Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Rapat dihentikan karena listrik mati. - The meeting was stopped because the electricity went out.

Menghentikan is the active verb “to stop (something),” using the me- prefix. Dihentikan is the passive form, made with the di- prefix plus -kan, meaning “is/was stopped.” In Rapat dihentikan the rapat receives the action, so the passive dihentikan is correct.

What kind of passive construction is dihentikan, and how do you form it?

Indonesian has one main passive voice formed with di-. Here: di- + root henti + suffix -kan → dihentikan. The -kan makes the verb transitive (“to cause to stop”), and di- flips it into passive.

Why isn’t there an oleh phrase naming who stopped the meeting?

In Indonesian it’s common to omit the agent when it’s unknown or unimportant. The passive verb alone (dihentikan) is enough to show that someone halted the meeting, without specifying oleh siapa (“by whom”).

What does listrik mati literally mean?

Listrik means “electricity” or “power,” and mati means “dead” or “off.” Literally it’s “electricity died,” which we translate naturally as “the power went out.”

Could I say mati listrik instead of listrik mati?

Yes, mati listrik is a common noun phrase for “power outage.” But as a full clause (subject + predicate) listrik mati is clearer: listrik (subject) + mati (predicate). In casual speech you might hear mati listrik, but grammatically it’s a noun phrase.

Can I use rapat berhenti here instead of rapat dihentikan?

Berhenti is intransitive (“to stop by itself”), so rapat berhenti means “the meeting stopped” on its own. Rapat dihentikan implies someone actively halted it. Both are possible, but the nuance changes: voluntary stopping vs. someone calling it off.

Can I reorder the clauses, for example put the cause first?

Yes. You can say Karena listrik mati, rapat dihentikan. When the subordinate clause (karena…) comes first, you typically add a comma before the main clause.

What’s the difference between karena and sebab?

Both mean “because.” Karena is the most common conjunction in speech and writing. Sebab is slightly more formal or literary and can also function as a noun (“reason”) more frequently than karena.