Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Dia menjawab ringkas saat wawancara. - He/She answers concisely during the interview.

ia is more formal/literary and is typically used only as a subject: Ia menjawab…
dia is common in speech and can be subject or object: Saya melihat dia. You could also use ia here: Ia menjawab ringkas saat wawancara.

Why menjawab and not just jawab?

Menjawab is the standard active verb “to answer.” Jawab is the root and appears in:

Imperatives: Jawab pertanyaannya! (Answer the question!)
Nouns: jawaban (answer)
Fixed phrases/very informal speech. In full sentences, use menjawab.

Does menjawab require an object? There’s no object in the sentence.

Grammatically it’s transitive, but Indonesian often omits an obvious object. The sentence implies something like menjawab (pertanyaan). With an explicit object: Dia menjawab pertanyaan itu dengan ringkas.

What’s the nuance difference between ringkas, singkat, and pendek?

Ringkas = concise, well-edited, compact (quality of brevity; usually positive).
Singkat = short in length/duration (neutral; very common).
Pendek = short in physical length or duration; not used for answers as often. So menjawab ringkas suggests a concise, to-the-point answer; menjawab singkat just says it was brief.

Is ringkas an adjective or an adverb here? Do I need secara?

It’s an adjective used adverbially, which is normal in Indonesian. All are acceptable:

Dia menjawab ringkas.
Dia menjawab secara ringkas. (more formal)
Dia menjawab dengan ringkas. (also fine)

Can I move the time phrase to the front?

Yes. Both are natural:

Dia menjawab ringkas saat wawancara.
Saat wawancara, dia menjawab ringkas. In writing, put a comma after the fronted time phrase.

Is saat different from ketika or waktu?

They overlap:

saat = “at the time/moment (of),” works well with nouns: saat wawancara
ketika = “when,” often before clauses: ketika diwawancarai
waktu = “when/at the time,” common in speech: waktu wawancara Formal writing often uses pada saat: pada saat wawancara.

Is wawancara a noun or a verb? How do I say “to interview” or “be interviewed”?

wawancara = noun (interview)
mewawancarai = to interview (active): Reporter itu mewawancarai dia.
diwawancarai = to be interviewed (passive): Dia diwawancarai reporter itu. Your sentence uses the noun phrase saat wawancara (“during the interview”). You could also say: Dia menjawab ringkas saat diwawancarai.

Is di wawancara okay?

If you mean “be interviewed,” write the passive verb as one word: diwawancarai (or sometimes colloquially diwawancara, though the standard passive of the verb is diwawancarai). Writing di wawancara with a space would be read as the preposition di + the noun wawancara (“at the interview”), which is not the intended passive verb.

What tense is this? How do I know if it’s past?

Indonesian has no tense inflection. Time is shown with context or adverbs:

Past: tadi, kemarin, tadi pagi
Future: nanti, besok, akan E.g., Dia tadi menjawab ringkas saat wawancara (He answered concisely earlier).

Is menjawab ringkas a common collocation?

Yes, and you’ll also very commonly hear menjawab singkat. For the noun:

jawaban ringkas/singkat = a concise/brief answer.

How do I pronounce the tricky parts?

saat: two syllables, sa-at (both vowels pronounced).
wawancara: wa-wan-cha-ra (c = “ch” as in “church”; stress is light and fairly even).
menjawab: mən-jaw-ab (final b is often unreleased, sounding a bit like a soft “p”).

How would I make it more respectful or formal?

Use beliau for a respected person: Beliau menjawab ringkas saat wawancara.
Use a more formal time phrase: Beliau menjawab secara ringkas pada saat wawancara.

How do I negate or modify the degree?

Negate the verb: Dia tidak menjawab (he/she didn’t answer).
Negate the conciseness: Dia menjawab tidak ringkas (not concise) or say bertele-tele (long-winded).
Intensify: sangat ringkas, cukup ringkas, terlalu singkat.

How can I refer back to the question with a pronoun?

Attach -nya to the verb or use a noun:

Dia menjawabnya dengan ringkas. (He/She answered it concisely.)
Jawabannya ringkas. (The answer is concise.)