Perwakilan murid bertemu kepala sekolah secara resmi.

The student representative meets the principal formally.

Breakdown of Perwakilan murid bertemu kepala sekolah secara resmi.

• bertemu: to meet
• perwakilan murid: the student representative
• kepala sekolah: the principal
• secara resmi: formally

Questions & Answers about Perwakilan murid bertemu kepala sekolah secara resmi.

What exactly does the phrase perwakilan murid mean, and how is it different from wakil murid?

• Perwakilan murid literally means “the representation of students,” and in practice can mean either “a student representative” or “a student delegation,” depending on context.
• Wakil murid means “student representative/deputy” and points more clearly to one person.
• If you mean a single person, the clearest options are seorang perwakilan murid or wakil murid.
• If you mean a group, you might say perwakilan para murid or delegasi murid.

Is perwakilan murid singular or plural? How do I say “a/the student representative(s)”?

Indonesian has no articles, so number and definiteness come from context or add-ons:

• “a student representative” = seorang perwakilan murid / seorang wakil murid
• “the student representative” = perwakilan murid itu
• “student representatives” = para wakil murid / para perwakilan murid
• “the student representatives” = para wakil murid itu

Should it be bertemu kepala sekolah or bertemu dengan kepala sekolah?

Both are acceptable:

• bertemu dengan is the traditional, explicitly correct pattern.
• Many speakers also say bertemu [person] without dengan, especially in everyday usage and journalism.
• For exams or very formal writing, bertemu dengan is safest.

What’s the difference between bertemu, menemui, and berjumpa?

• bertemu (dengan) = to meet (mutual/neutral). Example: Saya bertemu (dengan) dia.
• menemui = to go see/visit someone (focus on the subject actively going to the person). Example: Saya menemui kepala sekolah.
• berjumpa = a synonym of bertemu, often a bit more formal or literary. Example: Kami berjumpa dengan kepala sekolah.

Does the sentence indicate past, present, or future? How do I mark tense/aspect?

Indonesian doesn’t inflect for tense. Add time/aspect words:

• Past/completed: sudah/telah — Perwakilan murid sudah bertemu...
• Ongoing: sedang — Perwakilan murid sedang bertemu...
• Future: akan — Perwakilan murid akan bertemu...
• Time words help too: kemarin, tadi, besok, nanti.

Where can I place secara resmi in the sentence?

It’s flexible:

• Perwakilan murid bertemu kepala sekolah secara resmi.
• Perwakilan murid secara resmi bertemu (dengan) kepala sekolah.
• Perwakilan murid bertemu secara resmi dengan kepala sekolah. All are natural; choose the one that flows best in your context.

Is secara resmi the only/ best way to say “officially” or “formally”? What about resminya or secara formal?

• secara resmi = “officially” (authorized by an institution). Neutral and common.
• resminya can mean “officially/according to the official version” or “the official one.” Example: Resminya, rapat mulai pukul 9.
• dengan resmi exists but is less common than secara resmi.
• secara formal = “in a formal manner/style” (etiquette/format), not necessarily “official.”
  Example difference: secara resmi (approved by the school) vs secara formal (following formal protocol/attire).

Why isn’t it bertemu resmi? Do I need secara to make adverbs?

• Adjectives like resmi don’t directly modify verbs. Use secara + adjective to form an adverb: secara resmi.
• Or nominalize: pertemuan resmi (“an official meeting”).
• So: bertemu resmi is unidiomatic, but mengadakan pertemuan resmi is natural.

Should kepala sekolah be capitalized?

• Lowercase in general: kepala sekolah.
• Capitalize when it’s a formal title before a name or in official headings: Kepala Sekolah Siti Rahma.
• If you write just the role generically, keep it lowercase.

Is kepala sekolah the same as “principal”? Any related school titles to know?

• kepala sekolah = principal/head teacher.
• Related:
  • wakil kepala sekolah = vice principal
  • wali kelas = homeroom teacher
  • Note: guru besar = professor (university), not “head teacher.”

What’s the difference between murid, siswa, pelajar, and mahasiswa?

• murid and siswa both mean school student (primary/secondary); siswa is very common in formal school contexts.
• pelajar = school student (often used in more formal/administrative contexts).
• mahasiswa = university student.

Why is it perwakilan murid and not murid perwakilan? How do noun phrases like this work?

Indonesian typically uses “head noun + modifier.”

• perwakilan murid = “representative of (the) students” (head = perwakilan, modifier = murid).
• murid perwakilan is not the normal way to say “student representative.”
  To be extra explicit you can insert dari: perwakilan dari murid.

Do I ever need a classifier like orang for people here?

Use seorang to mark a single person explicitly:

• Seorang perwakilan murid bertemu... = “A student representative met...” Without seorang, number is left to context.

Can I make a passive version of this sentence?

Not with bertemu, because it’s intransitive. Use a transitive verb:

• Kepala sekolah secara resmi ditemui perwakilan murid. (from menemui)
• Or rephrase: Sebuah pertemuan resmi diadakan antara perwakilan murid dan kepala sekolah.

Should I ever use kepada after bertemu?

No. Use bertemu (dengan) for “meet (with).”

• ✅ bertemu (dengan) kepala sekolah
• ❌ bertemu kepada kepala sekolah (incorrect)
  If you use menemui, it takes a direct object: menemui kepala sekolah.