Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Psikolog sekolah menjelaskan bahwa bersikap egois sesekali itu wajar, asal kita tidak menyakiti orang lain. - The school psychologist explains that being selfish once in a while is normal, as long as we do not hurt others.

The pattern is [profession] + [institution]:
- guru sekolah dasar = elementary school teacher
- dokter hewan = veterinarian (literally: animal doctor)

Psikolog sekolah usually implies someone whose job/role is as a psychologist for the school (like a designated school counselor).

Psikolog di sekolah = a psychologist at the school

This could be any psychologist who happens to be at/in the school (for example, a visiting psychologist), not necessarily a permanent “school psychologist” by role.

So:

psikolog sekolah = “school psychologist” (institution-linked role)
psikolog di sekolah = “psychologist at the school” (location-focused)

What is the function of bahwa in menjelaskan bahwa…? Can I leave it out or replace it?

Bahwa introduces a reported clause (that-clause), similar to English “that” in sentences like “He explained that…”.

Psikolog sekolah menjelaskan bahwa…
= “The school psychologist explained that…”

You can often:

Keep it (more formal/neutral):
- Dia menjelaskan bahwa itu wajar.
Replace it with kalau (more informal/conversational):
- Dia menjelaskan kalau itu wajar.
Omit it entirely in casual speech:
- Dia menjelaskan itu wajar.

In writing (especially formal), bahwa is preferred. In everyday spoken Indonesian, kalau or omission is common.

Why do we say bersikap egois instead of just egois or menjadi egois?

Bersikap comes from sikap (attitude) and literally means “to have/show an attitude of …”.

bersikap egois = to behave in a selfish way / to take a selfish attitude
egois alone is just an adjective: selfish, egoistic
menjadi egois = to become selfish

Nuance:

bersikap egois focuses on behavior or attitude in a situation, not necessarily a permanent trait.
- Coba jangan bersikap egois.
  = Try not to act selfishly (in this context).
dia egois suggests the person is (generally) a selfish person.
dia menjadi egois suggests a change into being selfish.

So bersikap egois fits here because the sentence talks about sometimes acting selfishly, not permanently being a selfish person.

What exactly does sesekali mean, and how is it different from kadang-kadang?

Sesekali means once in a while / occasionally.

It suggests something happens infrequently, a bit less often than kadang-kadang in many contexts.

Comparison:

sesekali = once in a while, every now and then
kadang-kadang = sometimes, from time to time

Examples:

Saya sesekali makan di restoran mahal.
= I eat at expensive restaurants once in a while. (rare)
Saya kadang-kadang makan di restoran mahal.
= I sometimes eat at expensive restaurants. (a bit more neutral/frequent)

Both are correct; sesekali often feels a bit more occasional/rare than kadang-kadang.

Why is there an itu in bersikap egois sesekali itu wajar? What is it doing there?

Here itu works like “that” in English “that is normal”.

Structure:

bersikap egois sesekali = being selfish once in a while
Add itu after the phrase:
- bersikap egois sesekali itu ≈ “that (thing of) being selfish once in a while”
Then comment on it:
- bersikap egois sesekali itu wajar
  = “that is normal”

So itu:

Refers back to the whole idea bersikap egois sesekali
Helps package it as a topic/subject: “As for being selfish once in a while, that is normal.”

Without itu:

Bersikap egois sesekali wajar is still understandable, but itu makes the sentence feel clearer and more natural.

What does wajar mean here, and how is it different from words like normal or biasa?

Wajar roughly means natural / reasonable / acceptable, often with a moral or social tone: “this is okay, not wrong”.

In this sentence:
…itu wajar = that is normal / that’s perfectly okay / that makes sense.

Comparison:

wajar
- natural, appropriate, reasonable, not something to feel guilty or shocked about.
- Marah sedikit itu wajar. = Getting a bit angry is normal/reasonable.
normal
- borrowed word, often used in more technical/medical or neutral senses.
- Tekanan darahmu normal.
biasa
- usual, common, nothing special.
- Ini hal biasa. = This is a common/usual thing.

So wajar here emphasizes: it’s a reasonable, acceptable thing to do.

In asal kita tidak menyakiti orang lain, what does asal mean? Is it the same as kalau or selama?

Here asal means “as long as / provided that / on condition that”.

… itu wajar, asal kita tidak menyakiti orang lain.
= “... that’s normal, as long as we don’t hurt other people.”

