Dia bercermin di kamar mandi sebelum berangkat ke kantor.

He/She looks in the mirror in the bathroom before leaving for the office.

Breakdown of Dia bercermin di kamar mandi sebelum berangkat ke kantor.

• sebuah: a
• dia: he/she
• di: in
• kantor: the office
• ke: to
• sebelum: before
• berangkat: to leave
• kamar mandi: the bathroom
• bercermin: to look at oneself in the mirror

Questions & Answers about Dia bercermin di kamar mandi sebelum berangkat ke kantor.

What does dia mean here? Does it mean he or she?

Dia is a third-person singular pronoun that can mean he, she, or they (that person). Indonesian does not mark gender in pronouns.

Which one it is (he or she) is decided purely by context, not by the word dia itself.

What exactly does bercermin mean, and how is it formed?

Bercermin literally means to look at oneself in the mirror / to use a mirror to check one’s appearance.

Grammatically:

• Root: cermin = mirror
• Prefix: ber- = often makes an intransitive verb meaning “to have / use / do something related to X”

So ber- + cermin → bercermin = to mirror oneself / to look in the mirror.

Because of ber-, bercermin does not take a direct object; you just say:

• Dia bercermin. = He/She looks at themself in the mirror.
  You don’t say Dia bercermin cermin or something like that.

Is Dia bercermin like saying “He/She looks at himself/herself” with a reflexive pronoun?

Yes, functionally it’s close to “He/She looks at him/herself in the mirror.”

Indonesian usually doesn’t use a separate reflexive pronoun like himself/herself. The verb itself (like bercermin) often contains that reflexive idea.

If you really want to emphasize the reflexive idea, you could say:

• Dia melihat dirinya di cermin. = He/She looks at themself in the mirror.

But Dia bercermin is the most natural and concise way to express this idea.

Could I say Dia melihat cermin instead of Dia bercermin? What’s the difference?

You can say Dia melihat cermin, but the meaning is different:

• Dia bercermin.
  = He/She uses the mirror to look at themself (checking appearance, grooming).

• Dia melihat cermin.
  = He/She looks at the mirror (just literally looking at the object called a mirror; we don’t automatically know it’s about grooming).

Everyday natural Indonesian for the original meaning is Dia bercermin, not Dia melihat cermin.

What does di kamar mandi literally mean, and how should I translate it?

Literally:

• di = in / at
• kamar mandi = bathroom / washroom (literally “bath room”)

So di kamar mandi = in the bathroom.

Culturally, kamar mandi in Indonesian can be:

• a room with toilet and shower/bath, or
• just a room for bathing/washing (the toilet might be in a separate space, often called toilet or WC).

In everyday translation into English, di kamar mandi is usually just in the bathroom.

Why is it di kamar mandi, not di kamar mandinya or something with a “the/my/his/her”?

Indonesian usually doesn’t mark definiteness (the) explicitly like English does.

• di kamar mandi can mean:
  • in the bathroom
  • in a bathroom
  • in the (his/her) bathroom
    depending on context.

If you say:

• di kamar mandinya
  this often suggests “in his/her/their bathroom” or “in that bathroom (already known in context)”, with a stronger sense of specific possession or definiteness.

So di kamar mandi is the neutral, most common form. English will naturally choose the bathroom or the bathroom at home depending on context, but Indonesian doesn’t need to mark it.

How does sebelum berangkat ke kantor work grammatically? Where’s the subject?

Sebelum berangkat ke kantor literally:

• sebelum = before
• berangkat = to depart / to leave
• ke kantor = to (the) office

So sebelum berangkat ke kantor = before (someone) leaves for the office.

The subject dia is understood from the main clause:

• Dia bercermin ... sebelum berangkat ke kantor.
  = He/She looks in the mirror ... before (he/she) leaves for the office.

Indonesian often omits repeated subjects when they’re clear from context.

If you want to make the subject explicit, you can say:

• Dia bercermin di kamar mandi sebelum dia berangkat ke kantor.

This is also correct; it just feels a bit more explicit or slightly more formal/wordy.

Can I change the word order to start with sebelum? Is this still natural?

Yes, very natural. You can say:

• Sebelum berangkat ke kantor, dia bercermin di kamar mandi.

This means the same thing and is perfectly correct. Indonesian allows either:

• [Main clause] + sebelum [subordinate clause]
• Sebelum [subordinate clause], [main clause]

So both:

• Dia bercermin di kamar mandi sebelum berangkat ke kantor.
• Sebelum berangkat ke kantor, dia bercermin di kamar mandi.

are normal and natural.

What’s the difference between berangkat ke kantor and pergi ke kantor?

Both are often translated as go to the office, but there’s a nuance:

• berangkat ke kantor
  = to depart for the office, to set off to the office.
  Slight focus on the starting point / moment of departure.

• pergi ke kantor
  = to go to the office (more general, broader use of “go”).

In many everyday contexts, they’re interchangeable:

• Dia berangkat ke kantor.
• Dia pergi ke kantor.

Both are fine. Berangkat sounds a bit more like the scheduled or expected “leaving for work” moment.

Do we always need ke with berangkat? Could we say berangkat kantor?

You should not say berangkat kantor in standard Indonesian.

Correct patterns:

• berangkat ke kantor = depart to the office
• berangkat ke sekolah = depart to school
• berangkat ke Jakarta = depart to Jakarta

Berangkat typically needs a preposition (most often ke) before its destination.

How do we know if this sentence is past, present, or future? There’s no tense marking.

Indonesian verbs don’t change form for tense. So:

• Dia bercermin di kamar mandi sebelum berangkat ke kantor.

could mean, depending on context:

• He/She looked in the mirror … before going to the office. (past)
• He/She looks in the mirror … before going to the office. (habitual/present)
• He/She will look in the mirror … before going to the office. (future plan)

To clarify time, Indonesians add time words or aspect words, for example:

• Tadi pagi dia bercermin di kamar mandi sebelum berangkat ke kantor.
  = This morning he/she looked in the mirror…

• Setiap hari dia bercermin di kamar mandi sebelum berangkat ke kantor.
  = Every day he/she looks in the mirror…

• Nanti dia akan bercermin di kamar mandi sebelum berangkat ke kantor.
  = Later he/she will look in the mirror…

What changes if I add sudah: Dia sudah bercermin di kamar mandi sebelum berangkat ke kantor?

Sudah is an aspect marker meaning already / has/have (done).

• Dia bercermin di kamar mandi sebelum berangkat ke kantor.
  = He/She (habitually / generally) looks in the mirror before going to the office.
  (Or past/generic, depending on context.)

• Dia sudah bercermin di kamar mandi sebelum berangkat ke kantor.
  = He/She has already looked in the mirror in the bathroom before leaving for the office.

Here sudah emphasizes that the action of looking in the mirror is completed.

Is dia polite enough in all situations, or should I use something else?

Dia is neutral and standard for third-person singular in most situations.

However, to show extra respect for someone older, of higher status, or someone you want to speak respectfully about, you might use:

• beliau = a respectful he/she

Example:

• Beliau bercermin di kamar mandi sebelum berangkat ke kantor.
  (Talking respectfully about a boss, teacher, elder, etc.)

But in everyday narrative or casual conversation, dia is perfectly acceptable.