Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Suara penyiar terdengar sangat jernih, jadi pendengar mudah mengerti. - The announcer’s voice sounds very clear, so listeners easily understand.

mendengar = to hear (active, someone is doing the hearing)
- Saya mendengar suara musik. = I hear music.
mendengarkan = to listen (to something) (more deliberate)
- Saya mendengarkan radio. = I listen to the radio.
terdengar = literally is heard / can be heard / sounds (no clear agent, often a result or state)
- Suara itu terdengar jelas. = That sound is clearly heard / sounds clear.

In the sentence:

Suara penyiar terdengar sangat jernih…

we are focusing on how the voice sounds to people, not on the action of someone hearing it. That is why the stative/formal terdengar is used, not the active mendengar. Translating it as sounded very clear or could be heard very clearly is natural in English.

What is the difference between penyiar and pendengar?

Both words are formed with the prefix peN-, which often makes person nouns (people who do an action):

Root siar = to broadcast
→ peN + siar → penyiar = broadcaster / announcer / presenter
Root dengar = to hear / to listen
→ peN + dengar → pendengar = listener / audience (listener)

So:

penyiar = the person who broadcasts or speaks on radio/TV
pendengar = the person who listens (the listener)

In the sentence:

Suara penyiar = the announcer’s voice
pendengar mudah mengerti = the listeners easily understand

They are opposites in the communication: speaker vs listener.

How does suara penyiar mean the announcer’s voice without any word like of or ’s?

Indonesian often shows possession or a part–whole relationship by simply putting two nouns together:

baju saya = my shirt
rumah mereka = their house
suara penyiar = the announcer’s voice

Structure: [thing] [owner]

So:

suara = voice, sound
penyiar = announcer

suara penyiar literally: voice (of) announcer → the announcer’s voice.

You do not need an extra word like of or a suffix like ’s.

What exactly does suara mean here – is it voice or sound?

Suara can mean both voice and sound, depending on context.

voice (when talking about a person speaking):
- Suara penyanyi itu merdu. = That singer’s voice is melodious.
- Suara penyiar terdengar sangat jernih. = The announcer’s voice sounds very clear.
sound / noise (general sounds):
- Saya dengar suara mobil. = I hear the sound of a car.
- Suara hujan sangat keras. = The sound of the rain is very loud.

In this sentence, because it is suara penyiar (the announcer’s own sound) and it affects understanding of speech, the natural English choice is voice.

Is jadi here a verb meaning to become, or is it a conjunction meaning so?

In Indonesian, jadi has two common uses:

Verb: to become / to turn out / to be (as a result)
- Air jadi dingin. = The water becomes cold.
- Akhirnya rencana itu jadi. = In the end that plan happens / is realized.
Conjunction: so / therefore / as a result
- Dia sakit, jadi tidak masuk kerja.
  = He is sick, so he did not go to work.

In the sentence:

Suara penyiar terdengar sangat jernih, jadi pendengar mudah mengerti.

jadi is used as a conjunction, meaning so / therefore:

The announcer’s voice sounded very clear, so the listeners easily understood.

Why is there a comma before jadi? Is it required?

The comma marks a pause between two independent clauses:

Suara penyiar terdengar sangat jernih,
(jadi) pendengar mudah mengerti.

Using a comma before jadi when it introduces a result clause is normal and recommended, similar to:

Dia lelah, jadi dia tidur lebih awal.

In informal writing, some people might omit it, but standard written Indonesian prefers the comma here, especially when jadi connects two full clauses.

Why is pendengar not repeated or marked as plural, even though listeners is plural in English?

Indonesian usually does not change the noun form for plural:

pendengar = listener / listeners
buku = book / books
orang = person / people

Plurality is often understood from context.

If you really want to emphasize plurality, you can use:

para pendengar = the listeners (polite, formal, collective)
pendengar-pendengar = listeners (reduplication, more textbooky or emphatic)

So all of these can fit, depending on nuance:

pendengar mudah mengerti
para pendengar mudah mengerti
pendengar-pendengar mudah mengerti

In everyday usage, simple pendengar is enough, and context tells us it means listeners.

Why is it pendengar mudah mengerti and not pendengar mengerti dengan mudah?

Both are grammatical, but the focus is slightly different.

pendengar mudah mengerti
- Literally listeners easily understand or for the listeners, it is easy to understand.
- mudah comes before mengerti, and functions a bit like easy to or easily directly modifying the verb.
pendengar mengerti dengan mudah
- Literally listeners understand with ease / in an easy way.
- Sounds a bit more formal or explicit as an adverbial phrase.

In everyday Indonesian, [subject] mudah [verb] is a very natural pattern:

Anak-anak mudah bosan. = Children get bored easily.
Orang asing mudah tersesat di sini. = Foreigners easily get lost here.

So pendengar mudah mengerti is idiomatic and concise.

Could we say Suara penyiar sangat jernih without terdengar? Would the meaning change?

Yes, you can say:

Suara penyiar sangat jernih.

This means The announcer’s voice is very clear (describing a quality).

With terdengar:

Suara penyiar terdengar sangat jernih.

this emphasizes how it is perceived or how it sounds to the listeners. Natural English might be:

The announcer’s voice sounded very clear.
The announcer’s voice could be heard very clearly.

So:

Without terdengar → more like a static description of the voice.
With terdengar → more like a perceived result for listeners (fits better with the second clause about understanding).

What is the nuance of sangat jernih compared to using sekali, like jernih sekali?

Both sangat jernih and jernih sekali mean very clear, but there is a small nuance:

sangat jernih
- sangat = very, extremely
- Common in neutral to formal Indonesian.
- Often used in writing or more careful speech.
jernih sekali
- sekali literally means once, but after an adjective it means very / extremely.
- Feels a bit more spoken / everyday, though still standard.

Examples:

Air di danau itu sangat jernih.
Air di danau itu jernih sekali.

Both are correct. In your sentence, sangat jernih sounds natural and slightly more formal, which matches a context like broadcasting.

Why use jernih and not jelas for clear?

Both jernih and jelas can sometimes be translated as clear, but they are used differently:

jernih
- Literally clear / limpid / pure in the sense of no noise, no cloudiness.
- Common for water, sound, images:
  - Airnya jernih. = The water is clear.
  - Suara penyiar terdengar jernih. = The announcer’s voice sounds clear (no distortion).
jelas
- clear in the sense of easy to understand, not ambiguous.
- Common for explanations, language, instructions:
  - Penjelasannya sangat jelas. = The explanation is very clear.
  - Bicaralah dengan jelas. = Speak clearly (so people can understand).

In this sentence, we focus first on the acoustic quality (no noise, good signal): jernih is exactly right. That leads to the second clause about understanding:

High jernih (clean sound) → listeners mudah mengerti (easily understand).

Why is there no word for they before mudah mengerti? How do we know who understands?

The second clause is:

…jadi pendengar mudah mengerti.

Here, pendengar itself is the subject:

pendengar = the listeners
mudah = easily
mengerti = understand

Indonesian normally does not require pronouns like they when the subject is already a noun:

Anak-anak bermain. = The children play.
Guru menjelaskan. = The teacher explains.
Pendengar mudah mengerti. = The listeners easily understand.

You would not say mereka pendengar mudah mengerti; that would be ungrammatical or at least very odd. The noun pendengar functions fully as the subject by itself.