Di kelas pemula kami, ada yang bercita-cita jadi dokter, ada yang ingin jadi pelatih.

Breakdown of Di kelas pemula kami, ada yang bercita-cita jadi dokter, ada yang ingin jadi pelatih.

di
in
yang
who
kelas
the class
ingin
want
kami
our
dokter
the doctor
ada
there is
pelatih
the coach
bercita-cita
to aspire
pemula
beginner
jadi
to become
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Questions & Answers about Di kelas pemula kami, ada yang bercita-cita jadi dokter, ada yang ingin jadi pelatih.

In the phrase di kelas pemula kami, what does di mean exactly, and why is it used?

Di is a preposition meaning in / at / on (for locations and places).

So di kelas pemula kami literally means in our beginner class.

You use di:

  • For physical places: di rumah (at home), di sekolah (at school)
  • For places in a more abstract sense: di internet, di kantor

You could also say pada kelas pemula kami, but di is more natural in everyday speech for this kind of location.


Why is it kelas pemula kami and not kelas kami pemula or kelas pemula kita?

The order kelas pemula kami follows normal Indonesian noun order:

  1. kelas = class (main noun)
  2. pemula = beginner (acting like an adjective: beginner-level)
  3. kami = our (possessive pronoun)

Pattern: [noun] + [describing word] + [possessor]
So: kelas (class) + pemula (beginner) + kami (our) → our beginner class.

About kami vs kita:

  • kami = we / our (excluding the listener)
  • kita = we / our (including the listener)

If the speaker’s beginner class does not include the listener (e.g. they’re just telling you about their class), kami is correct.


What exactly is pemula? Is it an adjective like “beginner” or a noun like “a beginner”?

Pemula is basically a noun meaning beginner (a person who is new to something).

  • dia pemula = he/she is a beginner
  • untuk para pemula = for beginners

In kelas pemula, pemula is a noun modifying another noun (kelas), forming something like beginner-level class. Indonesian often uses nouns to modify other nouns like this, without extra words.


What does the structure ada yang ... mean? Why ada and yang together?

The structure ada yang ... is very common and means there are those who ... / some (people) ....

  • ada = there is / there are
  • yang = that / who / which (relative pronoun)

In your sentence:

  • ada yang bercita-cita jadi dokter
    there are those who aspire to be doctors / some (students) aspire to be doctors

The word yang refers back to an implied noun, understood from context:

  • implied noun: murid / siswa / orang (students/people)
  • ada (murid) yang bercita-cita jadi dokter = there are (students) who aspire to be doctors

So ada yang is a natural way to say some (of them) ... without naming the group again.


Why is ada yang repeated: ada yang bercita-cita... , ada yang ingin...? Could I just say ada yang bercita-cita... dan ingin...?

Repeating ada yang makes it clear that you are talking about two different subgroups:

  • ada yang bercita-cita jadi dokter
    → some (students) aspire to be doctors
  • ada yang ingin jadi pelatih
    → some (other students) want to become coaches

If you say:

  • ada yang bercita-cita jadi dokter dan ingin jadi pelatih

this sounds more like the same people both want to be doctors and want to be coaches, which is not the intended meaning.

So the repetition is natural and clarifies the contrast: some X, some Y.


What’s the difference between bercita-cita and ingin? Both seem to mean “want.”

Both express desire, but they are not the same:

  • bercita-cita = to have an aspiration / ambition / life dream

    • usually long‑term and quite serious
    • typical collocation: future careers, big goals
    • dia bercita-cita jadi dokter = she aspires to be a doctor (as a life goal)
  • ingin = to want / would like

    • neutral, general desire (short‑term or long‑term)
    • dia ingin makan = he wants to eat
    • dia ingin jadi pelatih = he wants to be a coach

In your sentence, bercita-cita jadi dokter suggests a long-term, perhaps childhood dream, while ingin jadi pelatih is a straightforward desire or intention.


Why is it bercita-cita jadi dokter and not bercita-cita untuk menjadi dokter?

All of these are possible:

  • bercita-cita jadi dokter
  • bercita-cita menjadi dokter
  • bercita-cita untuk menjadi dokter

Differences:

  • jadi dokter → simple, colloquial, very common in speech
  • menjadi dokter → a bit more formal / careful
  • untuk menjadi dokter → adds a slight sense of purpose or emphasis, more formal or written style

In everyday spoken Indonesian, bercita-cita jadi dokter is perfectly natural and concise. The longer forms are more formal or stylistic, not required for correctness.


What is the difference between jadi and menjadi here?

Both jadi and menjadi can mean to become:

  • jadi dokter
  • menjadi dokter

General tendencies:

  • jadi

    • common in everyday speech
    • shorter and more informal
    • also has other meanings (e.g., jadi = so / ends up / finished)
  • menjadi

    • more formal or neutral written style
    • less colloquial

In your sentence, jadi is used in a natural, conversational way. In a formal essay, someone might choose menjadi instead:
ada yang bercita-cita menjadi dokter, ada yang ingin menjadi pelatih.


Why is there no word for “a/some” before dokter or pelatih? Why not seorang dokter?

Indonesian normally does not use articles (a, an, the), and plural is often just understood from context.

  • dokter can mean a doctor, the doctor, or doctors
  • pelatih can mean a coach, the coach, or coaches

If you really need to specify one person, you can use:

  • seorang dokter = a (single) doctor
  • seorang pelatih = a (single) coach

But in this sentence, the focus is on the type of job they want, not the number, so dokter and pelatih without seorang are the most natural choices.


How do we know dokter and pelatih are plural (“doctors”, “coaches”) and not just singular?

We know from context:

  • The sentence talks about the people in our beginner class.
  • Clearly, there are multiple students.
  • ada yang ... ada yang ... implies some (of them) ... some (others) ...

Indonesian rarely marks plural explicitly unless needed. If you want to strongly emphasize plural, you could use:

  • para dokter = the doctors (group, respectful)
  • para pelatih = the coaches

But that would sound odd here, because we are talking about future doctors/coaches, not a current group of professionals. So leaving them unmarked is best.


What does pelatih mean exactly? How is it different from guru?
  • pelatih = coach / trainer

    • usually for sports or specific skills: pelatih sepak bola (football coach), pelatih renang (swimming coach)
  • guru = teacher (usually in schools)

    • guru matematika (maths teacher), guru bahasa Inggris (English teacher)

In your sentence, pelatih is best translated as coach (e.g., sports coach or some kind of trainer), not just any teacher.


Why is there no explicit word for “students” like murid or siswa? How do we know we’re talking about them?

The noun murid/siswa is simply implied and understood from context:

  • The sentence starts with di kelas pemula kami → we know we are in a class
  • Then ada yang ... ada yang ... → there are those who ...

In Indonesian, if the group is clear from context, it’s common not to repeat the noun.

The full, explicit version could be:

  • Di kelas pemula kami, ada murid yang bercita-cita jadi dokter, ada murid yang ingin jadi pelatih.

But natural Indonesian keeps it shorter:

  • Di kelas pemula kami, ada yang bercita-cita jadi dokter, ada yang ingin jadi pelatih.