Dosen menjelaskan bahwa riset robotika membutuhkan kerja tim dan kesabaran.

The lecturer explains that robotics research requires teamwork and patience.

Breakdown of Dosen menjelaskan bahwa riset robotika membutuhkan kerja tim dan kesabaran.

• dan: and
• bahwa: that
• menjelaskan: to explain
• dosen: the lecturer
• kesabaran: the patience
• riset robotika: the robotics research
• membutuhkan: to require
• kerja tim: the teamwork

Questions & Answers about Dosen menjelaskan bahwa riset robotika membutuhkan kerja tim dan kesabaran.

What does dosen mean, and how is it different from guru?

Dosen means lecturer or university/college professor — someone who teaches at a higher-education institution.

Guru means teacher in general, especially for:

• kindergarten
• elementary school
• junior high / high school
• sometimes informal/private teachers

So:

• dosen → tertiary education (college/university)
• guru → school-level teacher

In this sentence, Dosen menjelaskan… implies a university context, not a school classroom.

Why is dosen not capitalized here?

In Indonesian, job titles and common nouns are written in lowercase, unless:

• they start a sentence (then they’re capitalized just because they’re first), or
• they’re part of a specific official name.

So:

• dosen = a lecturer (common noun, lowercase)
• Dosen Ahmad = Lecturer Ahmad (as part of a name, capital D)
• At the start of a sentence: Dosen menjelaskan… – it’s capitalized only because it’s the first word.

Here, Dosen is first in the sentence, so it’s capitalized for that reason, not because it’s a title like Professor in English.

What does menjelaskan mean, and how is it different from just jelas?

• jelas is an adjective: clear

  • Penjelasannya jelas. – The explanation is clear.

• menjelaskan is a verb: to explain (something)

  • Dosen menjelaskan teori itu. – The lecturer explains that theory.

The prefix me- (here becoming men-) often turns roots into active verbs:

• jelas → menjelaskan (to explain, to make clear)
• basic pattern: adjective/noun → verb “to make it so”

So Dosen menjelaskan… = The lecturer explains…

What is the role of bahwa here? Is it like that in English?

Yes. Bahwa works very similarly to English that when introducing a subordinate clause:

• Dosen menjelaskan bahwa…
  = The lecturer explained that…

Structure:

• Main clause: Dosen menjelaskan – The lecturer explained
• Subordinate clause: (bahwa) riset robotika membutuhkan kerja tim dan kesabaran
  – that robotics research requires teamwork and patience

So bahwa is a conjunction that introduces what is being explained, said, thought, believed, etc.

Can I omit bahwa after menjelaskan?

Yes, in many real-life sentences bahwa can be omitted, especially in spoken or informal Indonesian.

So both are acceptable:

• Dosen menjelaskan bahwa riset robotika membutuhkan kerja tim dan kesabaran.
• Dosen menjelaskan riset robotika membutuhkan kerja tim dan kesabaran.

The version with bahwa:

• is a bit more explicit and often sounds more formal or careful,
• clearly shows the start of the subordinate clause.

Omitting bahwa is very common and usually natural, as long as the sentence is still clear.

What is the difference between riset and penelitian?

Both can mean research, but there are some nuances:

• riset

  • loanword from English research
  • widely used in academic, technical, and business contexts
  • sounds slightly more modern/international

• penelitian

  • formed from root teliti (careful, thorough)
  • more “native” Indonesian word
  • also very common in academic and formal writing

In this sentence:

• riset robotika = robotics research
  You could also say penelitian robotika and it would still be correct and natural.

Why is it riset robotika and not robotika riset?

In Indonesian noun phrases, the main noun usually comes first, and the word that describes or narrows it comes after:

• riset robotika
  
  • riset (main noun) = research
  • robotika (describes kind of research) = robotics
    → robotics research

If you said robotika riset, it would sound wrong or at least unnatural.

More examples of this pattern:

• buku matematika – math book (book of mathematics)
• jurusan teknik mesin – mechanical engineering department
• laboratorium biologi – biology lab

So think: [main noun] + [qualifier], not the other way around.

What does membutuhkan mean, and how is it related to butuh, memerlukan, and perlu?

All of these are related to the idea of needing/requiring:

• butuh – verb/adjective: to need / in need of (fairly neutral)

  • Saya butuh bantuan. – I need help.

• membutuhkan – transitive verb: to need / to require (something)

  • Riset robotika membutuhkan kerja tim.
    – Robotics research requires teamwork.

