Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Harga sewa apartemen itu dibayar per bulan.

It’s a noun–noun compound meaning “rental price” or “the price of the rent.” In Indonesian, the second noun (sewa = rent) modifies the first (harga = price), so no word like “of” is needed. Literally: “price rent” = “rental price.”

Why is itu after apartemen, and what does it mean here?

Indonesian demonstratives usually follow the noun. itu means “that,” and in many contexts it acts like a definiteness marker similar to “the.” So apartemen itu = “that apartment” / “the apartment (in question).”

What does dibayar tell us about the grammar?

dibayar is the passive form of bayar (“to pay”), marked by the prefix di-. It signals that:

The focus is on the object (“the apartment’s rental price”), not the payer.
The agent (who pays) is omitted. You can add it with oleh if needed, e.g., dibayar oleh penyewa (“paid by the tenant”).

Can I say this in active voice?

Yes. Common options:

Kami membayar sewa apartemen itu per bulan. (“We pay the apartment rent per month.”)
Passive type 2 (very natural): Sewa apartemen itu kami bayar per bulan.

What’s the difference between dibayar and dibayarkan?

Both can be translated “paid,” but:

dibayar is the neutral passive: “is paid.”
dibayarkan often implies payment is carried out/disbursed (sometimes on someone’s behalf or to a beneficiary). In many everyday contexts they overlap, but dibayar is the safe, neutral choice here.

Is per natural here, and how do I write it?

Yes, per bulan is very natural, especially for prices and rates. Write it as two words: per bulan, not “perbulan” and not with a hyphen. Alternatives exist (see next), but per bulan is concise and common.

Can I use setiap/tiap, sebulan, or bulanan instead of per bulan?

setiap bulan / tiap bulan = “every month” (very common and neutral).
sebulan sekali = “once a month” (emphasizes frequency of one time).
bulanan = “monthly” (adjectival). E.g., Pembayaran sewa bulanan. You can also hear dibayar bulanan (“paid monthly”), though for rent many prefer per bulan or setiap bulan.

Can we drop harga and just say Sewa apartemen itu dibayar per bulan?

Yes. That’s very natural and probably more common. harga sewa explicitly highlights “the price/amount,” while sewa alone refers to “the rent.” Both are acceptable.

Why is it apartemen, and how is it pronounced?

Indonesian spells it apartemen (from Dutch/French), not “apartment.” Approximate pronunciation: a-par-te-men, with clear vowels. The final -en is pronounced; there’s no silent “e.”

Do I need a classifier like sebuah?

Not here. sebuah (“a/an [thing]”) is used for indefiniteness. apartemen itu is definite (“that/the apartment”), so adding sebuah would be ungrammatical. If you wanted “an apartment” in general, you could say sebuah apartemen (without itu).

What changes if we remove itu?

Without itu, harga sewa apartemen can sound more generic, like “apartment rent (in general).” So:

Harga sewa apartemen itu… = the rent for that specific apartment.
Harga sewa apartemen… = apartment rent (generally) or unspecified apartment(s), depending on context.

Are harga sewa, biaya sewa, and uang sewa interchangeable?

Often, yes, but with nuance:

harga sewa = rental price (the listed price).
biaya sewa = rental cost/fee (total cost; can feel a bit more technical).
uang sewa = the rent money (the money paid as rent). In many everyday sentences about paying rent, you can use any of them.

Is dibayar always one word? What’s the difference between di- (prefix) and di as a preposition?

Passive verbs with di- are written together: dibayar, ditulis, dipakai.
di as a preposition meaning “at/in/on” is separate: di rumah, di kantor. So write dibayar (one word), but di rumah (two words).

How do we show tense/aspect here?

Indonesian doesn’t inflect the verb for tense. You add time words:

Past/completed: sudah/telah → Harga sewa … sudah dibayar.
Future: akan → Harga sewa … akan dibayar.
Time expressions: kemarin, bulan depan, setiap bulan, etc.

What’s a colloquial way to say this?

Informally you’ll often hear the base verb without prefixes and a possessive clitic:

Bayar sewa apartemennya per bulan.
Bayarnya per bulan. These are natural in speech.

Can I say dibayar kami to mean “paid by us”?

Better options are:

Passive with an explicit agent: dibayar oleh kami.
Passive type 2 (very common): kami bayar → Sewa apartemen itu kami bayar per bulan. Using dibayar kami is possible but sounds stilted or nonstandard to many ears.