Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Dia merekam apa yang dikatakan editor dengan ponsel supaya tidak lupa saat memperbaiki naskah. - He/She records what the editor says with a phone so as not to forget when revising the manuscript.

In Indonesian, dia:
- can refer to a man, a woman, or even an animal/person whose gender is unknown or irrelevant.
- is neutral in terms of formality (not rude, not especially formal).

So the sentence could mean:

He recorded what the editor said…
She recorded what the editor said…

The gender has to be understood from context, not from the word dia itself.

Why is it merekam and not just rekam? What does the prefix me- do?

The base verb is rekam (record). When you use it as a normal active verb with a subject, Indonesian usually adds the prefix me-:

rekam → merekam (to record)

This me- prefix:

marks an active verb (subject doing the action),
often corresponds to the English infinitive “to …” or simple present/past “(he) records / recorded”.

Examples:

Dia merekam lagu itu. – He/She records/recorded that song.
Saya merekam videonya. – I record/recorded the video.

The bare form rekam can appear:

in commands: Rekam ini! – Record this!
in certain fixed phrases or dictionaries, as the root word.

In your sentence, Dia merekam = He/She recorded.

How does the structure apa yang dikatakan editor work? What is each word doing?

Breakdown:

apa = what
yang = a linker that introduces a clause describing apa
dikatakan = is/was said (passive form of mengatakan, to say)
editor = the editor

Together, apa yang dikatakan editor literally means:

what that was said (by) the editor

Functionally, it means:

what the editor said

Grammar-wise:

apa is the “thing” (what),
yang dikatakan editor is a relative clause describing apa,
the whole chunk apa yang dikatakan editor is the object of merekam.

So the sentence core is:

Dia merekam [apa yang dikatakan editor]
= He/She recorded what the editor said.

Why is it dikatakan editor (passive) and not editor mengatakan (active) like in English?

Indonesian often uses the passive voice for what-English-would-make active.

Compare:

apa yang dikatakan editor
literally: what was said (by) the editor → sounds natural in Indonesian.

Possible active version:

apa yang editor katakan
literally: what the editor says/said

Both are grammatically correct, but:

dikatakan editor (passive) is slightly more formal / neutral.
editor katakan (active) can sound a bit more formal/literary.
In everyday speech, people might say:
- apa yang editor bilang (using bilang instead of mengatakan/dikatakan).

In your sentence (which feels more formal/neutral), the passive dikatakan editor fits well.

What exactly is the function of yang in apa yang dikatakan editor? Can I omit it?

Yang is a very important word in Indonesian. Here it:

connects apa to the clause dikatakan editor,
turns dikatakan editor into a clause that describes apa.

Structure:

apa [yang dikatakan editor]
= the “what” [that was said by the editor]

In this structure, you cannot omit yang:

❌ apa dikatakan editor – ungrammatical
✅ apa yang dikatakan editor – correct

Think of yang like a relative pronoun “that/which/who”, although it’s used more broadly.

Could I say apa yang editor katakan or apa yang editor bilang instead? Do they mean the same thing?

Yes, you can say both, with small differences in formality and style.

Apa yang editor katakan
- Still quite formal / standard.
- Uses katakan (from mengatakan).
- Meaning: what the editor said / what the editor says.
Apa yang editor bilang
- More informal / conversational.
- bilang is a common spoken verb for “to say”.
- Meaning: what the editor said.
Apa yang dikatakan editor
- Neutral to formal, a bit more polished.
- Uses passive dikatakan.

All three are understandable:

Dia merekam apa yang dikatakan editor… (neutral/formal)
Dia merekam apa yang editor katakan… (neutral/formal)
Dia merekam apa yang editor bilang… (informal)

Why is there no oleh before editor in dikatakan editor? I thought passive sentences used oleh.

In formal grammar, you often learn:

Passive: dikatakan oleh editor = said by the editor.

In actual usage, especially when the agent is short and clear, oleh is often dropped:

dikatakan editor = said (by) the editor

So you have three levels:

dikatakan oleh editor – very explicit, more formal.
dikatakan editor – natural, still quite formal/neutral.
editor mengatakan… – active voice.

In your sentence, dikatakan editor is concise and natural; the oleh is understood and not necessary.

Does dengan ponsel mean with a phone or using a phone? Is it the same as menggunakan ponsel?

Dengan ponsel literally means with a phone, and in this context it is understood as:

using a phone / using his/her phone

You could also say:

Dia merekam … menggunakan ponsel.

Differences:

dengan ponsel
- very common,
- slightly more casual / neutral,
- shorter.
menggunakan ponsel
- a bit more explicit and slightly more formal,
- literally “using a phone”.

Both are correct here:

Dia merekam apa yang dikatakan editor dengan ponsel…
Dia merekam apa yang dikatakan editor menggunakan ponsel…

The meaning in this context is essentially the same.

Why is dengan ponsel placed after apa yang dikatakan editor? Could I move it earlier?

The original order:

Dia merekam apa yang dikatakan editor dengan ponsel…

Here:

merekam [apa yang dikatakan editor] is kept together as a verb + its object,
dengan ponsel comes after, explaining how he/she recorded.

You have some flexibility, but not all orders sound natural.

