Tokoh itu saya kagumi.

That character is someone I admire.

Breakdown of Tokoh itu saya kagumi.

• itu: that
• saya: I
• tokoh: the character
• kagumi: to admire

Questions & Answers about Tokoh itu saya kagumi.

What is a literal, word‑for‑word breakdown of Tokoh itu saya kagumi?

Here is a simple breakdown:

• tokoh = figure, important person, character
• itu = that (demonstrative, pointing to something already known)
• saya = I / me
• kagumi = admire

So very literally, in the Indonesian word order:

Tokoh itu – that figure
saya – I
kagumi – admire

Overall sense: “That figure I admire.” (natural English: “I admire that figure.”)

Why does the sentence start with Tokoh itu instead of Saya? Is this word order normal?

Yes, this word order is normal in Indonesian.

Starting with Tokoh itu puts focus/emphasis on that figure, not on me as the admirer. It’s like saying in English:

• “That figure, I really admire.”

Indonesian often puts the thing being talked about (the topic) at the beginning. So:

• Saya mengagumi tokoh itu.
  = I admire that figure. (neutral, subject–verb–object)

• Tokoh itu saya kagumi.
  = That figure I admire. (topic tokoh itu is emphasized)

Both are correct; the second just highlights Tokoh itu more strongly.

Is Tokoh itu saya kagumi an active or passive sentence?

Grammatically, this is usually analysed as a type of passive, often called the short passive:

• The patient (the thing affected) is Tokoh itu.
• The agent (the doer) is saya.
• The verb appears in a bare form (kagumi, without di- or meng-).

Compare:

• Active: Saya mengagumi tokoh itu.
  (mengagumi = active verb)

• Long passive: Tokoh itu dikagumi oleh saya.
  (dikagumi = passive verb, oleh = by)

• Short passive: Tokoh itu saya kagumi.
  (bare verb kagumi, agent saya directly before the verb)

So Tokoh itu saya kagumi is passive in function (the figure is in subject/topic position), but sounds quite natural and common, especially when you want to focus on Tokoh itu.

Why is the verb kagumi used without meng- or di-?

Because this is the short passive pattern:

[Patient] + [agent pronoun] + [bare verb]

Some common examples:

• Buku itu saya baca.
  = I read that book. (lit. That book I read.)
• Film itu mereka tonton.
  = They watched that film. (lit. That film they watched.)
• Tokoh itu saya kagumi.
  = I admire that figure. (lit. That figure I admire.)

In this structure:

• No meng- (active) or di- (passive) is used.
• The agent is typically a short pronoun (saya, kamu, dia, kami, mereka, etc.).
• It is very natural in spoken and written Indonesian.

What is the difference between kagum, kagumi, mengagumi, and dikagumi?

They are all related to the root kagum (amazed, impressed, in awe):

1. kagum

   • Adjective / intransitive verb: to be amazed, impressed.
   • Example: Saya kagum padanya. = I am impressed by him/her.

2. kagumi

   • Transitive verb with suffix -i: to admire (someone/something).
   • Often appears in short passive:
     Tokoh itu saya kagumi. = I admire that figure.

3. mengagumi

   • Active transitive verb (meN- + kagum + -i): to admire.
   • Example: Saya mengagumi tokoh itu. = I admire that figure.

4. dikagumi

   • Passive verb (di- + kagum + -i): to be admired.
   • Example: Tokoh itu dikagumi banyak orang. = That figure is admired by many people.

So in your sentence, kagumi is the bare transitive form used in the short passive pattern.

What exactly does tokoh mean here? Is it “character” or “person” or “figure”?

Tokoh can mean several related things depending on context:

1. Public / important figure

   • A well‑known person, leader, or influential person.
   • Example: tokoh masyarakat = community leader

2. Character in a story

   • A character in a novel, film, drama, etc.
   • Example: tokoh utama = main character

In Tokoh itu saya kagumi, without extra context, the safest translation is “that figure” or “that person (who is an important figure)”. If the context is literary (a novel, movie), it could be “that character”.

What does itu add to the meaning? Could we omit it?

Itu is a demonstrative meaning that (as opposed to ini = this).

It usually means:

• The figure is already known in the conversation, or
• The speaker is mentally pointing to a specific person.

Without itu, Tokoh would sound more general:

• Tokoh itu saya kagumi.
  = I admire that (specific) figure.

• Tokoh saya kagumi.
  This is grammatically possible but sounds incomplete or odd; it feels like it needs more specification (for example Tokoh ini or Tokoh itu or Tokoh itu sejak kecil).

In practice, you almost always want either itu or ini with tokoh in this kind of sentence.

