Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Saya bercermin sebentar di kamar sebelum rapat daring dimulai. - I look in the mirror for a moment in the room before the online meeting starts.

It comes from ber- (a verb-forming prefix) + cermin (mirror).
So bercermin is more like “to mirror oneself”, i.e. the act of checking your reflection.

In everyday English, it’s usually translated as “to look in the mirror” or “to check myself in the mirror.”
Yes, it functions as a normal verb: you can say saya bercermin, dia suka bercermin, etc.

What does the prefix ber- do in bercermin?

The prefix ber- is a common way to form intransitive verbs (verbs without a direct object) in Indonesian. It often has one of these ideas:

“to have / to be with [noun]” (e.g. bersepeda = to go by bicycle / to bicycle)
“to use [noun]” (e.g. berpayung = to use an umbrella)
“to do the action related to [noun]”

For bercermin:

cermin = mirror
bercermin ≈ “to use a mirror / to look at oneself in a mirror.”

So ber- makes cermin into a verb: to mirror oneself.

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

You can say saya melihat cermin, but it’s not quite the same:

Saya bercermin
→ Natural, idiomatic: I (check / look at myself) in the mirror.
The focus is on looking at your reflection.
Saya melihat cermin
→ Literally: I see (or look at) the mirror.
This can sound like you are just looking at the object (the mirror) itself, not necessarily your reflection.
In context it might be understood, but it’s less idiomatic for “I check myself in the mirror.”

So for the usual “I look in the mirror (to check my appearance),” saya bercermin is the best choice.

What nuance does sebentar add, and where can it go in the sentence?

Sebentar means “for a moment / briefly / for a short while.”

In saya bercermin sebentar di kamar, it tells you the action is short – you only looked in the mirror for a moment.

You can move sebentar a bit without changing the meaning much:

Saya sebentar bercermin di kamar. (less common, but still understandable)
Saya bercermin di kamar sebentar.

The most natural placements here are:

Saya bercermin sebentar di kamar.
Saya sebentar bercermin di kamar. (used, but feels slightly marked)

Putting sebentar right after the verb (bercermin sebentar) is particularly natural and common.

Does di kamar specifically mean “in the bedroom,” or just “in a room”?

Kamar on its own is a bit flexible:

Literally: room
In everyday talk, kamar often means bedroom, especially if context suggests it.
If you want to be explicit:
- kamar tidur = bedroom
- kamar mandi = bathroom
- kamar kerja = study / home office

In the sentence saya bercermin sebentar di kamar sebelum rapat daring dimulai, many speakers would automatically imagine bedroom, but grammatically it just says “in the room.” Context decides which room.

What does rapat daring mean, and where does daring come from?

Rapat daring means “online meeting.”

rapat = meeting (usually formal, work, organizational)
daring = online, internet-based

Daring is a contraction of dalam jaringan:

dalam = in
jaringan = network

So dalam jaringan → “in the network” → online, similar to how English sometimes says on the net.

You might also hear:

rapat online (using the English word online, very common in speech)
rapat virtual (virtual meeting, a bit more formal/technical)

But rapat daring is now widely used and recognized, especially in more formal or standard Indonesian.

Why is it rapat daring dimulai and not rapat daring mulai? What’s the role of dimulai?

Dimulai is the passive form of mulai (to start/begin).

mulai = to start / begin (active)
dimulai = to be started / to begin (passive)

In sebelum rapat daring dimulai:

Literally: “before the online meeting is started / begins.”
This is a typical structure in Indonesian: a passive verb with the subject after it:
- dimulai (is-started) + rapat daring (the meeting) → rapat daring dimulai

You can say sebelum rapat daring mulai, but:

sebelum rapat daring dimulai sounds more natural and standard, especially in writing or formal speech.
mulai by itself in this position can feel a bit bare or casual, though it’s not wrong in everyday conversation.

So dimulai here gives a smooth, typical “before the meeting begins” feel.