Natural:

Dia merekam apa yang dikatakan editor dengan ponsel.
Dia merekam, dengan ponsel, apa yang dikatakan editor. (possible in writing, slightly marked)

Less natural / odd:

Dia dengan ponsel merekam apa yang dikatakan editor. – sounds awkward.
Dengan ponsel dia merekam apa yang dikatakan editor. – possible, with emphasis on “using a phone”.

If you front dengan ponsel, you usually create emphasis:

Dengan ponsel, dia merekam apa yang dikatakan editor.
= With his/her phone, he/she recorded what the editor said.

The original word order is the most neutral for everyday use.

What is the difference between supaya, agar, untuk, and biar in the sense of “so that / in order not to forget”?

All can introduce a purpose, but they differ in formality and nuance.

In your sentence:

supaya tidak lupa = so (that he/she) doesn’t forget

Comparisons:

supaya
- Very common, neutral.
- Can sound slightly conversational but still fine in formal writing.
- Example: Saya menulis catatan supaya tidak lupa.
agar
- More formal / written.
- Often used in official texts, announcements.
- Example: Harap datang tepat waktu agar acara dapat dimulai.
untuk
- Literally “for / in order to”.
- More natural when followed by a noun or a verb phrase without subject.
- Untuk tidak lupa is possible but sounds more formal/abstract.
- More common patterns:
  - Untuk mengingatnya, dia merekam… – To remember it, he recorded…
  - Dia merekam… untuk keperluan dokumentasi.
biar
- Informal / colloquial.
- Similar meaning to supaya, but more casual.
- Example: Aku catat biar nggak lupa.

In your sentence, supaya tidak lupa is a very natural, neutral choice.

Who is the one who doesn’t forget in supaya tidak lupa? Why is the subject missing?

In supaya tidak lupa, there is no explicit subject, but it is understood from context.

The previous clause has Dia (he/she), so Indonesian naturally assumes the same subject for the purpose clause:

Dia merekam … supaya (dia) tidak lupa…

The second dia is just omitted because it would be repetitive. This is very common in Indonesian.

In English we must repeat the subject:

He recorded what the editor said with his phone so (that) he wouldn’t forget when revising the manuscript.

In Indonesian, this is smooth without repeating dia.

What does saat mean in saat memperbaiki naskah? How is it different from ketika or waktu?

Saat here means “when / at the time (of)”.

saat memperbaiki naskah = when (he/she is) revising/fixing the manuscript

Comparison:

saat
- slightly formal/neutral,
- common in both speech and writing.
ketika
- also “when”, often used in narratives, can feel a bit more literary/formal.
waktu
- literally “time”, but in casual speech also “when”.
- more conversational.

All three are possible in many contexts:

supaya tidak lupa saat memperbaiki naskah
supaya tidak lupa ketika memperbaiki naskah
supaya tidak lupa waktu memperbaiki naskah (more casual)

In this sentence, saat fits the fairly neutral style well.

Why is it memperbaiki and not perbaiki? What does mem- do here?

The root is baik (good), from which we get:

perbaiki – command form: fix! / repair! / correct!
memperbaiki – active verb: to fix / to repair / to revise

memperbaiki = mem- + perbaiki (a derived verb meaning to make something good / to improve / to correct).

In your sentence we need the normal active verb:

saat memperbaiki naskah = when (he/she is) revising/fixing the manuscript

We would use the bare perbaiki in something like:

Perbaiki naskah ini! – Fix this script/manuscript!

So:

memperbaiki → used with a subject (I/you/he/she) doing the action.
perbaiki → mainly command or dictionary root.

What does naskah mean here? Is it the same as teks or dokumen?

Naskah usually means:

manuscript / script / written draft

Common uses:

naskah pidato – speech script
naskah drama – drama script/play script
naskah buku – book manuscript

In your sentence:

memperbaiki naskah = revising/fixing the manuscript/draft

Related words:

teks – text (more general, any written text)
dokumen – document (often more formal/official: contracts, forms, etc.)

So naskah implies a piece of writing as a work to be edited or prepared, not just any text.

How do we know whether the sentence is past, present, or future? There’s no tense marking like in English.

Indonesian verbs generally do not change form for tense. Merekam, dikatakan, memperbaiki can all refer to past, present, or future, depending on context or additional words.

Your sentence could mean:

He/She recorded … (past)
He/She is recording … (present, less likely without extra context)
He/She will record … (future, again, needs context or time words)

In real use, context usually tells you. If you want to make it explicit, you can add time markers:

Tadi dia merekam apa yang dikatakan editor… – Earlier he/she recorded…
Sekarang dia merekam… – Now he/she is recording…
Nanti dia akan merekam… – Later he/she will record…

But the base verb form itself stays the same.

Is the overall level of this sentence formal, informal, or neutral? Would it sound natural in spoken Indonesian?

The sentence is roughly neutral to slightly formal:

dikatakan – more formal/standard than bilang
ponsel – neutral; in casual speech many people say HP (hape) instead
supaya tidak lupa – neutral
saat memperbaiki naskah – also neutral, slightly formal

In everyday casual speech, someone might say:

Dia ngerekam apa yang editor bilang pakai HP, biar nggak lupa pas ngedit naskah.

Your original sentence would sound natural in:

written text,
narration,
a polite conversation,
a report of what happened.

It’s completely fine in spoken language too, just a bit more standard/“bookish” than very casual speech.