Kantor cabang itu sepi ketimbang kantor pusat pada hari Senin.

Kantor cabang itu sepi ketimbang kantor pusat pada hari Senin.
That branch office is quiet compared to the head office on Monday.
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Questions & Answers about Kantor cabang itu sepi ketimbang kantor pusat pada hari Senin.

What does ketimbang mean, and how formal is it? Are there synonyms?
  • ketimbang means “than” in comparisons.
  • Register: casual-to-neutral; very common in speech. In formal writing, many prefer daripada.
  • Synonyms:
    • daripada (neutral, very common)
    • dibanding/dibandingkan (dengan) or dibandingkan dengan (more formal/explicit)
  • Spelling tip: daripada is one word (not dari pada in this sense).
  • Example: Lebih sepi ketimbang/daripada kantor pusat.
Should there be lebih before sepi in a comparison?
  • The standard pattern is lebih + adjective + daripada/ketimbang ….
  • A careful version is: Kantor cabang itu lebih sepi ketimbang/daripada kantor pusat pada hari Senin.
  • Omitting lebih (as in the given sentence) is common in speech; people will understand it as a comparison, but it can feel informal or incomplete in careful writing.
Why is there no adalah before sepi?
  • In Indonesian, adjectives can function as predicates by themselves.
  • Kantor cabang itu sepi is natural (“the branch office is quiet”).
  • adalah is typically used to link to a noun phrase (e.g., Dia adalah manajer). Kantor cabang itu adalah sepi sounds odd.
Are there alternatives to pada hari Senin?
  • All of these can mean “on Monday,” with slight register differences:
    • Senin (very common, concise)
    • hari Senin
    • pada Senin or pada hari Senin (more careful/formal)
    • di hari Senin (colloquial; widely used, but prescriptive grammar prefers pada for time)
  • For “on Mondays” (habitual): setiap/tiap Senin or setiap/tiap hari Senin.
Can the time phrase move to the beginning?
  • Yes. Fronting for emphasis or clarity is common:
    • Pada hari Senin, kantor cabang itu lebih sepi ketimbang kantor pusat.
    • Senin, kantor cabang itu lebih sepi ketimbang kantor pusat.
  • A comma after the fronted time phrase is common, especially in longer sentences.
What does the post-nominal itu do in kantor cabang itu?
  • itu after a noun phrase marks it as specific/definite: “that/the branch office” (already known in context or visible).
  • Without itu (kantor cabang) it sounds generic or indefinite.
How do kantor cabang itu, kantor cabang tersebut, and kantor cabang yang itu differ?
  • kantor cabang itu: that/the specific branch office (neutral).
  • kantor cabang tersebut: that aforementioned branch office (more formal, typical in writing).
  • kantor cabang yang itu: that particular one (contrastive, as when pointing among several).
Does pada hari Senin modify the whole clause or just kantor pusat?
  • Default reading: it’s the time for the whole situation.
  • Placing it right after kantor pusat can momentarily feel like it attaches to kantor pusat. For maximum clarity, move it:
    • Kantor cabang itu lebih sepi pada hari Senin ketimbang kantor pusat.
    • Pada hari Senin, kantor cabang itu lebih sepi ketimbang kantor pusat.
Why doesn’t kantor pusat have itu as well?
  • kantor pusat often refers to the unique headquarters of the company, so it can be definite from context without itu.
  • You can add itu for a specifically referenced HQ: … ketimbang kantor pusat itu. Both are acceptable depending on context.
Is di hari Senin wrong?
  • Many speakers say di hari Senin; it’s widespread in speech/informal writing.
  • Prescriptive usage prefers pada for time expressions, reserving di for locations.
  • In formal writing, use pada (hari) Senin.
What exactly does sepi mean here, and what’s the opposite?
  • sepi: quiet, not busy, sparsely populated; sometimes “deserted.”
  • Not the same as tenang (“calm/peaceful”) or sunyi (“silent/deserted,” often stronger).
  • Common opposite: ramai (“busy, crowded”).
  • Examples:
    • Kafe itu sepi pagi ini.
    • Sebaliknya, pasar ramai menjelang malam.
How should Senin be capitalized?
  • Names of days and months are capitalized in standard Indonesian.
  • So write Senin with a capital S, while hari stays lowercase: pada hari Senin.
Any pronunciation tips for tricky parts?
  • c is “ch”: cabang ≈ CHAH-bahng.
  • Unstressed e in ke- is schwa: ketimbang ≈ kə-TIM-bahng.
  • Senin ≈ suh-NEEN (first e is schwa).
  • Final t in pusat is a crisp, unreleased [t].
Is kantor cabang itu singular or could it be plural?
  • Indonesian doesn’t mark plural by default; kantor cabang itu is ambiguous but usually read as singular.
  • To make it clearly plural, use reduplication or a quantifier:
    • kantor-kantor cabang itu
    • semua kantor cabang itu
    • kedua kantor cabang itu (those two branch offices)