Hakim perempuan itu terlihat tenang saat sidang, tetapi dia sangat tegas ketika menjelaskan aturan.

That female judge looked calm during the hearing, but she was very firm when explaining the rules.

Breakdown of Hakim perempuan itu terlihat tenang saat sidang, tetapi dia sangat tegas ketika menjelaskan aturan.

• adalah: to be
• itu: that
• dia: he/she
• sangat: very
• ketika: when
• tenang: calm
• tetapi: but
• aturan: the rule
• menjelaskan: to explain
• terlihat: to look
• perempuan: female
• saat: during
• tegas: firm
• hakim: the judge
• sidang: the hearing

Questions & Answers about Hakim perempuan itu terlihat tenang saat sidang, tetapi dia sangat tegas ketika menjelaskan aturan.

What exactly does hakim perempuan itu mean? Does itu mean that or the here?

Hakim perempuan itu literally is that female judge, but in many contexts itu works like the in English.

• hakim = judge
• perempuan = woman / female
• itu = that / the (specific, already-known one)

So hakim perempuan itu = that (specific) female judge / the female judge (we’ve been talking about).

Indonesian doesn’t have a dedicated word for the, so itu often fills that role when pointing to a specific, known thing/person.

Why is it hakim perempuan, not perempuan hakim?

In Indonesian, the main noun comes first, and the word that narrows or describes it comes after.

• hakim perempuan = female judge (a judge, specifically a woman)
• perempuan hakim would sound wrong / unnatural.

So:

• hakim (judge) is the main noun
• perempuan (woman/female) functions like an adjective here, modifying hakim

What’s the difference between perempuan and wanita?

Both can mean woman, but there are some nuances:

• perempuan

  • Very common in everyday speech
  • Neutral, natural, and widely accepted
  • Used in many official contexts now

• wanita

  • Also common, sometimes a bit more formal or old-fashioned in certain uses
  • Common in fixed phrases: hak hak wanita (women’s rights), organisasi wanita, etc.

In hakim perempuan, perempuan feels more natural than hakim wanita in modern, neutral speech, but hakim wanita is also understandable and used by many speakers.

What does terlihat mean? How is it different from kelihatan or tampak?

Terlihat means to appear / to look (in terms of appearance).

• terlihat tenang = appeared calm / looked calm

Similar words:

• kelihatan – very similar meaning, a bit more informal and very common in daily speech
  
  • Dia kelihatan lelah. = He/She looks tired.
• tampak – also similar, sometimes feels a bit more formal or literary

In this sentence, you could also say:

• Hakim perempuan itu kelihatan tenang…
• Hakim perempuan itu tampak tenang…

All would be acceptable; terlihat is a neutral, standard choice.

What’s the difference between saat and ketika? Can I swap them?

Both saat and ketika can mean when (in the sense of at the time that).

• saat sidang = when (it was) the trial / during the trial
• ketika menjelaskan aturan = when (she was) explaining the rules

In most everyday contexts:

• You can swap them without changing the basic meaning:
  • Hakim perempuan itu terlihat tenang ketika sidang…
  • …tetapi dia sangat tegas saat menjelaskan aturan.

Nuance:

• saat originally means moment/time, and often feels a bit like at the time of / during
• ketika is more purely “when (something happens)”

But in modern usage the difference is small in sentences like this.

What exactly does sidang mean here?

Sidang is:

• a formal session / sitting / hearing / meeting
• in legal context, usually a court session / trial / hearing

So saat sidang here means during the court session / during the hearing.
You may also see:

• sidang pengadilan = court session
• sidang DPR = parliament session

Why is there a comma before tetapi? What does tetapi mean, and can I use tapi or namun instead?

Tetapi means but or however and introduces a contrast:

• …terlihat tenang saat sidang, tetapi dia sangat tegas… = …looked calm during the trial, but she was very firm…

The comma helps show the break between the two contrasting clauses, similar to English:

• ..., but ...

Alternatives:

• tapi – less formal, very common in speech; you could say:
  • …saat sidang, tapi dia sangat tegas…
• namun – more formal/literary, often used at the beginning of a sentence:
  • Namun, dia sangat tegas ketika menjelaskan aturan.

