Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Suara penyiar itu saya dengar setiap malam di saluran favorit saya. - I hear that announcer's voice every night on my favorite channel.

Saya dengar suara penyiar itu setiap malam di saluran favorit saya.
= Neutral word order: Subject – Verb – Object – Adverbs
“I hear that announcer’s voice every night on my favorite channel.”
Suara penyiar itu saya dengar setiap malam di saluran favorit saya.
= The object is moved to the front for emphasis or as the “topic”:
Literally: “That announcer’s voice, I hear (it) every night on my favorite channel.”

This fronting is common in Indonesian when:

You want to highlight what you’re talking about (here: “Suara penyiar itu”), or
The thing is already known in the context and you are just commenting on it.

So the sentence is still active, with saya as the subject and dengar as the verb; it’s just that the object (suara penyiar itu) is placed at the beginning for emphasis.

Is this sentence active or passive? Where is the subject?

It is active.

Subject: saya (I)
Verb: dengar (hear)
Object: suara penyiar itu (that announcer’s voice)

If you rearrange it to the default order, it’s clearer:

Saya dengar suara penyiar itu setiap malam di saluran favorit saya.

A passive version would look like this:

Suara penyiar itu terdengar oleh saya setiap malam di saluran favorit saya.
(That announcer’s voice is heard by me every night on my favorite channel.)

or more natural:

Suara penyiar itu selalu terdengar setiap malam di saluran favorit saya.
(That announcer’s voice can always be heard every night on my favorite channel.)

What’s the difference between dengar and mendengar?

Both relate to “hearing,” but they differ in formality and structure.

mendengar = the standard full verb “to hear”
- Example: Saya mendengar suara penyiar itu.
  I hear that announcer’s voice.
dengar = the root form, often used:
- in imperatives: Dengar baik‑baik! (Listen carefully!)
- after a subject in spoken and informal written Indonesian, like in your sentence:
  Saya dengar suara itu setiap malam.

In everyday Indonesian, “Saya dengar …” is perfectly natural and common.
A slightly more formal style might prefer “Saya mendengar …”, but in this sentence:

Suara penyiar itu saya dengar setiap malam …
feels very natural and idiomatic.

You could also say:

Suara penyiar itu saya mendengar setiap malam … → This is not natural; if you use mendengar, you normally keep S–V–O order:
Saya mendengar suara penyiar itu setiap malam …

Could you give a word‑by‑word breakdown of the sentence?

Suara penyiar itu saya dengar setiap malam di saluran favorit saya.

suara – voice / sound
penyiar – announcer / presenter (often radio or TV)
itu – that (used here like “that/that specific”)
→ suara penyiar itu = that announcer’s voice
saya – I / me
dengar – hear
setiap – every
malam – night / evening
→ setiap malam = every night
di – at / on / in (location preposition)
saluran – channel (TV channel, radio channel, cable channel)
favorit – favorite
saya – my (literally “I/me”, but used as a possessive)

So literally:
“That announcer’s voice, I hear (it) every night on my favorite channel.”

Why is “saya” used twice? Can any of them be left out?

The two saya have different functions:

Suara penyiar itu saya dengar …
→ saya = subject (“I”) of the verb dengar.
… di saluran favorit saya.
→ saya = possessive (“my”) after favorit.

Omitting saya as the subject:

Suara penyiar itu dengar setiap malam di saluran favorit saya.
→ This is not correct; the subject is missing.

Omitting the possessive saya:

Suara penyiar itu saya dengar setiap malam di saluran favorit.
→ Grammatically possible, but sounds incomplete or vague, like “on a favorite channel” without saying whose favorite.

You can, however, use possessive suffixes instead of the second saya:

… di saluran favoritku. (my favorite channel, informal)
… di saluran favorit saya. (my favorite channel, neutral/formal)

Or even shorten the first saya in informal speech:

Suara penyiar itu kudengar setiap malam di saluran favoritku.
(ku- attached to the verb, very informal / literary-feeling; more common in writing or song lyrics.)

What exactly does penyiar mean? Is it “announcer,” “host,” “anchor,” or something else?

