Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Pelatih laki-laki itu menjelaskan aturan basket sebelum turnamen dimulai. - That male coach explains the rules of basketball before the tournament begins.

Pelatih laki-laki itu menjelaskan aturan basket sebelum turnamen dimulai.

That male coach explains the rules of basketball before the tournament begins.

Breakdown of Pelatih laki-laki itu menjelaskan aturan basket sebelum turnamen dimulai.

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Questions & Answers about Pelatih laki-laki itu menjelaskan aturan basket sebelum turnamen dimulai.

What does itu mean in pelatih laki-laki itu? Is it the same as “the” in English?

Itu literally means “that”, but very often it just marks that the noun is specific/definite, similar to English “the”.

Pelatih laki-laki itu ≈ “that male coach” / “the male coach (we’ve been talking about)”.
Without itu (pelatih laki-laki) it sounds more like “a male coach” in a general sense.

So itu points to a particular coach that the speaker assumes you can identify from context.

Why is laki-laki after pelatih? Could I say laki-laki pelatih itu instead?

In Indonesian, the normal order is:

Head noun + describing word(s)

So:

pelatih (coach) = head noun
laki-laki (male) = describing word / modifier

Therefore: pelatih laki-laki = “male coach”.

Laki-laki pelatih itu is not natural; it sounds ungrammatical. If you want to say “The coach is male” as a full sentence, you’d say:

Pelatih itu laki-laki. = “The coach is male.”

So:

Pelatih laki-laki itu = “that male coach” (one noun phrase)
Pelatih itu laki-laki. = “That coach is male.” (full sentence)

Does pelatih already mean a male coach? Why do we need laki-laki?

Pelatih is gender-neutral. It just means “coach”, with no male/female information.

To make the gender clear, you can add:

pelatih laki-laki = male coach
pelatih perempuan = female coach
pelatih pria = male coach (more formal than laki-laki)
pelatih wanita = female coach

So laki-laki is there only to specify that the coach is male.

What does the hyphen in laki-laki mean? Is it like a dash in English?

The hyphen here shows reduplication (word is repeated):

laki → laki-laki

Reduplication is a common way to form words in Indonesian. In this case, laki-laki is just the standard word for “man” or “male”. You don’t say laki by itself in this meaning.

So the hyphen is not a dash with its own meaning; it simply marks that the word is written as a doubled form.

What is the difference between aturan and peraturan? And should it be plural like aturan-aturan?

aturan and peraturan both mean “rule(s)” / “regulation(s)”.
- peraturan (with per-…-an) is a bit more formal and can sound more official.
- In everyday speech, aturan is very common.

About plural:

Indonesian doesn’t require a special plural form the way English does.
aturan can mean “a rule” or “rules” depending on context.
If you really want to emphasize plurality, you can say aturan-aturan, but it’s not required in this sentence. Aturan basket is already naturally understood as “basketball rules” (plural) in context.

Why is it aturan basket and not aturan untuk basket or aturan basketnya?

Indonesian often uses noun + noun directly, with the second noun describing the first:

aturan basket = rules (of) basketball

You don’t need untuk here; aturan untuk basket is understandable but less natural in this context.

Basketnya (with -nya) would make it “the basketball (rules)” in a very specific sense, often when both speakers already know which particular set of rules (e.g., “those specific rules we mentioned”). In this general context, plain aturan basket is best.

Why is it just basket and not bola basket? Are both correct?

Yes, both are correct:

bola basket = the full term, literally “basketball”.
basket = a shortened form, very common in everyday speech, especially in Indonesia.

So:

aturan bola basket = basketball rules (slightly more formal/complete).
aturan basket = basketball rules (perfectly natural, casual/neutral).

In your sentence, aturan basket is completely fine and common.

What is the root of menjelaskan, and what do the parts meN- and -kan do?

The root word is jelas = “clear”.

The verb menjelaskan is built as:

meN- (prefix) + jelas (root) + -kan (suffix)

Rough function:

meN- often forms an active verb.
-kan often means “to make (something) X” or “to do X to something”.

So:

jelas = clear
menjelaskan = “to make (something) clear” → to explain.

That’s why menjelaskan aturan basket = “(he) explained the basketball rules”.

How do we know menjelaskan means “explained” (past) and not “explains” or “will explain”?

Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense. Menjelaskan itself has no built-in past, present, or future.

The time is understood from:

context and
time words (like tadi = earlier, kemarin = yesterday, akan = will).

In this sentence, sebelum turnamen dimulai (“before the tournament started”) makes it clear that the explaining happened before a specific event, so English naturally uses past: “explained”.

If you wanted to show future, you could say:

Pelatih laki-laki itu akan menjelaskan aturan basket… = “The male coach will explain the basketball rules…”

Why is it sebelum turnamen dimulai and not sebelum dimulai turnamen or sebelum turnamen mulai?

The most natural pattern is:

sebelum + [subject] + [verb]

So:

sebelum turnamen dimulai = “before the tournament was started / started”

Other variants:

sebelum dimulai turnamen – possible in some formal or literary contexts, but sounds awkward or marked in normal speech.
sebelum turnamen mulai – unusual, because mulai here sounds like a plain verb that needs a subject doing the action (e.g., turnamen mulai is not the usual way to say “the tournament starts”). Indonesian normally uses dimulai or a verb like berlangsung.

So sebelum turnamen dimulai is the standard, natural wording.

In turnamen dimulai, who is starting the tournament, and why use passive dimulai?

Dimulai is the passive form of memulai (“to start something”).

memulai turnamen = (someone) starts the tournament.
turnamen dimulai = the tournament is started / the tournament starts.

In turnamen dimulai, the doer is not mentioned. It could be the organizers, referees, etc. Indonesian often uses passive like this when:

the doer is obvious or unimportant, or
the speaker wants to focus on the event (the tournament), not the doer.

You could also say, more explicitly:

sebelum panitia memulai turnamen = “before the committee starts the tournament”.

Can we omit laki-laki or itu? How would the meaning change?

Yes, both can be omitted, with different effects:

Omit laki-laki
- Pelatih itu menjelaskan aturan basket…
  = “The coach explained the basketball rules…” (gender not specified)
Omit itu
- Pelatih laki-laki menjelaskan aturan basket…
  = “A male coach explained the basketball rules…” (sounds more like a generic / unspecific coach)
Omit both
- Pelatih menjelaskan aturan basket…
  = “A coach explained the basketball rules…” (no gender, not specific)

In the original sentence, pelatih laki-laki itu refers to one specific, known male coach.