In this sentence, tetapi is a good neutral-formal choice.

Why is dia used here? What about ia or beliau?

Dia is the common 3rd-person pronoun:

• dia = he / she (no gender).

Here it refers back to hakim perempuan itu.

Alternatives:

• ia – also he/she, but:
  • more common in written/standard Indonesian
  • often used when the pronoun isn’t stressed
  • e.g. Ia sangat tegas ketika menjelaskan aturan.
• beliau – respectful he/she, for people you respect (teachers, officials, elders, etc.)
  • For a judge in a respectful context, you might hear:
    • Beliau sangat tegas ketika menjelaskan aturan.

In a neutral explanation sentence like this, dia is perfectly fine.

How does sangat tegas work? Could I say tegas sekali or put sangat after tegas?

Sangat is an intensifier meaning very.

• sangat tegas = very firm/strict

Typical patterns:

• sangat + adjective
  
  • sangat tegas, sangat bagus, sangat penting
• adjective + sekali
  
  • tegas sekali, bagus sekali, penting sekali

So:

• dia sangat tegas
• dia tegas sekali

Both are natural and mean she is very firm/strict.

Placing sangat after the adjective (tegas sangat) is wrong in standard Indonesian.

What does tegas really mean in this context? Is it negative, like harsh?

Tegas means:

• firm, decisive, strict, clear in enforcing rules or stating something.

In this context, it’s not automatically negative. It often has a positive or neutral meaning:

• guru yang tegas = a firm/strict teacher (often seen as good)
• aturan yang tegas = clear and firmly enforced rules

Here, dia sangat tegas ketika menjelaskan aturan suggests:

• She explains the rules clearly, firmly, and doesn’t hesitate to enforce them.

What is the structure of menjelaskan? How is it related to jelas?

Root word: jelas = clear (adjective).

With the prefix me- and suffix -kan, it becomes a verb:

• me- + jelas + -kan → menjelaskan = to explain / to make something clear

Common pattern:

• panjang (long) → memanjangkan (to lengthen)
• bersih (clean) → membersihkan (to clean / make clean)
• jelas (clear) → menjelaskan (to explain / make clear)

So menjelaskan aturan = to explain the rules / make the rules clear.

What does aturan mean, and how is it different from peraturan?

Both are related to rules/regulations:

• aturan
  • can mean rule / order / way something is usually done
  • slightly more general and often used in everyday speech
• peraturan
  • usually a regulation / rule in a more formal or official sense
  • often used for written or legal rules: peraturan pemerintah (government regulation)

In daily language, aturan is very common.
Here, menjelaskan aturan naturally means explaining the rules (of the court / procedure / case).

Why is it ketika menjelaskan aturan and not ketika dia menjelaskan aturan? Is it okay to drop dia?

Yes, it’s natural to drop dia here.

In Indonesian, when the subject is obvious from context and the clauses are closely linked, the pronoun is often omitted in the second clause:

• Dia masuk, lalu (dia) duduk.
• Dia sangat tegas ketika (dia) menjelaskan aturan.

So:

• ketika menjelaskan aturan is understood as when she explains the rules.

You can say ketika dia menjelaskan aturan, and it’s also correct and clear.
Omitting dia just makes the sentence slightly more compact and natural.

Could I move saat sidang and ketika menjelaskan aturan to other positions in the sentence?

Yes. Indonesian word order is quite flexible with time and context phrases. Some natural variants:

• Saat sidang, hakim perempuan itu terlihat tenang, tetapi dia sangat tegas ketika menjelaskan aturan.
• Hakim perempuan itu, saat sidang, terlihat tenang, tetapi dia sangat tegas ketika menjelaskan aturan.
• Hakim perempuan itu terlihat tenang saat sidang, tetapi ketika menjelaskan aturan dia sangat tegas.

All still sound natural. You generally keep:

• subject + predicate (main structure),
• and you can move time/context phrases (saat sidang, ketika menjelaskan aturan) to the beginning or middle as long as it’s clear and not overloaded with commas.