Can I move sebelum rapat daring dimulai to the front of the sentence?

Yes. Both of these are correct and natural:

Saya bercermin sebentar di kamar sebelum rapat daring dimulai.
Sebelum rapat daring dimulai, saya bercermin sebentar di kamar.

Differences:

Starting with sebelum… puts more emphasis on the time condition (before the meeting).
Keeping it at the end is a very common neutral order.

Punctuation note:
When sebelum… is at the beginning as a clause, it’s normal to put a comma:

Sebelum rapat daring dimulai, saya bercermin sebentar di kamar.

How do we know if this sentence is past, present, or future? Indonesian doesn’t show tense here, right?

Correct: Indonesian doesn’t mark tense in the verb itself.
The sentence saya bercermin sebentar di kamar sebelum rapat daring dimulai is tense-neutral.

It can mean:

I looked in the mirror for a moment in my room before the online meeting started. (past)
I look in the mirror for a moment in my room before the online meeting starts. (habitual / present)
I will look in the mirror for a moment in my room before the online meeting starts. (future, in the right context)

To make time more explicit, Indonesians add time words:

Tadi saya bercermin sebentar… (tadi = earlier → past)
Nanti saya akan bercermin sebentar… (nanti / akan = later / will → future)
Setiap hari saya bercermin sebentar… (setiap hari = every day → habitual)

What’s the difference between saya and aku here?

Both saya and aku mean “I / me”, but they differ in formality and context:

Saya
- More formal / polite / neutral.
- Safe with strangers, elders, teachers, colleagues, official situations.
- Works in writing, emails, presentations, etc.
Aku
- More informal / intimate.
- Common with friends, family, people your age or younger, in casual chat.

In your sentence:

Saya bercermin sebentar di kamar sebelum rapat daring dimulai.
→ Neutral, polite. Very safe.

In a casual chat with close friends, you might say:

Aku bercermin sebentar di kamar sebelum rapat daring dimulai.

Could I say sedang bercermin instead of just bercermin to show the action is in progress?

Yes. Sedang is an aspect marker that highlights an action in progress (similar to English -ing).

Saya bercermin sebentar di kamar…
→ Simple statement. Context decides the time.
Saya sedang bercermin di kamar…
→ Emphasizes “I am in the middle of looking in the mirror (right now)”.

If you keep sebentar, you usually say:

Saya sedang bercermin sebentar di kamar sebelum rapat daring dimulai.

This can sound a bit wordy in normal narrative, but it’s good if you really want to stress the ongoing action at that moment (e.g., answering the phone and explaining: Maaf, saya sedang bercermin sebentar di kamar.)

Do I need a word like sebuah before rapat daring, like sebuah rapat daring?

You don’t need it, and usually Indonesians leave it out in sentences like this.

rapat daring already naturally means “an online meeting / the online meeting” depending on context.

You might add a quantifier when it’s important to specify number or emphasis:

sebuah rapat daring = one (single) online meeting
dua rapat daring = two online meetings
beberapa rapat daring = several online meetings

In your sentence, simply:

sebelum rapat daring dimulai

is the most natural and sufficient way to say “before the online meeting starts.”

Is sebelum always followed by a full clause like rapat daring dimulai, or can it be followed by just a noun or time expression?

Sebelum can be followed by:

A clause (subject + verb):
- sebelum rapat daring dimulai
  → before the online meeting starts
- sebelum saya tidur
  → before I sleep
A noun / noun phrase / time phrase:
- sebelum rapat daring
  → before the online meeting
- sebelum makan
  → before eating / before the meal
- sebelum jam 9
  → before 9 o’clock

So you could also say:

Saya bercermin sebentar di kamar sebelum rapat daring.

This is shorter and still natural, meaning “I look in the mirror briefly in my room before the online meeting.”
Using dimulai just makes the time relation a bit more explicit and “complete”: before the meeting begins.