The bicara family separates the activity of speaking from a topic treated as an affected object. Bare bicara and intransitive berbicara center the speaker and the speech event: someone speaks dengan another person, kepada an audience, or tentang a topic. Transitive membicarakan centers the topic itself: someone discusses a problem. Passive dibicarakan keeps that topic in the foreground, while pembicara and pembicaraan package the speaker and the conversation.
English speak, talk, and discuss overlap differently, so the nearest translation is not a safe guide. The decisive question is whether the clause presents an activity plus prepositional participants or selects the topic as a direct object. General ber-, meN-...-kan, and voice formation remain on their dedicated pages. Unmarked examples are neutral Standard Indonesian; conversational and formal patterns are labeled.
No person or tense paradigm
Neither berbicara nor membicarakan changes for subject or time. Separate words establish those interpretations.
| Frame | Form | Interpretive cue |
|---|---|---|
| first person | Saya berbicara dengan Rina. | saya; no agreement ending |
| third person | Dia berbicara dengan Rina. | dia; the same predicate |
| plural | Mereka berbicara dengan Rina. | mereka; no plural ending |
| past activity | Kemarin kami berbicara. | kemarin |
| ongoing discussion | Kami sedang membicarakannya. | separate sedang |
| completed discussion | Kami sudah membicarakannya. | separate sudah |
| future activity | Besok kami akan berbicara. | separate besok and akan |
Tadi pagi saya berbicara dengan Rina melalui telepon.
I spoke with Rina by phone this morning.
Sekarang mereka sedang membicarakan masalah jadwal kerja.
They are discussing the work-schedule problem now.
Besok direktur akan berbicara kepada seluruh pegawai.
Tomorrow the director will speak to all employees.
English varies spoke, are discussing, and will speak. Indonesian keeps the family member unchanged. Bicara is not an infinitive “to speak,” and no member receives English -s or -ed.
Bare bicara: everyday speech activity
Bare bicara is a full intransitive predicate, especially common in conversation. It can appear with manner, topic, or interlocutor phrases.
Kita bicara setelah makan siang saja.
Let's talk after lunch. (everyday)
Tolong bicara lebih pelan karena bayinya sedang tidur.
Please speak more quietly because the baby is sleeping.
Aku sudah bicara dengan pemilik rumah tadi.
I already spoke with the landlord earlier. (informal)
Jangan bicara soal pekerjaan dulu; kita baru saja tiba.
Do not talk about work yet; we have only just arrived. (informal)
In careful prose and prepared speech, berbicara is often preferred. That difference is register and stylistic packaging, not tense. Bare bicara also forms noun-like combinations such as cara bicara “way of speaking.”
Cara bicaranya tenang, tetapi pesannya sangat tegas.
Her way of speaking is calm, but her message is very firm.
Berbicara: speaker-centered activity
Berbicara is intransitive. Its subject performs speech; other participants enter through prepositions or adverbial expressions.
Narasumber berbicara selama dua puluh menit tanpa catatan.
The guest speaker spoke for twenty minutes without notes.
Dokter berbicara dengan keluarga pasien sebelum operasi.
The doctor spoke with the patient's family before the operation.
Ketua panitia berbicara kepada para relawan di halaman depan.
The committee chair spoke to the volunteers in the front courtyard.
Kami berbicara tentang biaya sewa dan aturan gedung.
We talked about the rent and the building rules.
Ia mampu berbicara dalam tiga bahasa dengan lancar.
She can speak three languages fluently.
The complements express different relations:
- dengan + person presents an interlocutor and usually suggests two-way interaction;
- kepada + person/group presents an addressee, often in one-way or public speech;
- tentang/mengenai + topic presents what the speech concerns;
- dalam + language/style identifies the linguistic medium or mode.
Saya perlu berbicara empat mata dengan Anda setelah rapat.
I need to speak with you privately after the meeting. (careful)
Juru bicara berbicara atas nama keluarga korban.
The spokesperson spoke on behalf of the victim's family. (formal)
Berbicara empat mata is a conventional expression for a private one-to-one conversation. Atas nama identifies the party represented, not the topic.
Membicarakan: the topic becomes the object
Membicarakan is transitive. Its direct object is the issue, person, plan, event, or possibility that receives discussion.
Kami membicarakan masalah kebocoran atap dalam rapat warga.
We discussed the leaking-roof problem at the residents' meeting.
Mereka sedang membicarakan rencana pindah ke kantor baru.
They are discussing the plan to move to a new office.
Jangan membicarakan urusan pribadi Dita tanpa izinnya.
Do not discuss Dita's private affairs without her permission.
Artikel itu membicarakan perubahan pola kerja setelah pandemi.
The article discusses changes in working patterns after the pandemic. (formal)
Kita perlu membicarakan kemungkinan menunda peluncuran.
We need to discuss the possibility of postponing the launch.
Compare the two central frames:
Mira berbicara tentang masalah biaya kepada pengelola.
Mira spoke about the cost issue to the management.
Mira membicarakan masalah biaya dengan pengelola.
Mira discussed the cost issue with the management.
The first centers Mira's speaking and marks the topic with tentang. The second makes masalah biaya the direct object and adds the interlocutor with dengan. English talk about and discuss happen to mirror this pair fairly well, but the Indonesian object structure is the true distinction.
Because the topic already follows directly, careful Standard Indonesian avoids redundant membicarakan tentang X. Use membicarakan X or berbicara tentang X. See the topic-preposition guide for related choices.