Can I also say Saya mengagumi tokoh itu? If so, what is the difference in nuance?

Yes, Saya mengagumi tokoh itu is perfectly correct and very common.

Nuance:

• Saya mengagumi tokoh itu.

  • Neutral subject–verb–object order.
  • Focus is more on saya as the person who admires.
  • Very straightforward, good for beginners.

• Tokoh itu saya kagumi.

  • Topic/fronted object.
  • Emphasis on Tokoh itu (that figure).
  • Feels a bit more stylistic or expressive, often used in writing, speeches, or when contrasting several figures.

Both essentially mean “I admire that figure.”

Could we say Tokoh itu dikagumi saya instead? Is that the same?

Tokoh itu dikagumi saya is grammatically possible, but:

• It sounds more formal and somewhat bookish.
• In everyday speech, it is less common than Tokoh itu saya kagumi.

Comparing the two:

• Tokoh itu saya kagumi.

  • Very natural, widely used, especially in speech and writing.
  • Short passive with bare verb.

• Tokoh itu dikagumi saya.

  • Long passive with di- prefix.
  • Acceptable, but can sound stiffer.

Meaning-wise, both can be understood as “That figure is admired by me / I admire that figure.”, with more or less the same semantics.

Why is there no yang before saya? Could we say Tokoh yang saya kagumi?

Yes, you can say Tokoh yang saya kagumi, but the structure is different.

1. Tokoh itu saya kagumi.

   • Complete sentence.
   • Short passive pattern: [Tokoh itu] [saya] [kagumi].
   • Means: I admire that figure.

2. Tokoh yang saya kagumi

   • Relative clause, not a full sentence by itself.
   • Literally: “The figure that I admire.”
   • Often needs something after it:
     
     • Tokoh yang saya kagumi adalah …
     • Tokoh yang saya kagumi itu sangat rendah hati.

3. Tokoh yang saya kagumi itu …

   • Also common: [Tokoh] [yang saya kagumi] [itu] …
   • Literally: “That figure whom I admire …”

So:

• Tokoh itu saya kagumi. = full clause, no yang, short passive.
• Tokoh yang saya kagumi = noun phrase + relative clause, needs context to be complete.

Could Tokoh itu saya kagumi mean “That person admires me”?

No, it cannot.

To mean “That person admires me”, you would say:

• Tokoh itu mengagumi saya. (active)
• Or: Saya dikagumi tokoh itu. (passive)

In Tokoh itu saya kagumi:

• Tokoh itu is the patient (the one admired).
• saya is the agent (the admirer).
• The pattern [Patient] + [agent pronoun] + [bare verb] always means the agent pronoun is the one doing the action.

So Tokoh itu saya kagumi can only mean “I admire that figure,” not the other way around.

Is Tokoh itu saya kagumi formal, informal, or neutral? Would people really say this?

It is natural and widely used, and feels neutral to slightly formal/expressive, depending on context.

• In speeches, essays, and writing, this structure is very common.

• In conversation, people also use it, especially when they want to emphasize the object:

  • Film itu saya suka. = I like that movie.
  • Guru itu saya hormati. = I respect that teacher.
  • Tokoh itu saya kagumi. = I admire that figure.

So yes, people really say this; it does not sound weird or literary-only.

Can I drop saya and just say Tokoh itu kagumi?

No, you cannot drop saya in this pattern; the result Tokoh itu kagumi is ungrammatical.

You need an agent before the bare verb in this short passive construction:

• ✅ Tokoh itu saya kagumi.
• ✅ Tokoh itu kami kagumi.
• ✅ Tokoh itu mereka kagumi.
• ❌ Tokoh itu kagumi. (agent missing)

If you want to drop the pronoun, you must change the structure, for example:

• Tokoh itu dikagumi banyak orang.
  = That figure is admired by many people. (agent expressed as banyak orang)
• Or: Tokoh itu sangat dikagumi.
  = That figure is greatly admired. (agent implicit/unknown)

Can we add more detail around this pattern, like adverbs or time expressions?

Yes, you can expand the sentence while keeping the same core pattern [Patient] + [pronoun] + [bare verb].

Examples:

• Tokoh itu sangat saya kagumi.
  = I really admire that figure.

• Tokoh itu sudah lama saya kagumi.
  = I have admired that figure for a long time.

• Tokoh itu sejak kecil saya kagumi.
  = I have admired that figure since I was a child.

• Tokoh itu dulu saya kagumi, tapi sekarang tidak lagi.
  = I used to admire that figure, but not anymore.

In all of these, the key structure Tokoh itu [pronoun] kagumi stays intact; other elements are simply added before or after.