Untuk kelas daring, saya menyalakan kamera web tetapi mematikan mikrofon.

For the online class, I turn on the webcam but mute the microphone.

Breakdown of Untuk kelas daring, saya menyalakan kamera web tetapi mematikan mikrofon.

• saya: I
• untuk: for
• menyalakan: to turn on
• mematikan: to turn off
• tetapi: but
• mikrofon: the microphone
• kelas daring: the online class
• kamera web: the webcam

Questions & Answers about Untuk kelas daring, saya menyalakan kamera web tetapi mematikan mikrofon.

What does “Untuk” mean here, and why is it at the beginning of the sentence?

Untuk is a preposition that usually means “for” or “for the purpose of.”

In this sentence:

• Untuk kelas daring = “For the online class” or “Regarding the online class”.

Putting it at the beginning (“Untuk kelas daring, …”) sets the context first: it tells you in what situation the following actions happen.

You could also say:

• Saya menyalakan kamera web tetapi mematikan mikrofon untuk kelas daring.

This is still correct. The meaning is the same; it just sounds less “topic‑first” and a bit more “neutral.” Indonesian is flexible about moving these prepositional phrases around.

What exactly is “kelas daring”? Is it the same as “online class”?

Yes.

• kelas = class
• daring = online

So kelas daring = “online class.”

Daring is an Indonesian term formed from “dalam jaringan” (literally “in the network”), which is a calque (translation) of online.

In everyday speech, people also say:

• kelas online (very common and easily understood)
• kelas daring (a bit more “official” or standardized, often used in media, government, schools)

What does “daring” literally mean, and how common is it compared to “online”?

Daring is an acronym from:

• dalam
• jaringan

→ daring = “within the network”, so it corresponds to “online.”

In actual use:

• In formal or official contexts (news, government, schools): daring is common.
• In informal speech and writing (friends, social media): online is at least as common, sometimes more so.

Both kelas daring and kelas online are acceptable; you’ll see and hear both.

Why is the word order “Untuk kelas daring, saya …” instead of “Saya … untuk kelas daring”?

Indonesian word order is flexible for these kinds of phrases.

• Untuk kelas daring, saya menyalakan kamera web tetapi mematikan mikrofon.
  → Emphasizes the context/situation first: “As for the online class, I …”

• Saya menyalakan kamera web tetapi mematikan mikrofon untuk kelas daring.
  → More neutral, similar to English “I turn on the webcam but turn off the microphone for the online class.”

Both are grammatically correct. Moving “untuk kelas daring” to the front is a natural way to set the topic in Indonesian.

What does “menyalakan” mean exactly? How is it different from “menghidupkan”?

Both are often translated as “to turn on / to switch on.”

• menyalakan

  • basic meaning: to make something emit light / start operating
  • used for things like lights, machines, devices, TV, computer, webcam
  • e.g. menyalakan lampu (turn on the light), menyalakan komputer (turn on the computer)

• menghidupkan

  • basic meaning: to make something alive / to make it “live” or active
  • can also mean to turn on (a car engine, TV, etc.), but has a slightly more “activate / bring to life” nuance.

In this sentence, using menyalakan kamera web is perfectly natural. You could also hear menghidupkan kamera web, and it would still sound fine, though menyalakan feels a bit more common for devices.

What does “mematikan” mean, and is it the same as “to mute”?

Literally:

• mematikan = to make (something) dead, i.e. to turn something off.

So:

• mematikan mikrofon = to turn off the microphone / to switch off the microphone.

In context (online class), this usually corresponds to “to mute the microphone.”

However, note:

• Indonesian doesn’t have a strict native verb meaning “mute (audio)” in the technical sense.
• People typically say:
  • mematikan mikrofon (turn off the microphone)
  • mematikan mic (informal; “mic” from English)
  • Sometimes even mute mic in mixed English-Indonesian speech.

So mematikan mikrofon is a natural way to say “mute/turn off the microphone.”

Why is “saya” not repeated before “mematikan”? Should it be “saya menyalakan … tetapi saya mematikan …”?

It could be repeated, but Indonesian normally omits the subject when it’s clear.

• Full form (also correct):
  Untuk kelas daring, saya menyalakan kamera web tetapi saya mematikan mikrofon.

• More natural, less repetitive:
  Untuk kelas daring, saya menyalakan kamera web tetapi mematikan mikrofon.

Because “saya” is already the subject of the first verb menyalakan, it is understood to also be the subject of mematikan. This kind of subject dropping is very common in Indonesian when the subject doesn’t change.

What is the difference between “tetapi” and “tapi”?

Both mean “but / however.”

• tetapi

  • more formal or neutral
  • suitable for writing and speech in almost any context

• tapi

  • more informal / conversational
  • extremely common in everyday speech

In this sentence:

• … saya menyalakan kamera web tetapi mematikan mikrofon. (formal/neutral)
• … saya menyalakan kamera web tapi mematikan mikrofon. (more casual)

Both are correct; it’s mainly a matter of formality and style.

Why is it “kamera web” and not just “webcam” in Indonesian?

Indonesian often creates phrases instead of using the exact English word.

• kamera = camera
• web = web / internet

So kamera web literally means “web camera”, so it corresponds to “webcam.”

In actual usage:

• kamera web is understandable and acceptable.
• Many speakers also simply say webcam (a direct loan from English), especially in informal or tech contexts.

So you might see both:

• Saya menyalakan kamera web.
• Saya menyalakan webcam.

Both are fine; webcam is very common in practice.

Is there any tense in this sentence? How do we know if it’s past, present, or future?

Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense.

Menyalakan and mematikan themselves are “tenseless”; the time is understood from context or from extra words.

Your sentence could mean:

• Present / habitual: “For online classes, I (usually) turn on the webcam but turn off the microphone.”
• Past: “For the online class, I turned on the webcam but turned off the microphone.”
• Future (with extra word):
  
  • Untuk kelas daring nanti, saya akan menyalakan kamera web tetapi mematikan mikrofon.
    → “For the online class later, I will turn on the webcam but turn off the microphone.”

Common time markers:

• tadi = earlier / just now
• sekarang = now
• nanti = later
• akan = will (future marker)
• sedang = be in the middle of doing (progressive)

Without these, you rely on context to interpret the time.

Why is “mikrofon” spelled like that instead of “microphone”? Are there other common variants?

Mikrofon is the standard Indonesian spelling adapted from the international/Greek roots (micro + phone).

In everyday usage, you’ll also see:

• mikrofon (formal, dictionary form)
• mikrofon / mikropon (some variation; mikrofon is more standard)
• mic / mike / mik (informal, borrowed from English mic)

In speech, many people just say “mic” (pronounced like English “mike”):

• mematikan mic (informal)
• mematikan mikrofon (more formal/standard)

Could you say just “kamera” instead of “kamera web” here?

You can, but it becomes less specific.

• kamera = any camera (phone camera, DSLR, webcam, etc.)
• kamera web / webcam = specifically the computer’s/web’s camera.

If the context is clearly an online class on a laptop or computer, Saya menyalakan kamera might still be understood as “I turn on the webcam.”

But if you want to be clear and avoid ambiguity, kamera web or webcam is better in this sentence.