Dibicarakan and object-oriented clauses
Passive dibicarakan presents the topic as something under discussion. An actor may follow with oleh, but often remains unexpressed.
Perubahan jadwal itu sudah dibicarakan dalam pertemuan kemarin.
The schedule change was discussed at yesterday's meeting.
Masalah tersebut akan dibicarakan oleh tim hukum minggu depan.
The matter will be discussed by the legal team next week. (formal)
Nama calon pengganti belum pernah dibicarakan secara terbuka.
The replacement candidate's name has never been discussed openly.
With a first- or second-person pronominal actor, the object-oriented stem bicarakan follows the actor directly:
Usulan itu akan kami bicarakan lagi setelah semua data tersedia.
We will discuss that proposal again after all the data is available.
Hal ini jangan kamu bicarakan di depan anak-anak.
Do not discuss this in front of the children.
Voice changes which participant anchors the clause, but bicarakan continues to select a topic object. Passive di- attaches in dibicarakan; locative di ruang rapat remains separate.
Pembicara: the person with the floor
Pembicara is a speaker, presenter, or person who is speaking. It can refer to a role at an event or the current holder of the conversational floor.
Pembicara pertama membahas keamanan data pribadi.
The first speaker discussed personal data security.
Panitia meminta setiap pembicara mengirim bahan presentasi lebih awal.
The committee asked every speaker to send presentation materials early.
Sebagai pembicara utama, ia mendapat waktu empat puluh menit.
As the keynote speaker, she was given forty minutes.
Juru bicara is the established compound “spokesperson,” someone authorized to speak for an institution or group. The two words remain separate.
Juru bicara perusahaan menolak mengomentari penyelidikan tersebut.
The company spokesperson declined to comment on the investigation. (formal)
Pembicaraan: a conversation, discussion, or negotiation
Pembicaraan packages speech interaction or its content as a noun. Context selects “conversation,” “discussion,” or, in diplomatic and labor settings, “talks/negotiations.”
Pembicaraan kami terhenti ketika alarm kebakaran berbunyi.
Our conversation stopped when the fire alarm sounded.
Isi pembicaraan itu tidak boleh dibagikan tanpa persetujuan kedua pihak.
The content of that conversation may not be shared without both parties' consent.
Pembicaraan antara serikat pekerja dan manajemen berlanjut hingga malam.
Talks between the labor union and management continued into the evening. (formal)
Masalah parkir menjadi bahan pembicaraan di lingkungan kami.
The parking problem became a topic of conversation in our neighborhood.
Bahan pembicaraan means a topic people talk about, not literally a physical material. Pembicaraan is an established noun; it is not interchangeable with pembicara, which names a person.
Speech manner and conventional expressions
Speech verbs combine with manner expressions that reveal stance and social relations.
Bicaralah terus terang kalau ada bagian rencana yang tidak kamu setujui.
Speak frankly if there is any part of the plan you disagree with. (careful directive)
Dia asal bicara tanpa memeriksa apakah informasinya benar.
He speaks carelessly without checking whether the information is true. (informal)
Jangan banyak bicara kalau belum memahami persoalannya.
Do not talk too much if you do not yet understand the issue. (everyday)
Setelah lama diam, akhirnya ia angkat bicara tentang kejadian itu.
After a long silence, she finally spoke out about the incident.
Angkat bicara conventionally means “speak out/break one's silence.” Asal bicara criticizes careless or unsupported speech. These are lexical combinations, not new conjugated forms.
Common Mistakes
Adding an English agreement ending
❌ Direktur berbicaras kepada semua staf setiap Senin.
Incorrect — berbicara never takes a third-person ending.
✅ Direktur berbicara kepada semua staf setiap Senin pagi.
The director speaks to all staff every Monday morning.
Giving berbicara a direct person object
❌ Saya perlu berbicara Rina sebelum mengambil keputusan.
Incorrect — an interlocutor requires dengan or an addressee phrase.
✅ Saya perlu berbicara dengan Rina sebelum mengambil keputusan.
I need to speak with Rina before making a decision.
Adding tentang after membicarakan
❌ Kami membicarakan tentang kenaikan biaya layanan.
Incorrect redundancy in Standard Indonesian — the topic is already the direct object.
✅ Kami membicarakan kenaikan biaya layanan dengan pengelola.
We discussed the increase in service charges with the management.
Using berbicara to introduce a proposition as an object
❌ Manajer berbicara bahwa kantor akan tutup lebih awal.
Incorrect frame — a reported proposition is introduced by mengatakan bahwa.
✅ Manajer mengatakan bahwa kantor akan tutup lebih awal.
The manager said that the office would close early.
Separating passive di-
❌ Masalah itu di bicarakan diruang rapat kecil.
Incorrect spacing — passive dibicarakan is solid, while locative di ruang is separate.
✅ Masalah itu dibicarakan di ruang rapat kecil kemarin.
The problem was discussed in the small meeting room yesterday.
Key Takeaways
- Bare bicara is an everyday speech predicate; berbicara presents the intransitive speaking activity in neutral and careful registers.
- Mark an interlocutor with dengan, an addressee with kepada, and a topic with tentang/mengenai after berbicara.
- Membicarakan selects the topic as its direct object; dibicarakan and object-oriented kami bicarakan preserve that topic focus.
- Pembicara names a speaker, while pembicaraan names a conversation, discussion, or negotiation.
- Learn conventional expressions such as angkat bicara and bicara empat mata as whole collocations, not mechanical derivatives.
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