Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Dia menyadari ada kelebihan makanan, jadi dia membaginya kepada panitia. - He/She realized there was extra food, so he/she shared it with the committee.

Indonesian dia is gender‑neutral third person singular. It can mean either he or she; context decides. There’s no grammatical gender marking in the sentence.

What’s the difference between dia, ia, and beliau?

dia: neutral, common in speech and writing; can be subject or object.
ia: more formal/literary; typically used as a subject only (not as an object).
beliau: respectful/polite for elders or people of higher status (never for yourself or equals).

There’s also the clitic -nya, which can mean his/her/its or him/her/it (object), depending on position.

What exactly does menyadari mean? How does it relate to sadar and menyadarkan?

sadar = to be aware (stative: He is aware).
menyadari = to realize/become aware of something (transitive: He realized that…).
menyadarkan = to make someone aware (causative: He made her realize…).

Morphology: menyadari = meN- + sadar + -i (the meN- assimilates to meny- before s).

Do I need bahwa after menyadari? (menyadari bahwa …)

No. bahwa (that) is optional here. Both are fine:

Dia menyadari ada kelebihan makanan.
Dia menyadari bahwa ada kelebihan makanan. In casual speech, people may even use kalau instead of bahwa.

Why is ada used before kelebihan makanan? Could I drop it?

ada is the existential there is/are. Dia menyadari ada kelebihan makanan = He realized there was excess food. If you drop ada to get Dia menyadari kelebihan makanan, it shifts nuance to realizing the excess itself as a definite thing (the excess of food), not the existence of it. Both are grammatical, but the original with ada matches the English there was… more closely. A formal alternative is terdapat.

What’s the difference between kelebihan and sisa for food?

kelebihan (makanan): an excess/too much food relative to what was needed (focus on quantity being more than necessary).
sisa (makanan): leftover/remains after an event/meal (focus on what remains). Depending on context, either can work, but they’re not identical.

Is makanan berlebihan a good way to say “excess food”?

Usually no. berlebihan means excessive (too much) in a negative/over-the-top sense. For “excess/extra food,” use:

kelebihan makanan (most natural), or
makanan sisa (leftover food), or
makanan berlebih (exists, but less common/more formal-sounding). Avoid makanan berlebihan here unless you mean something like “overly indulgent food.”

What does the -nya in membaginya refer to? Can I omit it?

Here -nya is an object clitic meaning it, referring back to kelebihan makanan. So membaginya = share/distribute it.

You can omit -nya if you restate the object: … jadi dia membagi kelebihan makanan itu kepada panitia.
If you neither use -nya nor restate the object, membagi sounds incomplete in careful style, though in casual speech context sometimes saves it.

Should it be membagikan instead of membagi? Which is more natural?

Both can work, but the nuances differ:

membagi [sesuatu] (kepada [penerima]) = to split/divide/share something (focus on the thing being divided).
membagikan [sesuatu] (kepada [penerima]) = to hand out/distribute (focus on distribution to recipients). With a recipient phrase like kepada panitia, membagikan often feels more idiomatic:
… jadi dia membagikannya kepada panitia.
Intensified distribution: membagi-bagikan.

Why is it kepada panitia and not ke/pada/untuk/di panitia?

kepada: “to (a person/recipient)” and is standard with giving verbs (memberi, mengirim, membagikan).
ke: “to (a place/direction)”; often used informally with people, but less formal than kepada.
pada: formal preposition “at/on/to”; with recipients, kepada is preferred, though pada appears in formal writing.
untuk: “for (for the benefit of)”; different nuance (intended for), not specifically “to.”
di: “at/in”; not for recipients. di panitia would be wrong here.

What exactly does panitia mean? Is it singular or plural?

panitia = the committee/organizing team (a collective noun). Indonesian doesn’t mark plural on nouns, so context decides. If you want to stress the people:

para panitia (the committee members, plural emphasis),
anggota panitia (committee members). Possessive/definite forms: panitianya (the committee; their committee).

Is repeating dia after jadi necessary? Can I drop it?

You can drop it. Subject drop is common when it’s clear from context:

Dia menyadari ada kelebihan makanan, jadi membaginya kepada panitia. Keeping dia is also fine; dropping it sounds a bit more natural/flowing.

Are there better or alternative connectors than jadi here? What about makanya, karena itu, sehingga, maka?

jadi: neutral “so,” very common in speech and writing.
karena itu / oleh karena itu: “therefore,” a bit more formal.
maka: formal/literary “thus,” often after a comma.
sehingga: “so that/as a result,” better for non‑volitional results; less suitable with deliberate actions.
makanya: colloquial “that’s why,” informal. All can link cause→result, but for deliberate actions jadi/karena itu/maka are safest.

How would a passive version look?

Kelebihan makanan itu dibagikan kepada panitia. You can add sequence words: … kemudian dibagikan … / lalu dibagikan …
Using passive shifts focus to the food rather than the doer.

Is the comma before jadi required?

Recommended. When jadi connects two independent clauses, a comma before it is standard in many style guides. In short/simple sentences, you’ll also see it without a comma, but the comma is the safer choice.

Any common colloquial rephrasings?

Yes, for everyday speech:

Dia sadar ada kelebihan makanan, jadi dia bagi-bagi ke panitia.
Drop the second subject: … jadi bagi-bagi ke panitia. Colloquial features: sadar instead of menyadari, bagi-bagi (reduplication for distribution), ke instead of kepada.