Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Guru kami sangat dihormati oleh murid-murid. - Our teacher is greatly respected by the students.

Guru kami: our teacher (the speaker’s group, excluding the person being talked to)
Guru kita: our teacher (including both the speaker and the listener)

So guru kami implies the teacher belongs to the speaker’s group, but the listener is not part of that group (for example, students talking to someone from a different school).

Why is the verb dihormati and not menghormati? What is the difference?

Indonesian has active and passive forms:

Menghormati = to respect (active)
- Murid-murid menghormati guru kami.
  → The students respect our teacher.
Dihormati = to be respected (passive)
- Guru kami dihormati (oleh murid-murid).
  → Our teacher is respected (by the students).

In your sentence, dihormati is used because:

Guru kami is the thing/person receiving the action (the one being respected).
The focus is on the teacher, not on the students doing the action.

So dihormati is the passive form of menghormati.

How is dihormati formed, and what does the prefix di- mean?

Dihormati comes from the root hormat (respect, honor).

di- = passive prefix
hormat = respect
-i = a suffix that often means “to do [the verb] to someone/something repeatedly or as an ongoing attitude”

So:

menghormati = to respect (someone)
dihormati = to be respected (by someone)

The prefix di- marks the verb as passive, showing that the subject (guru kami) is receiving the action.

Why do we say sangat dihormati and not dihormati sangat? Where does sangat go?

Sangat usually comes before adjectives or stative verbs:

sangat baik = very good
sangat terkenal = very famous
sangat dihormati = very respected

Putting sangat in front is the standard pattern.

You will also see:

dihormati sekali = very respected (literally: respected once/completely)

So both are natural:

Guru kami sangat dihormati.
Guru kami dihormati sekali.

But sangat dihormati (not dihormati sangat) is the common and more natural order.

What is the function of oleh in oleh murid-murid? Is it always necessary?

Oleh introduces the doer of the action in a passive sentence, similar to by in English:

Guru kami sangat dihormati oleh murid-murid.
→ Our teacher is very respected *by the students.*

However, in everyday Indonesian:

Oleh + agent is often dropped when it’s obvious who does the action or not important.

So you could also say:

Guru kami sangat dihormati.
→ Our teacher is very respected. (no mention of “by whom”)

In this sentence, oleh murid-murid is optional and just makes it explicit that the ones who respect the teacher are the students.

Why is murid repeated as murid-murid? How do plurals work in Indonesian?

Indonesian usually does not add an ending for plural like English -s. Instead, one common way to mark plural is reduplication (repeating the word):

murid = student
murid-murid = students

Other examples:

buku = book → buku-buku = books
anak = child → anak-anak = children

But note:

Plurals are often understood from context, so murid alone can already mean student(s).
Another way to say “the students” is para murid (slightly more formal).

So:

murid = student / students (depending on context)
murid-murid = clearly “students” (emphasizes plurality)

Could we change the sentence to an active form like Murid-murid sangat menghormati guru kami? Is there any difference?

Yes, that’s a natural active version:

Guru kami sangat dihormati oleh murid-murid.
→ Our teacher is very respected by the students. (passive; focus on the teacher)
Murid-murid sangat menghormati guru kami.
→ The students really respect our teacher. (active; focus on the students)

Both are correct. The difference is focus:

Passive: highlights guru kami (the teacher).
Active: highlights murid-murid (the students) as the doers.

Indonesian uses the passive form quite often, especially when the object (here, the teacher) is the main topic of the sentence.

Why does kami come after guru instead of before, like in English “our teacher”?

Indonesian uses this pattern for possession:

possessed noun + possessor pronoun

So:

guru kami = our teacher
rumah saya = my house
buku mereka = their book(s)

You do not say kami guru for “our teacher”; that word order would be wrong or at least confusing.

So the structure is:

guru (teacher) + kami (our) → guru kami (our teacher)

Does guru kami mean a teacher of ours or our (main) teacher? Is it definite or indefinite?

Indonesian does not have articles like a or the, so guru kami can be understood in several ways depending on context:

our teacher
our teacher at this school
a teacher of ours

In many real contexts (students talking about their teacher), guru kami will naturally be understood as our (particular) teacher, similar to our teacher in English, i.e. definite.

If you need to be more explicit, you use extra words or context, but guru kami itself is neutral regarding a vs the; context decides.

Is murid the only word for “student”? How does it compare to siswa or pelajar?

There are several common words:

murid: student (often at school, general and common)
siswa: student (especially school students, very common in education contexts)
pelajar: learner, student (often used more formally, sometimes for secondary-school students)

In your sentence, you could also say:

Guru kami sangat dihormati oleh para murid.
Guru kami sangat dihormati oleh siswa-siswa.

All sound natural; murid-murid is straightforward and neutral.