Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Psikolog sekolah berkata bahwa sedikit egois itu wajar, tetapi mitos bahwa kita harus selalu sempurna justru berbahaya. - The school psychologist said that being a little selfish is normal, but the myth that we must always be perfect is actually dangerous.

Indonesian does not use articles (a, the) the way English does, so psikolog sekolah can mean a school psychologist or the school psychologist, depending on context.

Also, sekolah here is acting as a noun modifier, similar to school in school psychologist. It does not mean psychologist at school; that would usually be psikolog di sekolah.

So:

psikolog sekolah → a/the school psychologist (a special role or job)
psikolog di sekolah → a psychologist who happens to be at school (more literal location)

What does bahwa mean, and can it be left out after berkata?

Bahwa is a conjunction meaning that, introducing a clause:

Psikolog sekolah berkata bahwa… → The school psychologist said that…

In everyday spoken Indonesian, bahwa is often dropped when it is clear from context:

Psikolog sekolah berkata (bahwa) sedikit egois itu wajar…

Both are correct. Keeping bahwa sounds a bit more formal or careful; dropping it sounds more natural in casual speech.

Why is there no word like is in sedikit egois itu wajar?

Indonesian usually does not use a verb like is/are between a subject and an adjective or a noun. The pattern is simply:

subject + (optional itu) + adjective

So:

sedikit egois itu wajar
literally: a little selfish that normal
functionally: being a little selfish is normal

If you add adalah, it becomes more formal and is usually used before a noun phrase, not a simple adjective:

Sedikit egois itu adalah hal yang wajar.
(Being a little selfish is something normal.)

What is the function of itu in sedikit egois itu wajar? Is it that or it?

Here itu works more like a topic marker/demonstrative than a real pronoun. The pattern:

[X] itu [Y]

often means As for X, (it) is Y or X is Y with a slight emphasis on X. So:

Sedikit egois itu wajar ≈ Being a little selfish, that is normal / That (being a bit selfish) is normal.

You can often drop itu:

Sedikit egois wajar – still understandable, but itu makes it sound more natural and emphatic, like you’re pointing to that idea and commenting on it.

Why is sedikit used with an adjective (egois) here? I thought sedikit meant a little (amount) for nouns.

Literally, sedikit is a little / a small amount, and it’s very common with nouns:

sedikit gula – a little sugar

But in everyday Indonesian, sedikit is also used before adjectives to mean a bit / slightly:

sedikit egois – a little selfish / a bit selfish
sedikit marah – a bit angry

There are other words for a bit with adjectives:

agak egois – somewhat / rather selfish (neutral)
lumayan egois – quite/pretty selfish (often more than you want)

In this sentence, sedikit egois softens the idea: it’s talking about a small, acceptable amount of selfishness.

Why is wajar used without any noun or verb? Is wajar an adjective or a verb?

Wajar is an adjective meaning normal / reasonable / natural (in the sense of socially acceptable).

In Indonesian, adjectives can stand as the predicate of a sentence without any verb to be:

Ini wajar. – This is normal.
Sedikit egois itu wajar. – Being a little selfish is normal.

So wajar here is purely an adjective used as the main predicate; there is no hidden verb like to be.

In mitos bahwa kita harus selalu sempurna, how does bahwa work with mitos? Is it like the myth that… in English?

Yes. Here, bahwa links mitos to the entire clause that explains its content:

mitos bahwa kita harus selalu sempurna
→ the myth that we must always be perfect

So the structure is:

mitos + (bahwa + full clause) = a noun phrase (one big thing)

You can think of bahwa here as functioning like English that in the idea that…, the belief that…, the myth that….

Why use kita instead of kami in kita harus selalu sempurna?

Both mean we, but:

kita = we including the listener
kami = we excluding the listener

Here, the myth is talking about all of us in general, including the person hearing or reading the sentence. So kita is natural, like we (all) or people like us.

If you used kami, it would sound like we (but not you) must always be perfect, which doesn’t fit the idea of a general social myth.

What does harus selalu sempurna mean exactly? Why no menjadi (to become) before sempurna?

harus = must / have to
selalu = always
sempurna = perfect (adjective)

Indonesian does not need a verb like to be or to become before many adjectives. So:

kita harus sempurna – we must be perfect
kita harus selalu sempurna – we must always be perfect

You can say harus menjadi sempurna, but harus (selalu) sempurna is shorter and more natural when you mean a state (be perfect), not a process of becoming perfect.

What does justru add to the meaning in justru berbahaya?

Justru is an adverb that adds a sense of on the contrary / in fact / actually (unexpectedly). It’s used when the result is the opposite of what people might assume.

…wajar, tetapi mitos … justru berbahaya.
→ …is normal, but the myth that we must always be perfect is actually dangerous.

Without justru:

…mitos … berbahaya. – the myth is dangerous (neutral statement)

With justru:

…mitos … justru berbahaya. – contrary to what you might think, it’s dangerous.

What is the difference between tetapi and tapi here? Could we use tapi instead?

Yes, you could say:

…itu wajar, tapi mitos bahwa… justru berbahaya.

Differences:

tetapi – more formal, written, or careful speech; similar to however / but in a more neutral style.
tapi – informal, everyday speech; like but in casual English.

Grammatically, they work the same in this position; the choice is mainly about formality and style.

Could this sentence be reordered or expanded in a more formal way, and would the meaning change?

You could make it more formal or explicit without changing the core meaning. For example:

Psikolog sekolah tersebut mengatakan bahwa bersikap sedikit egois adalah hal yang wajar, tetapi mitos bahwa kita harus selalu sempurna justru sangat berbahaya.

Changes:

tersebut – that / the said (explicit reference, more formal)
mengatakan instead of berkata – slightly more formal verb
bersikap sedikit egois – explicitly to behave a little selfishly
adalah hal yang wajar – adds is something that is normal
sangat berbahaya – very dangerous, stronger emphasis

All of these keep the same basic idea but adjust the tone and detail.