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Daripada percaya begitu saja pada iklan, lebih baik kita membaca ulasan jujur dari penggemar lain.

Daripada percaya begitu saja pada iklan, lebih baik kita membaca ulasan jujur dari penggemar lain.
Rather than believing advertisements just like that, it is better we read honest reviews from other fans.
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Questions & Answers about Daripada percaya begitu saja pada iklan, lebih baik kita membaca ulasan jujur dari penggemar lain.

What is the function of daripada in this sentence? Is it the same as "than" in English?

In this sentence, daripada introduces the thing being avoided or rejected in a comparison of actions.

Structure:

  • Daripada
    • action A, lebih baik
      • action B
        = Rather than doing A, it’s better to do B.

So:

  • Daripada percaya begitu saja pada iklan
    = Rather than just believing advertisements...

Yes, it’s related to the English "than" in comparisons, but it’s especially common in patterns like Daripada X, lebih baik Y to give advice or a preference between two actions.

How does lebih baik work here? Is it literally "more good"?

Literally, lebih baik = "more good" (comparative of baik = good).

In this sentence, it has a suggestion/advice meaning:

  • lebih baik kita membaca...
    = it’s better (for us) to read...
    = we should rather read... / we’d be better off reading...

So the pattern:

  • Daripada X, lebih baik Y
    gives a recommendation: Instead of X, you should do Y.
Why is percaya used without any "to" or "in" after it? Shouldn’t it be like "believe in"?

In Indonesian, percaya is usually followed directly by a preposition, most commonly pada or kepada:

  • percaya pada iklan = believe (in) advertisements
  • percaya kepada Tuhan = believe in God

There is no direct equivalent of the English "to" or "in" as a particle; you just use percaya + pada/kepada + object.

In the sentence:

  • percaya begitu saja pada iklan
    means to just believe (in) advertisements, where pada already covers the "in" idea.
What does begitu saja add to the meaning? Why not just percaya pada iklan?

Begitu saja literally means "just like that" or "just so", without thinking, checking, or questioning.

  • percaya pada iklan = believe the advertisements
  • percaya begitu saja pada iklan = simply believe the advertisements, just believe them without being critical

So begitu saja adds the nuance of:

  • uncritical
  • automatic
  • without further consideration

It slightly criticizes the action, implying that doing this is naive or careless.

Why is pada iklan used, not kepada iklan or di iklan?

For percaya, the most neutral, common preposition with non-human objects is pada.

General tendencies:

  • percaya kepada
    – often used with people or God
    – percaya kepada Tuhan, percaya kepada orang tua

  • percaya pada
    – common with both abstract things and sometimes people
    – percaya pada iklan, percaya pada sistem, percaya pada data

  • di iklan would mean "in the advertisement" (location), not "believe the advertisement."

So percaya pada iklan is natural and idiomatic: believe advertisements / believe in advertisements.

Can the word order be changed? For example, can I say Lebih baik kita membaca ulasan jujur daripada percaya begitu saja pada iklan?

Yes. That alternative is very natural:

  • Lebih baik kita membaca ulasan jujur dari penggemar lain daripada percaya begitu saja pada iklan.

Meaning: It’s better that we read honest reviews from other fans than just believe advertisements.

Both orders are correct:

  1. Daripada X, lebih baik Y.
  2. Lebih baik Y daripada X.

The meaning is the same; it’s just a stylistic choice.

What exactly does ulasan mean? Is it the same as "review" (like online/product reviews)?

Yes, ulasan generally means "review", "commentary", or "critique" of something.

  • ulasan buku = book review
  • ulasan film = movie review
  • ulasan produk = product review

In this sentence:

  • membaca ulasan jujur dari penggemar lain
    = read honest reviews from other fans.

So it fits exactly with things like online product or media reviews.

Why is it ulasan jujur and not ulasan yang jujur?

Both are grammatically correct, but they differ slightly in style:

  • ulasan jujur
    – adjective directly modifies the noun
    – simple, compact: honest reviews

  • ulasan yang jujur
    – more explicit, sometimes slightly more formal or emphasizing the quality
    – reviews that are honest

In everyday Indonesian, Noun + Adjective is very normal:

  • mobil merah = red car
  • ulasan jujur = honest reviews

So ulasan jujur is the most natural, neutral form here.

Does penggemar mean "fan" as in "fan of a band/game/brand"? How is it formed?

Yes, penggemar is "fan", "enthusiast", or "admirer" of something.

Morphology:

  • Root: gemar = to like / to be fond of
  • With pe- -r → penggemar = a person who likes something; a fan

Examples:

  • penggemar sepak bola = soccer fan
  • penggemar K-pop = K-pop fan

So penggemar lain = other fans.

Does penggemar lain mean "another fan" (singular) or "other fans" (plural)?

Indonesian usually doesn’t mark singular/plural with the noun itself, so penggemar lain is ambiguous by itself.
However, in context:

  • membaca ulasan jujur dari penggemar lain
    is naturally understood as "from other fans" (plural), because:
    • reviews (plural idea) usually come from multiple people.

If you wanted to make it clearly plural, you could also say:

  • dari para penggemar lain (more explicitly a group of fans)

But the original sentence is already normally interpreted as plural.

What is the difference between kita and kami here? Why is kita used?

Both kita and kami translate as "we", but:

  • kita = inclusive "we" (includes the person being spoken to)
  • kami = exclusive "we" (does NOT include the listener)

In this sentence, the speaker is giving advice that includes the listener:

  • lebih baik kita membaca...
    = it’s better that we (you and I / all of us) read...

Using kami would sound like:

  • It’s better that we (but not you) read..., which is not the intended sense here.
Is this sentence formal, informal, or neutral? Would it be okay in writing?

The sentence is neutral and suitable for:

  • spoken Indonesian (polite conversation, discussion)
  • written Indonesian (articles, blog posts, advice, textbooks, etc.)

Features that make it neutral:

  • No slang
  • Standard vocabulary: daripada, percaya, iklan, ulasan, jujur, penggemar

So you can comfortably use it in both everyday speech and semi-formal writing.

Can daripada be written as dari pada? I’ve seen both.

Historically, daripada comes from dari + pada, and older texts may write it separately.
In modern standard Indonesian:

  • daripada is written as one word when it functions as:
    • "than" in comparisons
    • "rather than" in the Daripada X, lebih baik Y pattern

So in this sentence, the correct modern spelling is:

  • Daripada percaya begitu saja pada iklan, ...

Not Dari pada percaya... in contemporary standard usage.

Is there any nuance difference between percaya pada iklan and percaya dengan iklan?

Yes, there is a preference:

  • percaya pada/kepada is the normal, standard pattern:

    • percaya pada iklan (to believe advertisements)
    • percaya pada data (to trust data)

  • percaya dengan is not standard and sounds odd in most contexts.

So for correct Indonesian, you should say:

  • percaya pada iklan, not percaya dengan iklan.