Karyawan di kantor pusat bekerja cepat.

Employees at the head office work fast.

Breakdown of Karyawan di kantor pusat bekerja cepat.

• di: at
• bekerja: to work
• cepat: fast
• karyawan: the employee
• kantor pusat: the head office

Questions & Answers about Karyawan di kantor pusat bekerja cepat.

Is the word karyawan singular or plural here?

Indonesian doesn’t mark number on nouns, so karyawan can mean “employee” or “employees” depending on context. To make it explicit:

• One employee: Seorang karyawan di kantor pusat bekerja cepat.
• Plural (collective): Para karyawan di kantor pusat bekerja cepat.
• Some employees: Beberapa karyawan di kantor pusat bekerja cepat.
• All employees: Semua karyawan di kantor pusat bekerja cepat.

How do I say “the employees at the head office” more explicitly?

Add a determiner like itu (that/the) or use para for a definite group of people:

• Karyawan di kantor pusat itu bekerja cepat.
• Para karyawan di kantor pusat bekerja cepat. Note: para is only used with people and often implies a known/definite group.

What does di mean here? Could it be the passive prefix di-?

In di kantor pusat, di is a preposition meaning “at/in/on” and is written separately from the noun. The passive prefix di- attaches to verbs (e.g., dikerjakan), with no space. So:

• Preposition: di kantor (at the office)
• Passive prefix: dibaca (is/was read)

Why is it kantor pusat and not pusat kantor? Does di pusat kantor mean the same thing?

• Kantor pusat is a fixed compound meaning “head office/headquarters.”
• Pusat kantor would mean “the center of the office” (a physical center), not “head office.”
• Di pusat kantor means “in the middle/center of the office,” not “at the head office.”

Do I need to capitalize kantor pusat?

No, keep it lowercase unless it’s part of an official name. Example:

• Common noun: kantor pusat
• Proper name: Kantor Pusat PT Sinar Jaya

Why is cepat after bekerja? Could I say cepat bekerja?

• Bekerja cepat is the normal way to express manner: “work quickly.”
• Cepat bekerja tends to mean “be quick to (start) work,” focusing on promptness rather than speed of the work itself. Use bekerja cepat for “work fast.”

Do I need dengan cepat or secara cepat instead of cepat?

Not necessarily. Plain cepat naturally functions adverbially in Indonesian. Variants:

• Bekerja cepat (neutral, common)
• Bekerja dengan cepat (a bit more formal/emphatic)
• Bekerja secara cepat (formal/technical; less common in everyday speech)
• Cepat-cepat means “in a hurry” (often as a command or urging).

Is cepat an adjective or an adverb here?

Indonesian adjectives can function as adverbs without changing form. Cepat is an adjective (“fast”) used adverbially here (“quickly”). Indonesian doesn’t add an -ly equivalent.

What’s the difference between kerja and bekerja?

• Kerja is a root meaning “work; job.” It’s a noun, and in informal speech it can act as a verb: kerja = “to work” (colloquial).
• Bekerja is the standard intransitive verb “to work,” preferred in neutral/formal contexts. Related words: pekerja (worker), pekerjaan (job/work), kerjaan (colloquial for “job/work”).

Why is it bekerja, not berkerja?

The standard form is bekerja. With the root kerja, the prefix ber- surfaces as be- (a common morphophonemic change). Berkerja is nonstandard/dated; stick with bekerja.

How do I express tense/aspect (was working, is working, will work)?

Indonesian doesn’t inflect for tense; use time/aspect markers:

• Ongoing: sedang / lagi → Karyawan di kantor pusat sedang/lagi bekerja cepat.
• Completed: sudah / telah → … sudah/telah bekerja cepat.
• Future: akan → … akan bekerja cepat. Time words (e.g., kemarin, tadi, besok, nanti) also clarify timing.

Can I move the location phrase to the end?

Yes. Both are fine:

• Karyawan di kantor pusat bekerja cepat. (topic: head-office employees)
• Karyawan bekerja cepat di kantor pusat. (focus stays on the action; location added after) Use whichever matches your emphasis.

How do I negate this—do I use tidak or bukan?

Use tidak to negate the verb phrase:

• Karyawan di kantor pusat tidak bekerja cepat. Use bukan to negate a noun phrase/identity:
• Mereka bukan karyawan di kantor pusat.

Are there better or alternate words for karyawan?

• Pegawai: employee; often for government employees but also used generally.
• Staf: staff; usually white-collar/office staff.
• Pekerja: worker; neutral, common in labor/HR contexts.
• Buruh: laborer/manual worker; can sound blue-collar/union context. Choose based on context and register.

How can I say “very quickly,” “faster,” or “the fastest”?

• Very: sangat cepat / cepat sekali / (informal) cepat banget
• Comparative: lebih cepat (daripada …)
• Superlative: paling cepat / (tercepat in certain set phrases) Example: Karyawan di kantor pusat bekerja sangat cepat.

Do I need yang before di kantor pusat?

No. Karyawan di kantor pusat is a noun plus a prepositional phrase; yang isn’t required. Use yang to form a relative clause when needed, e.g., Karyawan yang di kantor pusat itu bekerja cepat (“the employees who are at the head office,” with contrast/emphasis).

Can I say karyawan kantor pusat instead of karyawan di kantor pusat?

Yes. Karyawan kantor pusat = “head-office employees” (a noun–noun relationship). Karyawan di kantor pusat frames it as employees who are located at the head office. Both are natural; choose based on flow and emphasis.

Any quick pronunciation tips?

• c in cepat is “ch” (as in “church”): roughly “chə-PAT.”
• The e in cepat and bekerja is a schwa (ə): cə-, bə-.
• r is tapped/trilled slightly: kantor, bekerja.
• Syllable breaks: ka-rya-wan, kan-tor, pu-sat, bə-ker-ja, cə-pat.

Is there any gender marking in karyawan?

No. Karyawan is gender-neutral. You may see karyawati (female employee) in older/formal contexts, but it’s less common today. If needed, specify with karyawan perempuan or karyawan laki-laki.