Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Teori yang kami pelajari di kelas sering terasa berbeda dari praktik di kantor. - The theory that we learn in class often feels different from the practice in the office.

Indonesian uses yang where English uses that/which/who in relative clauses. You cannot drop yang here; teori kami pelajari di kelas would be ungrammatical in standard Indonesian.

Why is it pelajari and not mempelajari or belajar?

There are three related forms:

belajar – to study (in general, intransitive)
- Saya belajar di kelas. = I study in class.
mempelajari – to study something (transitive, with object)
- Kami mempelajari teori itu. = We study that theory.
pelajari – the object-focused or “bare” active form (often seen after yang or in imperatives)
- Teori yang kami pelajari… = The theory that we studied…

The full form is mempelajari (meN- + pelajari).
When the subject (kami) comes directly before the verb in a relative clause, the meN- prefix is usually dropped:

teori yang kami mempelajari ❌ (incorrect)
teori yang kami pelajari ✅ (correct)

So pelajari is the correct reduced form of mempelajari in this structure, while belajar would be wrong here because it normally does not take a direct object.

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

Both mean “we/us”, but:

kami – we (excluding the listener)
kita – we (including the listener)

In this sentence:

Teori yang kami pelajari di kelas…

Using kami suggests:

The speaker is talking about a group that does not include the person being spoken to (e.g., “my colleagues and I”, talking to someone outside that group).

If the listener was part of the same class, you’d more naturally say:

Teori yang *kita pelajari di kelas…*
“The theory that we (you and I) studied in class…”

What nuance does sering terasa berbeda have compared with just sering berbeda?

Both are correct, but there is a nuance:

sering berbeda
- Literally: “often different”
- More objective: they are often in fact different.
sering terasa berbeda
- Literally: “often feels different”
- Adds a sense of perception or experience — how it feels to people.

So:

Teori… sering berbeda dari praktik…
= They are often different (stating a fact).
Teori… sering terasa berbeda dari praktik…
= They often feel different (speakers are highlighting the subjective experience of the gap between theory and practice).

Using terasa softens the statement and makes it more about how it is experienced rather than a purely factual contrast.

What does terasa literally mean, and how is the ter- prefix working here?

Terasa comes from rasa (feeling/taste/sense) with the prefix ter-.

rasa – feeling, taste
merasa – to feel (subject is the experiencer: Saya merasa sedih = I feel sad.)
terasa – to be felt / to feel (from the outside perspective: Ruangannya terasa dingin = The room feels cold.)

In this sentence:

Teori… sering terasa berbeda…
“The theory often feels different…”

Teori is the subject, not a person who is “feeling”. We are saying that the theory gives the impression of being different, so terasa is the natural choice.

Why is it berbeda dari praktik di kantor and not berbeda dengan? Is there a difference?

Both berbeda dari and berbeda dengan are widely used and usually understood as “different from”.

Many style guides recommend berbeda dengan as the “standard” form.
berbeda dari is extremely common in everyday speech and in writing as well.

In practice:

berbeda dari – very common, sounds natural in conversation and writing.
berbeda dengan – also correct and often preferred in more formal or “textbook” Indonesian.

You could say:

…sering terasa berbeda *dari praktik di kantor.* ✅
…sering terasa berbeda *dengan praktik di kantor.* ✅

The meaning is the same in this context.

What does praktik di kantor mean exactly, and why not just praktik kantor?

praktik di kantor
= practice at the office (location: where the practice happens)
praktik kantor
Usually interpreted as “office practice” or “the kind of practice related to the office” (more like a compound noun).

In this sentence, we want to contrast:

theory studied in class
with
practice that happens in the office (workplace)

So using the preposition di to mark location (di kantor) is the natural and clear choice:

berbeda dari praktik di kantor
different from the practice in the office

Can di kelas be dropped, or does it have to be there?

Grammatically, you could drop di kelas:

Teori yang kami pelajari sering terasa berbeda dari praktik di kantor.

This would still make sense: “The theory we studied often feels different from practice in the office.”

However, di kelas adds useful information:

It specifies where the theory was studied: in a classroom context, as opposed to self-study or training somewhere else.

So:

Required for grammar? No.
Helpful for meaning? Yes; it sets up the contrast between classroom theory and office practice very clearly.

Why is the word order “Teori yang kami pelajari di kelas sering terasa…” and not something like in English?

Indonesian relative clauses come after the noun, introduced by yang:

teori yang kami pelajari di kelas
“the theory (that) we studied in class”

Basic structure:

[Noun] + yang
- [clause that describes noun]

So you naturally say:

Teori yang kami pelajari di kelas sering terasa berbeda…

Other possible word orders:

Sering, teori yang kami pelajari di kelas terasa berbeda…
(Starting with sering for emphasis; still natural.)
But you cannot rearrange it like English:
❌ Yang kami pelajari di kelas teori sering terasa… (incorrect)

The given order is the standard, neutral way to say this in Indonesian.

Could this be said with a passive form like “teori yang dipelajari kami”?

Theoretically, a passive with di- is possible, but:

teori yang dipelajari kami
sounds unnatural and is rarely used in modern Indonesian.

More natural patterns:

Active relative clause (as in the sentence):
- teori yang *kami pelajari di kelas* ✅
Passive sentence (not as a relative clause):
- Teori itu *dipelajari oleh kami di kelas.* (more formal, but correct)

In a relative clause, the active pattern with the subject before the verb and no meN- prefix (kami pelajari) is the most natural choice.

What is the level of formality of this sentence? Is it suitable for work or academic contexts?

The sentence is in neutral–formal Indonesian:

Teori yang kami pelajari di kelas sering terasa berbeda dari praktik di kantor.

Vocabulary like teori, praktik, berbeda, terasa is standard and not slang.
The grammar is correct and appropriate for:
- essays or reports
- presentations
- polite conversation in the office
- academic or training contexts

It would sound natural in both spoken and written professional settings.

Is there any difference between teori and teorinya here? Could we say “Teorinya yang kami pelajari…”?

Yes, there is a difference in nuance:

teori yang kami pelajari di kelas
= (some) theory that we studied in class
– neutral, general.
teorinya yang kami pelajari di kelas
= the theory that we studied in class / that particular theory
– refers to a specific theory that has already been mentioned or is known from context.

-nya often functions like “the/that/its” in English, pointing to something definite.

In your sentence, the general contrast between theory (in class) and practice (in the office) is being made, so the bare teori (without -nya) sounds more natural.