Comparison:

asal
- conditional, often with a sense of “I allow this, but only under this condition”.
- Kamu boleh pergi, asal pulang sebelum jam 10.
kalau
- general if/when; can overlap with asal in casual speech but is broader.
- Kalau hujan, kita tidak jadi pergi.
selama
- as long as / during (the time that), more temporal.
- Selama kamu di sini, tinggal di rumah saya. = As long as you are here, stay at my house.

In many everyday sentences, asal ≈ “as long as” with a clear condition being set.

Why is kita used instead of kami here? Could we say asal kami tidak menyakiti orang lain?

Kita is the inclusive “we” (includes the listener), while kami is exclusive “we” (does not include the listener).

In this sentence:

asal kita tidak menyakiti orang lain
implies “as long as we (you, me, everyone) don’t hurt others.”
It’s a general rule that includes the reader/listener and people in general.

If you said:

asal kami tidak menyakiti orang lain
it would mean “as long as we (but not you) don’t hurt others”,
which sounds like a specific “us-group” excluding the person you’re talking to.

Because the sentence expresses a general principle, kita is the natural choice.

What is the difference between menyakiti, menyakitkan, and melukai?

All relate to causing pain, but they differ in form and nuance.

menyakiti (from sakit = hurt, sick)
- to hurt someone (physically or emotionally)
- Jangan menyakiti orang lain. = Don’t hurt other people.
menyakitkan
- adjective/verb meaning hurtful / painful / that causes pain (more descriptive)
- Perkataannya menyakitkan.
  = His/her words are hurtful / It’s painful to hear.
- More about the quality of something as hurtful.
melukai (from luka = wound)
- to wound, especially physically (causing injury/cuts)
- Dia melukai tangannya dengan pisau.
  = He injured/wounded his hand with a knife.

In your sentence, menyakiti orang lain is best because it covers both:

physical harm
emotional hurt (offending, upsetting)

Is egois a strong/insulting word in Indonesian, like calling someone “selfish” in English?

Egois does mean selfish / egoistic, and it can be negative if used to label a person directly:

Dia egois. = He/She is selfish. (can sound quite critical)

However:

With bersikap egois sesekali, the tone is softer:
- Focuses on occasional behavior, not on someone’s whole character.
- The sentence then adds itu wajar (“that’s normal”), which further softens it.

So egois can be quite critical in “X itu egois”, but in this specific sentence, the whole phrase frames it as understandable and acceptable in moderation.

Why is there a comma before asal? Could we make two separate sentences instead?

The comma marks a pause between:

Main statement: bersikap egois sesekali itu wajar
Conditional clause: asal kita tidak menyakiti orang lain

Written possibilities:

Psikolog sekolah menjelaskan bahwa bersikap egois sesekali itu wajar, asal kita tidak menyakiti orang lain.
(most natural: one sentence with a comma)
You could split it, but you’d need to adjust:
- Psikolog sekolah menjelaskan bahwa bersikap egois sesekali itu wajar. Asal kita tidak menyakiti orang lain.
- This is acceptable in very informal writing, but looks a bit “broken” in standard writing.

More standard if split:

Psikolog sekolah menjelaskan bahwa bersikap egois sesekali itu wajar, selama kita tidak menyakiti orang lain.
(still one sentence), or:
…itu wajar. Yang penting kita tidak menyakiti orang lain.

So the comma is the normal way to attach a conditional clause with asal to the main clause in one complete sentence.

Could we replace asal with selama or kalau in this sentence without changing the meaning too much?

Yes, but there are small nuance differences.

Original:

…itu wajar, asal kita tidak menyakiti orang lain.
= that’s normal, as long as we don’t hurt others.

Possible replacements:

selama
- …itu wajar, selama kita tidak menyakiti orang lain.
- Still reads as “as long as”, with more of a time/duration flavor, but functionally very close.
kalau
- …itu wajar, kalau kita tidak menyakiti orang lain.
- More general “if” / “when”; in conversation it can sound quite natural, but it’s a bit less clearly conditional-rule-like than asal.

Meaning-wise, all three are understandable; asal and selama feel closer to “as long as”; asal is slightly more condition-focused (“this is allowed under this condition”).

Does orang lain mean one person (“another person”) or many people (“other people”)?

Orang lain is grammatically singular (“other person”), but in practice it often has a generic meaning that can cover one or more people, like “others / other people” in English.

Jangan menyakiti orang lain.
= Don’t hurt other people / Don’t hurt others.

If you really want to emphasize plural, you can say:

orang-orang lain = other people (explicitly plural)
But orang lain is already very natural and commonly used in this general moral rule sense.