Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Jangan berlebihan minum kopi sebelum tidur. - Don’t drink too much coffee before sleeping.

So Jangan berlebihan minum kopi sebelum tidur is an imperative sentence, telling someone not to do something (not to overdo drinking coffee before sleeping).

Jangan + verb / verb phrase = Don’t + verb
- Jangan pergi. = Don’t go.
- Jangan berlebihan minum kopi. = Don’t overdo drinking coffee.

Why is there no subject like you (kamu/Anda) in this sentence?

In Indonesian, imperatives normally omit the subject. It’s understood from context that you are speaking to “you”.

English: Don’t drink too much coffee before bed.
Indonesian literally: Don’t overdo drinking coffee before sleeping.
(Subject “you” is implied.)

You can add the subject for emphasis, but it’s not necessary:

Kamu jangan berlebihan minum kopi sebelum tidur. (more emphatic, could sound like a scolding)
Anda jangan berlebihan minum kopi sebelum tidur. (politer/formal)

What exactly does berlebihan mean here?

Berlebihan comes from lebih (more) + prefix ber-, and it means:

excessive, too much, over the limit, overdoing it

In this sentence:

berlebihan is describing how you drink coffee: in an excessive way / too much.
So berlebihan minum kopi ≈ “to drink coffee excessively / to overdo drinking coffee”.

Is berlebihan an adjective, adverb, or verb here?

Functionally in this sentence, berlebihan works like an adverb modifying the action minum kopi (drinking coffee):

berlebihan minum kopi = to drink coffee excessively

You can think of it like:

berlebihan = “excessively” in excessively drink coffee.

But grammatically in Indonesian, berlebihan is a stative verb (a “to be in an excessive state” word) that can also be used like an adjective:

Kamu berlebihan. = You are being excessive / You’re overdoing it.
Porsi ini berlebihan. = This portion is excessive / too big.

Could I say Jangan minum kopi terlalu banyak sebelum tidur instead? Is it the same?

Yes, that’s natural and very common:

Jangan minum kopi terlalu banyak sebelum tidur.
= Don’t drink too much coffee before sleeping.

Differences in nuance:

berlebihan: a bit more general / moral-ish, like “don’t overdo it / don’t go overboard”.
terlalu banyak: quantitative, literally “too much (in amount)”.

Both are good everyday Indonesian. In many contexts, they are effectively equivalent.

Why is it berlebihan minum kopi and not minum kopi berlebihan?

Both orders are actually possible:

Jangan berlebihan minum kopi sebelum tidur.
Jangan minum kopi berlebihan sebelum tidur.

Nuance:

berlebihan minum kopi slightly highlights the “overdoing” aspect of the action.
minum kopi berlebihan sounds a bit more like “drink coffee in an excessive way” focusing on the coffee-drinking itself.

In everyday speech, both sound fine; many speakers won’t feel a big difference. The original order is very natural.

What does sebelum tidur literally mean, and why is there no word for “going to bed”?

Literally:

sebelum = before
tidur = sleep / to sleep

So sebelum tidur = before sleeping or before (you) sleep.

Indonesian often uses tidur on its own where English says:

“before going to bed”
“before going to sleep”

You don’t need an extra verb like go. Context supplies the idea of “going to bed”.

Why isn’t there untuk (for/to) before tidur, like sebelum untuk tidur?

Because sebelum already directly connects to the verb tidur.

sebelum tidur = before sleeping
Adding untuk (sebelum untuk tidur) is ungrammatical here.

In Indonesian, prepositions and conjunctions are simpler:

sebelum makan = before eating
sebelum belajar = before studying
sebelum tidur = before sleeping

How formal or informal is this sentence?

Jangan berlebihan minum kopi sebelum tidur. is neutral and widely usable.

It’s fine in spoken conversation, advice between friends, family, etc.
It’s also acceptable in semi-formal contexts (e.g. a doctor speaking casually to a patient).

To sound more formal/polite, you could add Anda:

Anda jangan berlebihan minum kopi sebelum tidur.

To sound more casual and personal, you might add kamu:

Kamu jangan berlebihan minum kopi sebelum tidur.

Could I just say Jangan minum kopi sebelum tidur? How does the meaning change?

Yes, that’s also correct:

Jangan minum kopi sebelum tidur.
= Don’t drink coffee before sleeping.

Difference:

With berlebihan: Don’t overdo it / don’t drink too much.
Without berlebihan: Don’t drink any coffee at all before sleeping.

So the original sentence specifically warns against excessive coffee drinking, not necessarily zero coffee.

Why is kopi used without a measure word, like “a cup of coffee” or “some coffee”?

Indonesian often doesn’t require explicit measure words when the exact quantity is not important.

minum kopi = drink coffee
(could be a bit, a cup, several cups – context decides)

When you do want to be specific, you can add classifiers:

minum satu cangkir kopi = drink one cup of coffee
minum terlalu banyak cangkir kopi = drink too many cups of coffee

In the original sentence, the focus is on excessiveness, not precise amounts, so kopi by itself is natural.

Is tidur here a noun (“sleep”) or a verb (“to sleep”)?

In Indonesian, many words can function as both noun-like and verb-like without changing form. Tidur is one of them.

Here, in sebelum tidur:

It behaves like the English “sleeping” in “before sleeping”.
Grammatically, you can think of it as a verb used in an action phrase (“before [you] sleep”).

You don’t add “-ing” or anything similar in Indonesian; the bare verb tidur is used.

Is there a softer or more “advice-like” way to say this instead of a direct jangan?

Yes, you can soften it to sound more like advice than a command:

Sebaiknya jangan berlebihan minum kopi sebelum tidur.
= It’s better not to overdo drinking coffee before sleeping.

Or:

Lebih baik tidak berlebihan minum kopi sebelum tidur.
= It’s better not to drink too much coffee before sleeping.

Adding sebaiknya (“it’s better”) or lebih baik (“better”) makes it sound more polite and less bossy.