, including you
• kami = we, excluding you

Here the speaker is saying let’s chip in together, so the listener is included. That makes kita the correct choice.

If you said kami patungan, it would mean we’ll split the cost, but not with you.

Patungan means to chip in together, pool money, or split the cost.

In this sentence, kita patungan suggests:

• both people will contribute money
• they will buy the food together
• the cost is shared

It does not always mean a perfectly equal 50/50 split, though that is often the idea. The core meaning is contributing together.

No, makan is not necessary here.

Aku ngidam pecel already means I’m craving pecel. Indonesian often allows a food noun directly after a verb like this.

You could also say:

• Aku pengin makan pecel = I want to eat pecel
• Aku lagi pengin pecel = I feel like having pecel
• Aku ngidam pecel = I’m craving pecel

So the version in your sentence is natural and complete.

Here, ya is a softener. It makes the suggestion sound friendlier and less blunt.

So kita patungan, ya feels like:

• let’s split the cost, okay?
• we’ll chip in together, yeah?
• let’s do that, alright?

It is not really the same as the standalone word yes here. Its job is more about tone and seeking agreement.

The two parts are closely connected:

• Aku ngidam pecel = I’m craving pecel.
• kita patungan, ya = let’s chip in / split the cost, okay?

So the overall idea is something like:

I’m craving pecel, so let’s split the cost, okay?

The semicolon shows that the second clause follows naturally from the first one.

A more standard version could be:

• Saya mengidam pecel; kita patungan, ya.
• Saya ingin makan pecel; bagaimana kalau kita patungan?

The first keeps the same meaning but sounds more standard because of saya and mengidam.

The second sounds a bit smoother and more natural in polite speech:

• Saya ingin makan pecel = I’d like to eat pecel
• bagaimana kalau kita patungan? = how about we split the cost?

So the original sentence is very natural for casual speech, while these versions are better if you want a more neutral or polite tone.