Penyiar is a general word for someone who broadcasts or announces on radio or TV. Depending on context it can correspond to:

radio announcer / DJ – penyiar radio
TV announcer / presenter – penyiar TV
news anchor – sometimes still called penyiar berita, but often pembawa berita or anchor berita

Related terms:

pembawa acara – emcee / show host (variety shows, talk shows, events)
host (loanword) – often used for modern TV or online shows: host acara, host podcast

In your sentence, without extra context, penyiar most naturally suggests a radio or TV announcer that the speaker often listens to.

What is the function of itu in “suara penyiar itu”? Is it like “that” in English?

Yes. Itu here works like “that” or “that … there” after a noun:

suara penyiar – an announcer’s voice / the announcer’s voice (general)
suara penyiar itu – that announcer’s voice / that particular announcer’s voice

It implies the speaker and listener both know which announcer is being referred to (someone previously mentioned, or a familiar voice).

Compare:

penyiar itu – that announcer
penyiar ini – this announcer (physically close or recently mentioned)

So itu adds a sense of definiteness and specificity, similar to “that (specific) announcer’s voice” in English.

What does saluran mean here, and how is it different from other words like kanal or stasiun?

In this sentence, saluran means “channel”, typically:

a TV channel
a cable channel
a radio channel / frequency (not as common as stasiun radio, but understandable)

Common related words:

saluran TV – TV channel
saluran radio – radio channel

Differences:

stasiun – “station,” used for:
- stasiun TV – TV station
- stasiun radio – radio station
kanal – also “channel,” but:
- for YouTube / online platforms: kanal YouTube, kanal podcast
- for water channels / canals in technical contexts

So:

“on my favorite TV/radio channel” → di saluran favorit saya
“on my favorite radio station” → di stasiun radio favorit saya
“on my favorite YouTube channel” → di kanal YouTube favorit saya

Can setiap malam (every night) be placed elsewhere in the sentence?

Yes. Setiap malam is quite flexible in position. All of these are acceptable:

Suara penyiar itu saya dengar setiap malam di saluran favorit saya.
(Your original – very natural.)
Saya dengar suara penyiar itu setiap malam di saluran favorit saya.
(Neutral order, also very natural.)
Setiap malam saya dengar suara penyiar itu di saluran favorit saya.
(Emphasis on “every night”, like “Every night, I hear that announcer’s voice…”)
Saya dengar setiap malam suara penyiar itu di saluran favorit saya.
(Possible but less common rhythm; 1–3 sound smoother.)

Moving setiap malam usually changes emphasis, not meaning.
Putting it at the beginning (option 3) highlights frequency/time first.

Is favorit the only way to say “favorite”? What about kesukaan?

You can use both; they’re slightly different in style:

favorit – loanword from English “favorite,” very common and neutral:
- saluran favorit saya – my favorite channel
kesukaan – from suka (to like), slightly more formal/literary:
- saluran kesukaan saya – my favorite channel
- makanan kesukaan saya – my favorite food

So you could also say:

Suara penyiar itu saya dengar setiap malam di saluran kesukaan saya.

Both favorit and kesukaan are widely understood; favorit may sound a bit more casual/modern.

Why is saya used instead of aku? Is it a politeness choice?

Yes. The choice between saya and aku is mainly about:

Formality / politeness
Social distance between speaker and listener

General pattern:

saya
- Neutral and polite
- Used in formal situations, with strangers, in writing, in news, etc.
aku
- Informal, used with friends, close family, children, or in song lyrics and poetry
- Sounds too casual in many formal contexts

In your sentence, using saya makes it sound:

Neutral, natural, and suitable for a wide range of contexts (spoken and written).

An informal version with aku could be:

Suara penyiar itu aku dengar setiap malam di saluran favoritku.

That sounds like something you might say to a close friend or write in a diary.

Could the sentence be expressed in a simpler or more “default” way for a learner?

Yes. A very clear, “textbook” version with standard word order would be:

Saya mendengar suara penyiar itu setiap malam di saluran favorit saya.
I hear that announcer’s voice every night on my favorite channel.

Changes:

Put saya at the beginning (Subject–Verb–Object).
Use mendengar instead of dengar (more standard).

Once you’re comfortable, you can start using natural variations like the original:

Suara penyiar itu saya dengar setiap malam di saluran favorit saya.
(object fronted for emphasis, root verb dengar used.)