Dokter menyarankan istirahat singkat di rumah.

The doctor recommends a short rest at home.

Breakdown of Dokter menyarankan istirahat singkat di rumah.

• rumah: the house
• di: at
• singkat: short
• dokter: the doctor
• istirahat: the rest
• menyarankan: to recommend

Questions & Answers about Dokter menyarankan istirahat singkat di rumah.

Why is there no “the” or “a” in “Dokter menyarankan istirahat singkat di rumah.”? Shouldn’t it be “The doctor…” or “a short rest”?

Indonesian does not use articles like “a/an” or “the” at all. Context usually tells you whether something is definite or indefinite.

• Dokter can mean “a doctor”, “the doctor”, or “my doctor”, depending on context.
• istirahat singkat can mean “a short rest” or “the short rest”, again depending on what you’ve been talking about.

If you really need to be explicit, Indonesian uses other words instead of articles, for example:

• seorang dokter = a doctor / one doctor
• dokter itu = that doctor / the doctor
• istirahat singkat itu = that short rest / the short rest

But in this sentence it’s completely natural to omit any article; the basic form is enough.

Who is supposed to rest here? Why isn’t “I” (or “you”) mentioned in the Indonesian sentence?

Indonesian often drops pronouns when they are obvious from context. In a doctor–patient context, it’s naturally understood that the patient (probably you or I) is the one who should rest.

More explicit versions are possible:

• Dokter menyarankan saya istirahat singkat di rumah.
  The doctor suggested that I take a short rest at home.

• Dokter menyarankan agar saya beristirahat singkat di rumah.
  The doctor suggested that I have a short rest at home.

Spoken Indonesian frequently leaves out saya / kamu / Anda when everyone knows who’s being referred to.

Why is it “menyarankan istirahat” and not “menyarankan untuk istirahat” or “menyarankan beristirahat”?

Menyarankan can be followed by either:

1. a noun phrase

   • menyarankan istirahat = to recommend rest
     Here, istirahat is treated as a noun (rest).

2. a clause with a marker like agar, supaya, or untuk

   • menyarankan agar saya beristirahat
   • menyarankan untuk beristirahat

In your sentence:

• menyarankan istirahat singkat di rumah = recommended a short rest at home
  → structure: [verb] [noun phrase] [location]

“Menyarankan untuk istirahat” is heard in speech, but more natural grammar is:

• menyarankan untuk beristirahat (verb phrase)
  or
• menyarankan istirahat (noun phrase)

So the original sentence is simple and correct: menyarankan + [noun phrase].

What does “menyarankan” literally mean? How is it formed?

Menyarankan comes from the root saran (meaning “advice, suggestion”).

• saran = advice, suggestion (noun)
• menyarankan = to suggest, to recommend (verb)

Morphology:

• meN- (verb prefix) + saran
  • -kan (suffix)
    → menyarankan

Very roughly, me-…-kan here means “to cause / to give [saran]”, so “to give a suggestion/recommendation.”

What is the difference between “istirahat” and “beristirahat”?

Both are related to rest, but they function a bit differently.

• istirahat

  • as a noun: rest, a break
    
    • Saya butuh istirahat. = I need a rest.
  • can also act like a verb in casual speech:
    • Saya mau istirahat. = I want to rest.

• beristirahat

  • clearly a verb: to rest
    
    • Saya perlu beristirahat. = I need to rest.

In your sentence, istirahat singkat is a noun phrase: a short rest.
If you wanted a more explicitly verbal structure, you could say:

• Dokter menyarankan agar saya beristirahat singkat di rumah.
  The doctor suggested that I rest briefly at home.

What’s the nuance of “singkat” here? Could I use “sebentar” or “sejenak” instead?

All three relate to shortness in time, but with slightly different flavors:

• singkat

  • more neutral/formal; often used with time periods, events, texts
  • istirahat singkat = a short rest (quite natural in both spoken and written language)

• sebentar

  • very common, informal/neutral, means for a short while / a moment
  • usually modifies verbs/adjectives:
    • istirahat sebentar = rest for a bit
      (here sebentar describes how long you rest)

• sejenak

  • similar to sebentar, but a bit more literary or slightly formal/poetic
  • istirahat sejenak = a brief rest / rest for a moment

All are possible in real life:

• Dokter menyarankan istirahat singkat di rumah.
• Dokter menyarankan istirahat sebentar di rumah.
• Dokter menyarankan istirahat sejenak di rumah.

They’re all understandable; the differences are mostly style and nuance.

Why is it “di rumah” and not “ke rumah”?

In Indonesian:

• di = at / in / on → location where something is / happens
• ke = to / towards → movement / direction to a place

In “istirahat singkat di rumah”, the focus is on where the resting happens:

• di rumah = at home

If you wanted to express movement, you’d use ke:

• Pulanglah ke rumah, lalu istirahat singkat di rumah.
  Go home, then have a short rest at home.

So di rumah is correct here because it describes the place of rest, not the action of going there.

Is “Dokter menyarankan istirahat singkat di rumah.” formal, informal, or neutral?

It’s neutral, and very appropriate for a doctor’s recommendation.

A bit more formal/explicit:

• Dokter menyarankan agar saya beristirahat singkat di rumah.
• Dokter menyarankan saya untuk beristirahat singkat di rumah.

A more casual way someone might report it:

• Dokter nyaranin istirahat sebentar di rumah.
  (colloquial: nyaranin from menyarankan, sebentar instead of singkat)

So your sentence is natural, standard Indonesian—not too formal or too slangy.

Does “dokter” mean “the doctor” or “my doctor” here? How would I say “my doctor” explicitly?

By itself, dokter is ambiguous; it can mean:

• the doctor (the one we’re currently talking about)
• a doctor (some doctor)
• my/your/their doctor, if context is clear (e.g., in a conversation about your recent medical visit)

To be explicit:

• dokter saya = my doctor
• dokter kamu = your doctor (informal)
• dokter Anda = your doctor (polite/formal)
• dokter itu = that doctor / the doctor

So you could say:

• Dokter saya menyarankan istirahat singkat di rumah.
  My doctor recommended a short rest at home.

Can I change the word order, like “Dokter menyarankan di rumah istirahat singkat”?

That word order sounds unnatural in Indonesian. The typical pattern is:

1. Subject: Dokter
2. Verb: menyarankan
3. Object (main thing recommended): istirahat singkat
4. Adverbial (place/time/manner): di rumah

So:

• Dokter menyarankan istirahat singkat di rumah. ✅

If you move di rumah before istirahat singkat, it feels awkward because you’re breaking up the object phrase. You generally keep:

• [verb] + [object phrase] + [optional place/time]

together in that order.