Liburan dimulai besok.

The vacation starts tomorrow.

Breakdown of Liburan dimulai besok.

• besok: tomorrow
• dimulai: to start
• liburan: the vacation

Questions & Answers about Liburan dimulai besok.

What exactly does liburan mean, and how is it different from libur or cuti?

• liburan: a vacation/holiday period, a stretch of time off (school break, long vacation).
• libur: a day off or the state of being off/closed. Examples: hari libur (public holiday/day off), Toko libur (The shop is closed).
• cuti: leave from work (authorized time off). Example: cuti tahunan (annual leave).
• Related verb: berlibur = to go on/ be on vacation.

Is dimulai a passive form? Why use it here?

Yes. dimulai is the passive voice (di- + mulai) and literally means “is/gets started.” Indonesian often uses the passive to focus on the event rather than the agent. It’s natural for scheduled events: Pertemuan dimulai jam 9. The active equivalent would be memulai with an agent: Panitia memulai acara.

Can I just say Liburan mulai besok instead of Liburan dimulai besok?

Yes. Both are common:

• Liburan dimulai besok: slightly more formal/institutional, fits announcements.
• Liburan mulai besok: simpler, neutral/colloquial. Here mulai works like “start(s) from.”

Do I need to add akan to mark the future, like Liburan akan dimulai besok?

Not necessary. Time words like besok already convey future. akan is optional and adds formality or explicitness:

• Neutral: Liburan dimulai besok.
• More formal/explicit: Liburan akan dimulai besok.

What word orders are natural?

• Natural:
  • Liburan dimulai besok.
  • Besok liburan dimulai.
  • Liburan mulai besok.
  • Besok liburan mulai.
• Less natural/odd: Liburan besok dimulai. (sounds off in everyday speech)

Should I use a preposition before besok (like di or pada)?

• Don’t use di before time words: di besok is wrong.
• pada is generally used with specific dates/days/times (pada hari Senin, pada pukul 9). With besok, most speakers omit it. Pada besok is rare/over-formal.

What’s the difference between besok, esok, besoknya, and lusa?

• besok: tomorrow (everyday).
• esok: tomorrow (more formal/literary; common in headlines).
• besoknya: the next day (relative to a past narrative).
• lusa: the day after tomorrow.
• Very formal: esok hari (tomorrow).

Is dimulai one word or two? I’ve seen di mulai.

It’s one word: dimulai. The bound prefix di- forms the passive and attaches to verbs. The separate word di is a preposition meaning “at/in/on” and is followed by a noun (e.g., di rumah), never by a verb.

How do I specify which holiday I’m talking about?

Add a classifier or possessor:

• Liburan sekolah dimulai besok. (school break)
• Liburan nasional dimulai besok. (national holiday period)
• Liburan kami dimulai besok. (our vacation) Indonesian doesn’t use articles, so context or modifiers clarify definiteness.

How do I say “has already started”?

Use sudah (neutral) or telah (formal):

• Liburan sudah dimulai.
• Liburan telah dimulai.

How do I say “ends” instead of “starts”?

Use:

• berakhir (to end): Liburan berakhir minggu depan.
• selesai (finished): Liburan selesai minggu depan.

Can I include a specific time?

Yes. Add jam (common) or pukul (formal):

• Liburan dimulai besok jam delapan.
• Liburan dimulai besok pukul 08.00.

Can I name the agent with oleh in the passive, like Liburan dimulai oleh…?

Grammatically yes, but it often sounds stiff. Prefer the active for clear agents:

• Passive (formal): Liburan dimulai oleh pemerintah.
• More natural active: Pemerintah memulai liburan. Often you simply omit the agent in Indonesian.

Is there any nuance difference between mulai and dimulai?

• mulai: intransitive or prepositional-like (“start from”), straightforward and common.
• dimulai: passive, highlights the event’s start point and fits official schedules/announcements. Both are correct; choose by tone and focus.

How do I say “starting tomorrow (until…)” to show a range?

• Start point: mulai besok or dimulai besok.
• Range: mulai besok sampai/hingga minggu depan. Example: Liburan mulai besok sampai minggu depan.

Any pronunciation tips for these words?

• liburan: lee-BOO-rahn (penultimate stress; u like “oo”).
• dimulai: dee-moo-LAI (the ai is like “eye”).
• besok: b’SOCK (the first e is a schwa-like sound). The final k may be unreleased in casual speech. The Indonesian r is tapped/trilled.