Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Pelatih olahraga kami memberi nasihat singkat sebelum latihan. - Our sports coach gives brief advice before practice.

You can say just pelatih, and it will usually be understood as a coach or trainer, especially if the context is already about sports. For example:

Pelatih kami memberi nasihat singkat sebelum latihan.
= Our coach gave brief advice before practice.

This is grammatical and natural if everyone already knows which coach you mean. Using pelatih olahraga simply makes it clearer that it’s the sports coach, not, say, a vocal coach or another type of trainer.

Why is kami at the end of pelatih olahraga kami? Why not put kami before?

In Indonesian, possession is usually shown by putting the possessor after the noun:

pelatih kami = our coach
guru kami = our teacher
rumah kami = our house

So:

pelatih olahraga kami = literally “our sports coach”

You don’t say kami pelatih olahraga for possession; that would sound like “we are sports coaches” (if you add a verb) or just be ungrammatical without context.

General pattern:

[noun] + [possessor pronoun]
- buku saya (my book)
- teman mereka (their friend)
- pelatih olahraga kami (our sports coach)

What is the difference between kami and kita, and why is kami used here?

Both mean we / us, but:

kami = we (not including the listener)
kita = we (including the listener)

pelatih olahraga kami implies:

“our coach” but the “our” does not include the person you’re speaking to.

If the listener is also part of the team and you want to include them, you would more naturally say:

Pelatih olahraga kita memberi nasihat singkat sebelum latihan.
= Our (including you) sports coach gave brief advice before practice.

So:

Use kami when the listener is not part of the group.
Use kita when the listener is part of the group.

What is the difference between memberi and memberikan, and could I say memberikan nasihat here?

Both memberi and memberikan come from the root beri (to give).

memberi [something] (kepada [someone])
memberikan [something] (kepada [someone])

In many cases they are interchangeable:

Pelatih kami memberi nasihat singkat.
Pelatih kami memberikan nasihat singkat.

Both are correct and natural.

Subtle differences (often ignored in everyday speech):

memberi can sound a bit more direct or simple: “to give”.
memberikan can feel slightly more formal or emphasize the act of giving.

In this sentence:

memberi nasihat singkat is perfectly fine and common.
memberikan nasihat singkat is also correct and perhaps a touch more formal.

What’s the nuance of nasihat? Is it the same as saran?

Both nasihat and saran relate to “advice,” but they feel a bit different:

nasihat
- closer to counsel / guidance / admonition
- can imply moral or behavioral advice
- often from someone in authority (parent, teacher, coach, elder)
saran
- closer to suggestion / recommendation
- feels lighter, less moral, more neutral

In this sentence:

nasihat singkat = brief guidance/advice from a coach, which fits well because a coach often gives instructions or motivational advice.

You could say saran singkat, but it would feel more like “a short suggestion” (maybe about tactics or ideas), whereas nasihat singkat can feel a bit more like motivational or guiding words.

Why is singkat placed after nasihat, not before it?

In Indonesian, adjectives usually come after the noun:

nasihat singkat = brief advice
pelatih baru = new coach
latihan rutin = regular practice

So the pattern is:

[noun] + [adjective]

You do not normally say singkat nasihat. That would be wrong in standard Indonesian.

More examples:

buku tebal (thick book)
mobil merah (red car)
pertandingan penting (important match)

What does sebelum mean, and can I move sebelum latihan to another part of the sentence?

sebelum means before (in time).

sebelum latihan = before practice / before training

Word-for-word:

sebelum = before
latihan = practice / training

You can move the phrase sebelum latihan:

Pelatih olahraga kami memberi nasihat singkat sebelum latihan.
Sebelum latihan, pelatih olahraga kami memberi nasihat singkat.

Both are correct and natural. Positioning sebelum latihan at the start (sentence 2) slightly emphasizes the time (“Before practice…”), but the meaning is the same.

What does latihan mean here? Is it a noun (“practice”) or a verb (“to practice”)?

In sebelum latihan, latihan is a noun and means practice / training / practice session.

So:

sebelum latihan = before (the) practice / before (the) training

The root is latih (to train), and:

melatih = to train (someone)
berlatih = to practice / to train oneself
latihan = practice / training (noun, or sometimes “exercise” in books/tests)

Compare:

Saya berlatih setiap hari.
= I practice every day. (verb)
Saya punya latihan setiap hari.
= I have practice every day. (noun)

Could I say sebelum berlatih instead of sebelum latihan? Is there any difference?

Yes, you can:

sebelum latihan = before (the) practice (focus on the session as an event)
sebelum berlatih = before practicing (focus on the activity of practicing)

Both are natural in this context:

Pelatih olahraga kami memberi nasihat singkat sebelum latihan.
Pelatih olahraga kami memberi nasihat singkat sebelum berlatih.

Subtle nuance:

sebelum latihan: “before the training session”
sebelum berlatih: “before (we) practice” / “before starting to practice”

In many real-life situations, speakers use them interchangeably.

How would this sentence look in the passive voice?

Active (original):

Pelatih olahraga kami memberi nasihat singkat sebelum latihan.
= Our sports coach gave brief advice before practice.

Passive options:

Nasihat singkat diberikan oleh pelatih olahraga kami sebelum latihan.
= Brief advice was given by our sports coach before practice.
Kami diberi nasihat singkat oleh pelatih olahraga sebelum latihan.
= We were given brief advice by the sports coach before practice.

All are grammatical. Differences:

Active: focuses on the coach as the doer.
Passive (1): focuses on the advice.
Passive (2): focuses on us (the receivers of the advice).