Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Dosen ahli keuangan memberi contoh anggaran sederhana. - A finance expert lecturer gives an example of a simple budget.

Dosen is a university/college teacher. In English it’s closest to lecturer or instructor. Indonesian has profesor for someone who holds the formal academic rank of professor, so using dosen to mean a generic “professor” (as in American English) can be misleading. For school teachers (K–12), Indonesian uses guru.

Why does ahli keuangan come after dosen?

In Indonesian, modifiers typically follow the noun they modify. So dosen ahli keuangan literally reads “lecturer [who is a] finance expert,” i.e., a lecturer who is an expert in finance. This noun-first order is normal: head noun + descriptor.

Can I insert yang (e.g., dosen yang ahli keuangan)?

You can, but it’s more natural as dosen yang ahli di bidang keuangan or dosen yang ahli keuangan if the context is clear. Yang introduces a relative clause and adds an explanatory or restrictive nuance. Without yang, dosen ahli keuangan is a compact noun phrase that’s very natural.

Are ahli keuangan, pakar keuangan, and spesialis keuangan the same?

All mean “finance expert/specialist,” with slight nuance:

ahli keuangan: very common and neutral.
pakar keuangan: often sounds a bit more formal or scholarly.
spesialis keuangan: can feel more technical/corporate, like a specialist role.

Does memberi tell me whether it’s past, present, or future?

No. Indonesian verbs don’t conjugate for tense. Context and time/aspect words do the work:

Past: Dosen … sudah memberi … (already gave), or add a time word like kemarin (yesterday).
Progressive: sedang (is currently) → sedang memberi.
Future: akan (will) → akan memberi, or a time word like besok (tomorrow).

What’s the difference between memberi and memberikan?

Both mean “to give,” and both are fine with contoh.

memberi tends to pair naturally with a recipient: memberi contoh kepada mahasiswa.
memberikan can feel a bit more formal or emphasize the thing given: memberikan contoh. In most cases here, they’re interchangeable.

Can I use kasih/ngasih instead of memberi?

In casual speech, yes: ngasih contoh is common. In formal or written contexts, prefer memberi/memberikan.

In contoh anggaran, what does the second noun do?

It’s a noun–noun construction where the second noun specifies the first, roughly “example of X.” So contoh anggaran = “example of a budget.” You could also say contoh tentang/dari anggaran, but contoh anggaran is shorter and more idiomatic.

Does sederhana mean “simple” or “easy,” and where do adjectives go?

sederhana means “simple/plain/modest,” not “easy.” “Easy” is mudah. Borrowed simpel also exists but sederhana is widely used.
Adjectives follow the noun: anggaran sederhana (“simple budget”), not sederhana anggaran.

How do I say “a” or “the” here?

Indonesian has no articles. Use determiners if needed:

Indefinite/singular: seorang dosen (a lecturer, for people). For inanimate nouns, sebuah is possible but often unnecessary here.
Definite: itu/ini after the noun phrase: dosen ahli keuangan itu = “that/the finance expert lecturer.”

How do I make plurals like “examples” or “budgets”?

Reduplication: contoh-contoh, anggaran-anggaran, dosen-dosen.
Or use quantifiers: beberapa contoh (several examples), banyak contoh (many examples), dua contoh (two examples).
For people, para dosen is a formal plural.

Is sederhana modifying anggaran or contoh?

As written, contoh anggaran sederhana means “an example of a simple budget” (the adjective sederhana attaches to the nearest noun, anggaran). If you want “a simple example of a budget,” say contoh sederhana tentang anggaran or contoh sederhana anggaran (the latter is less common; adding tentang is clearer).

How do I pronounce the tricky parts like anggaran and keuangan?

dosen: DOH-sen.
ahli: AH-lee (the h is pronounced).
keuangan: roughly keh-WANG-an; the sequence often sounds like “ke-wang-an” (the u+a in uang glide to “wang”).
anggaran: ang-GAH-ran; ngg is pronounced as [ng] + hard g ([ŋg]). Tips: Indonesian g is always a hard g, r is tapped/trilled, ng = [ŋ].

Where would I add a recipient like “to the students”?

Use a prepositional phrase:

… memberi/memberikan contoh anggaran sederhana kepada para mahasiswa. You can also use untuk in many contexts, but kepada is the default for recipients.

Are there other natural verbs besides memberi contoh?

Yes, depending on nuance:

memberikan contoh (equally common/formal)
menunjukkan contoh (show an example)
menyajikan contoh (present an example)
memberi ilustrasi / memberikan ilustrasi (give an illustration)
memberi gambaran (give an overview/rough picture)

Can I say dosen keuangan to mean “finance lecturer,” and how is that different from dosen ahli keuangan?

dosen keuangan is commonly understood as “a finance lecturer” (someone who teaches finance). dosen ahli keuangan highlights the person’s expertise — a lecturer who is an expert in finance, not just someone who teaches it.