Dia menghayati peran itu.

Because dia is gender-neutral in Indonesian. It can mean either he or she.

Indonesian usually does not mark gender in third-person pronouns the way English does. You figure it out from context.

• Dia = he or she
• Mereka = they

So in this sentence, you need context to know which person is being talked about.

Yes. Ia menghayati peran itu is also correct.

The main difference is style and grammar:

• dia is very common in everyday speech and writing
• ia is a bit more formal/literary

Also, ia is mainly used as a subject. Dia is more flexible overall.

So in this sentence, both work, but dia sounds more everyday and natural in many contexts.

Menghayati is a derived verb built with the active verb pattern meN- ... -i.

For a learner, the important point is this:

• menghayati is an active transitive verb
• it usually takes an object
• in this sentence, the object is peran itu

So the sentence breaks down like this:

• Dia = subject
• menghayati = verb
• peran itu = object

You should generally learn menghayati as a whole verb meaning something like to internalize, to appreciate deeply, or to fully inhabit.

In standard Indonesian, active verbs like this normally appear with the meN- prefix pattern.

So:

• menghayati = the normal active verb form
• hayati by itself is not the usual form you would use here as a plain active verb in a normal sentence

That is why Dia menghayati peran itu sounds natural, while Dia hayati peran itu does not.

It suggests more than just understanding the role.

With menghayati, the idea is that the person:

• feels the role deeply
• internalizes it
• lives it from the inside
• connects emotionally or spiritually with it

So it is stronger and deeper than simple intellectual understanding.

Compare:

• memahami peran itu = understands the role
• menghayati peran itu = deeply internalizes or fully inhabits the role

Yes. It follows the basic Indonesian pattern:

Subject + Verb + Object

So:

• Dia = subject
• menghayati = verb
• peran itu = object

That is a very standard sentence structure in Indonesian.

Because demonstratives like ini and itu usually come after the noun in Indonesian.

So:

• peran itu = that role
• buku ini = this book
• rumah itu = that house

This is the normal Indonesian pattern.

English says that role.
Indonesian says role that, structurally speaking.

Literally, it is that role.

But in real usage, itu often helps mark something as specific and already known, so in context peran itu can sometimes feel close to the role in English.

So depending on context, it may refer to:

• a role previously mentioned
• a particular role both speaker and listener know about
• a role being pointed out or emphasized

In other words, itu is often more specific than English that might seem in a direct word-for-word translation.

No. Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense the way English verbs do.

So menghayati by itself does not tell you whether the action is:

• present
• past
• future

You need context, time words, or extra markers.

For example:

• Dia sedang menghayati peran itu. = He/She is internalizing the role.
• Dia sudah menghayati peran itu. = He/She has already internalized the role.
• Dia akan menghayati peran itu. = He/She will internalize the role.

Without those markers, the sentence is neutral about time.

No. Peran can be literal or figurative.

It can mean:

• a role in a play, film, or performance
• a social role
• a function or part played in a situation

So this sentence could be about an actor, but it could also be used more broadly, depending on context.

Yes, it is natural, especially if you want to emphasize depth and emotional involvement.

For acting, some other common verbs are:

• mendalami peran itu = to study/deepen one’s understanding of the role
• menjiwai peran itu = to put one’s soul into the role; to really embody it
• memahami peran itu = to understand the role

The nuance is roughly:

• memahami = understand
• mendalami = study deeply
• menghayati = internalize deeply
• menjiwai = fully embody, often very vivid for performance

So menghayati is a good choice if the speaker wants to stress sincere, deep engagement with the role.