Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Anak-anak mempelajari syarat mendirikan tenda dari pemandu dengan antusias. - The children learn the requirements for setting up a tent from the guide enthusiastically.

In Indonesian, reduplication (writing a word twice) often indicates a plural or collective meaning. Instead of “anak anak” (which would be incorrect spacing), we write anak-anak with a hyphen to mean “children.”

What exactly does mempelajari mean, and how is it formed?

mempelajari means “to study” or “to learn about” something thoroughly. It’s formed by adding the prefix mem- and suffix -i to the root pelajar, which itself comes from belajar (“to learn”). The result is a transitive verb: you mempelajari something.

How is mempelajari different from belajar?

belajar is more general (“to learn”), often intransitive (you can say “Saya belajar” = “I study”).
mempelajari is transitive and more specific: it focuses on the object being studied (“mempelajari bahasa” = “to study a language”).

What does syarat mean, and is it countable?

syarat means “requirement,” “condition,” or “prerequisite.” It’s generally countable: you can have one syarat or multiple syarat-syarat (though often just syarat in context).

Why is the phrase syarat mendirikan tenda ordered like that, instead of saying syarat tenda mendirikan?

In Indonesian, modifiers follow what they modify.

syarat is the noun,
mendirikan tenda (“to set up a tent”) is the noun phrase explaining which requirement.
Together: “the requirement for setting up a tent” → syarat mendirikan tenda.

How is mendirikan formed, and why not just use dirikan or mendirikan without prefix?

mendirikan is from the root diri (“self”) plus prefix men- and suffix -kan, but historically dirikan came to mean “to erect” or “to make stand up.”

men-
- root + -kan makes it an active transitive verb: “to erect/mendirikan.”
You can’t drop men-; dirikan without men- is passive or imperative depending on context.

Why do we say dari pemandu and not oleh pemandu to express “by the guide”?

dari literally means “from.” Here it indicates the source of information or instruction.
oleh marks a passive agent (“was taught by the guide”). If you said diajari oleh pemandu, that’d be passive.
In our active sentence, “They learn the requirements from the guide,” dari is more natural.

What role does dengan antusias play? Can I drop dengan?

dengan antusias (“with enthusiasm”) is an adverbial phrase explaining how they learn.

You need dengan to turn the noun antusias into an adverbial phrase.
Dropping dengan would make it just a loose adjective; it wouldn’t correctly modify the verb.

Is antusias originally an Indonesian word? Why does it sound like English?

antusias is borrowed from Dutch enthousias or directly from Greek roots. Many academic or formal Indonesian words come from European languages, so they sound familiar to English speakers.

Can I say Anak-anak dengan antusias mempelajari… instead?

Yes, you can front the adverbial phrase:
“Anak-anak dengan antusias mempelajari syarat mendirikan tenda dari pemandu.”
The meaning is the same; you’re just emphasizing with enthusiasm at the start.