Breakdown of Dia bekerja sebagai petugas keamanan di bandara.
dia
he/she
di
at
bekerja
to work
bandara
the airport
petugas keamanan
the security staff
sebagai
as
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Questions & Answers about Dia bekerja sebagai petugas keamanan di bandara.
What does dia mean in this sentence, and does it specify gender?
dia is the third-person singular pronoun in Indonesian. It can mean he, she, or even it depending on context. Indonesian pronouns do not indicate gender, so you infer male or female from surrounding information.
Why is the verb bekerja formed with be-? Can't you just say kerja?
kerja is the root meaning “work.” By adding the prefix be-, you get the standard verb bekerja (“to work”). In formal or written contexts bekerja is preferred. In casual speech you often hear kerja used on its own (e.g. Saya kerja sekarang.).
What function does sebagai serve, and why can’t we drop it?
sebagai means as, indicating a role or capacity. bekerja sebagai petugas keamanan = “works as a security officer.” Without sebagai the sentence would be ungrammatical: dia bekerja petugas keamanan doesn’t make sense.
Could we use menjadi or jadi instead of sebagai?
No, because:
• menjadi = “to become” (indicates change of state). “Dia menjadi petugas keamanan” means “He became a security officer,” not “he works as one.”
• jadi is a colloquial form of menjadi, with the same meaning.
Only sebagai correctly conveys “in the capacity of.”
What is petugas keamanan exactly? Is it the same as satpam?
- petugas = “officer” or “person in charge” (from pe-
- tugas “duty”)
- keamanan = “security”
So petugas keamanan literally “security officer.”
satpam (short for satuan pengamanan) is a more colloquial term for “security guard.”
What does di mean in di bandara, and why is it used?
di is the preposition for in, on, or at. Here di bandara = “at the airport.” Indonesian uses di for all three English prepositions.
Why aren’t there any articles like a or the before bandara?
Indonesian has no definite or indefinite articles. bandara can mean “an airport,” “the airport,” or simply “airports,” depending on context.
Can we change the word order, e.g. Dia bekerja di bandara sebagai petugas keamanan?
Yes. Indonesian word order is flexible. Both are correct and equivalent:
- Dia bekerja sebagai petugas keamanan di bandara.
- Dia bekerja di bandara sebagai petugas keamanan.
How do you express plurality for petugas keamanan or bandara?
Nouns aren’t marked for plural. petugas keamanan and bandara can be singular or plural. If you need emphasis, you can say para petugas keamanan or bandara-bandara, but often it’s unnecessary.