Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Kartu identitas itu perlu dibawa setiap kali membuat janji temu baru. - That identity card needs to be brought every time you make a new appointment.

kartu identitas itu ≈ “that ID card” / “the ID card”
It often refers to something:
- already known from context (e.g. “your ID card that we talked about”), or
- specific and identifiable (e.g. your official ID card, not just any random card).

You could also say:

Kartu identitas perlu dibawa… (without itu) – more generic, like “ID cards need to be brought…”
Kartu identitas itu… makes it sound more specific and definite, as if the rule refers to a particular kind of ID (e.g. your government-issued ID).

Why is it perlu dibawa and not perlu membawa or harus membawa?

All three forms exist, but they differ in focus and nuance.

perlu dibawa
- perlu = “need to / necessary”
- dibawa = passive form of membawa (“to bring”)
- Literally: “needs to be brought”
- Focuses on the card as something that must be brought.
- Feels neutral and a bit formal, suitable for rules/instructions.
perlu membawa (kartu identitas itu)
- Literally: “(someone) needs to bring (the ID card)”
- Active; you must specify or strongly imply the subject:
  - Anda perlu membawa kartu identitas itu… (“You need to bring…”)
- Focus is on the person’s action.
harus membawa
- harus = “must / have to” (stronger obligation than perlu)
- Anda harus membawa kartu identitas itu… ≈ “You must bring the ID card…”
- Sounds stricter than perlu.

In your sentence, perlu dibawa matches the style of impersonal rules (like signs, notices, instructions):

Kartu identitas itu perlu dibawa… = “The ID card needs to be brought …”

What is the function of dibawa here, and how does the passive work?

dibawa is the passive form of membawa (“to bring”).

membawa = “to bring” (active)
- Saya membawa kartu identitas. = “I bring the ID card.”
dibawa = “to be brought” (passive)
- Kartu identitas dibawa (oleh saya). = “The ID card is brought (by me).”

In the sentence:

Kartu identitas itu perlu dibawa…

Literally: “That ID card needs to be brought…”
The doer (the person who brings it) is not mentioned; it’s understood from context to be you / the patient.
Indonesian often uses this kind of impersonal passive in rules, instructions, and formal writing because it:
- sounds more neutral and less direct,
- focuses on the object and the requirement, not on “you”.

If we changed it to active:

Anda perlu membawa kartu identitas itu… = “You need to bring that ID card…”
Same meaning, but more directly addressing “you.”

Who is actually “making the appointment” in setiap kali membuat janji temu baru if there is no subject like saya or Anda?

The subject is understood from context and is usually “you” (the person being addressed).

Indonesian can drop pronouns when they are obvious.
setiap kali membuat janji temu baru is short for:
- setiap kali Anda membuat janji temu baru (“every time you make a new appointment”)
- or setiap kali kita membuat… / setiap kali seseorang membuat… depending on context.

So the full idea in natural English is:

“Your ID card needs to be brought every time you make a new appointment.”

Why is it setiap kali membuat and not just setiap membuat?

Both are possible, but they differ slightly in style:

setiap kali membuat janji temu baru
- Literally: “every time (someone) makes a new appointment”
- setiap kali = “each time / every time (an event happens)”
- Feels a bit more explicit and natural when talking about repeated events.
setiap membuat janji temu baru
- Literally: “each [instance of] making a new appointment”
- Also grammatical and understandable, but setiap kali is more common and idiomatic for this pattern.

In practice, setiap kali + verb is a very natural way to say “every time (you) do X”.

What’s the difference between janji temu and just janji?

Both involve the idea of an “appointment” or “arranged meeting,” but:

janji
- Basic meaning: promise, appointment, arranged time to meet
- Examples:
  - Saya ada janji dengan dokter.
    “I have an appointment with the doctor.”
  - Dia tidak menepati janji.
    “He didn’t keep his promise.”
janji temu
- More specifically: a scheduled appointment, usually in formal/official contexts (doctors, offices, services).
- It emphasizes the meeting/appointment aspect, not “promise.”

So in this sentence, janji temu baru suggests:

“a new (scheduled) appointment,”
likely in a formal or service context (doctor, office, etc.), not just “any meeting with a friend.”

Does baru in janji temu baru mean “new appointment” or something else? Could its position change?

Here, baru means “new” and it modifies janji temu:

janji temu baru = “a new appointment”

Word order and alternatives:

janji temu baru
- Standard, natural phrase: “new appointment.”
janji temu yang baru
- Also correct; a bit more explicit/emphatic: “the appointment which is new.”
setiap kali baru membuat janji temu
- This would change the meaning to something like “every time (you) just now make an appointment”, with baru modifying the timing of the action (“just now, recently”), not the appointment itself.
- That’s not what we want here.

So in the given sentence, baru is correctly placed after janji temu to mean “new appointment.”

Why isn’t “your” expressed explicitly? Should it be kartu identitas Anda instead of kartu identitas itu?

Indonesian often doesn’t explicitly mark possession (“my/your/his”) when it’s clear from context.

In this sentence, the rule is probably directed at you (the reader), so kartu identitas itu is naturally understood as your ID card:

“(Your) ID card needs to be brought…”

You could make possession explicit:

Kartu identitas Anda perlu dibawa…
= “Your ID card needs to be brought…”

Differences:

kartu identitas itu
- Slightly more impersonal, like “the ID card (in question) must be brought…”
kartu identitas Anda
- Directly addresses “your ID card”, more personal but still polite (with Anda).

Both are correct; choice depends on style and how directly you want to address the reader.

Can the word order be changed, for example: Setiap kali membuat janji temu baru, kartu identitas itu perlu dibawa?

Yes, that’s perfectly natural and very common in Indonesian.

Two versions:

Kartu identitas itu perlu dibawa setiap kali membuat janji temu baru.
Setiap kali membuat janji temu baru, kartu identitas itu perlu dibawa.

Both mean the same thing:

“(Your) ID card needs to be brought every time you make a new appointment.”

The second one puts the time/frequency information (Setiap kali…) first for emphasis. Indonesian is quite flexible with word order as long as:

the parts of the phrase stay together (e.g. setiap kali + verb, janji temu baru), and
the sentence remains clear.

How would I say this more directly as “You need to bring your ID card every time you make a new appointment”?

A more direct, explicit version would be:

Anda perlu membawa kartu identitas Anda setiap kali membuat janji temu baru.

Breakdown:

Anda = you (formal/polite)
perlu membawa = need to bring
kartu identitas Anda = your ID card
setiap kali membuat janji temu baru = every time (you) make a new appointment

This version:

switches from passive (perlu dibawa) to active (perlu membawa),
adds explicit “you” (Anda) and “your” (Anda),
sounds like you’re directly addressing the reader/listener rather than stating a more impersonal rule.