• memerlukan – very similar to membutuhkan, maybe slightly more formal

  • Proyek ini memerlukan dana besar. – This project requires big funding.

• perlu – adjective: necessary / needed

  • Kesabaran itu perlu. – Patience is necessary.

In this sentence, membutuhkan is a good choice because:

• it clearly takes objects: kerja tim dan kesabaran
• it sounds natural in academic contexts.

Why is there no word for the or a in this sentence?

Indonesian generally does not use articles like the, a, or an.

So:

• riset robotika could be:

  • robotics research
  • the robotics research
  • a robotics research project (depending on context)

• kerja tim could be:

  • teamwork
  • team work
  • the teamwork

Whether it means a/the/some is inferred from context, not from a separate word. If you really want to be specific, you can add other words (like ini “this” or itu “that”), but basic noun phrases don’t need articles.

How do we know if riset robotika is singular or plural?

We don’t explicitly know from the form itself, because Indonesian usually doesn’t mark plural on nouns.

• riset robotika can mean:
  • robotics research (in general)
  • a robotics research project
  • robotics research projects (plural)

Plural can be shown in other ways if needed:

• By context:

  • Banyak riset robotika membutuhkan kerja tim.
    – Many robotics research projects require teamwork.

• By number words:

  • Tiga riset robotika… – three robotics research projects…

• By repetition (for some nouns):

  • proyek-proyek riset robotika – research projects in robotics

But in your sentence, it’s a general statement, so riset robotika is best understood as robotics research (as a field).

What exactly does kerja tim mean? Is it a fixed phrase?

Yes, kerja tim is a common phrase meaning teamwork or team-based work.

• kerja = work
• tim = team

Together, kerja tim focuses on working as a team, similar to English teamwork:

• Proyek ini membutuhkan kerja tim yang baik.
  – This project requires good teamwork.

A closely related phrase is kerja sama:

• kerja sama = cooperation, collaboration
• kerja tim = teamwork (often within a specific team)

In many contexts, especially for projects, kerja tim and kerja sama overlap in meaning.

What is the difference between sabar and kesabaran?

• sabar – adjective: patient

  • Dia orangnya sabar. – He/She is a patient person.

• kesabaran – noun: patience

  • Kesabaran itu penting. – Patience is important.

The prefix ke- and suffix -an often turn adjectives into abstract nouns:

• sabar → kesabaran (patient → patience)
• rajin (diligent) → kerajinan (diligence)
• penting (important) → kepentingan (interest, importance)

So in your sentence:

• membutuhkan kerja tim dan kesabaran
  = requires teamwork and patience (two nouns as objects of membutuhkan).

How is tense shown here? Why is there no word like is or does or will?

Indonesian verbs usually do not change form for tense.

membutuhkan can cover:

• present/general truth:
  
  • Robotics research requires teamwork…
• past (with context):
  
  • Robotics research required teamwork…
• future (with context):
  
  • Robotics research will require teamwork…

If you want to specify time, you add time words or markers:

• tadi – earlier, a short while ago
• kemarin – yesterday
• sudah / telah – already (often past-like)
• akan – will (future)
• sedang – in the process of (progressive)

Example changes:

• Dulu, riset robotika juga membutuhkan kerja tim dan kesabaran.
  – In the past, robotics research also required teamwork and patience.

• Ke depannya, riset robotika akan membutuhkan kerja tim dan kesabaran yang lebih besar.
  – In the future, robotics research will require greater teamwork and patience.

In your original sentence, it’s a general statement of fact, so no extra tense marker is needed.

How would this sentence change in a more formal or a more informal style?

Your original is already fairly neutral and acceptable in many contexts. Here are some variations:

More formal / academic:

• Dosen menjelaskan bahwa penelitian di bidang robotika memerlukan kerja sama tim dan tingkat kesabaran yang tinggi.

Changes:

• penelitian di bidang robotika → research in the field of robotics (a bit more formal)
• memerlukan instead of membutuhkan (slightly more formal)
• kerja sama tim adds the idea of collaboration within the team
• tingkat kesabaran yang tinggi – a high level of patience

More informal / conversational:

• Dosen itu menjelaskan kalau riset robotika itu butuh kerja tim dan sabar.

Changes:

• itu after dosen and riset robotika – makes it sound more colloquial, like “that lecturer / that robotics research”
• kalau instead of bahwa – common informal substitute for “that”
• butuh instead of membutuhkan – simpler verb
• sabar instead of kesabaran – more casual style

All keep the same basic meaning but shift the tone and formality.