Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Menurut konsultan karier di kampus, kita perlu realistis ketika membuat rencana lima tahun. - According to the career consultant on campus, we need to be realistic when making a five-year plan.

It is followed directly by a noun or pronoun:
- menurut saya = in my opinion / I think
- menurut dokter = according to the doctor
It always comes before the thing or person whose opinion it is. You cannot put menurut at the end of the sentence like in some casual English structures.
It usually signals that what follows is not an objective fact, but someone’s advice, view, or interpretation.

What exactly does konsultan karier di kampus mean? Is it like “career counselor at the university”?

Yes. Konsultan karier di kampus literally is:

konsultan = consultant
karier = career
di kampus = on/at campus

So the whole phrase can be understood as:

konsultan karier di kampus
→ the career consultant who works on campus / the campus career counselor

Grammar-wise, it is:

konsultan (head noun)
karier (modifies konsultan → type of consultant)
di kampus (prepositional phrase further describing konsultan karier)

It does not mean “consultant about careers on the campus”. Di kampus attaches to konsultan karier, telling you where this consultant is based.

Why is kita used instead of kami? What’s the difference?

Both kita and kami mean we / us, but the difference is inclusion of the listener:

kita = we (including the person you are talking to)
kami = we (excluding the person you are talking to)

In this sentence:

kita perlu realistis
→ we (including you, the listener) need to be realistic

The speaker is talking about everyone involved, including the listener (for example, all students, or the speaker and the person they are talking to). If you used kami, you would be saying that we (but not you) need to be realistic, which would sound wrong or at least strange in this context.

What nuance does perlu have? Is it like “must”, “have to”, or “should”?

Perlu literally means to need / need to / necessary. It is softer than harus (must / have to) and a bit stronger than a vague “maybe you should”.

In this sentence:

kita perlu realistis
→ we need to be realistic / it is necessary for us to be realistic

Comparison:

kita perlu realistis = We need to be realistic (quite strong advice, but not an order).
kita harus realistis = We must be realistic (stronger obligation, sounds more strict).
sebaiknya kita realistis = It would be better if we were realistic (politer, more like a recommendation).

So perlu expresses a real need, but not as forcefully as harus.

Is realistis an adjective or an adverb? Do I need something like “secara realistis”?

In Indonesian, realistis is an adjective, but adjectives can often work where English would use an adverb.

kita perlu realistis
→ literally “we need to be realistic”

You don’t say kita perlu secara realistis in this context; that sounds unnatural. Indonesian usually:

uses adjectives after perlu, harus, boleh, etc.:
- kita perlu sabar = we need to be patient
- dia harus sopan = he/she must be polite

So realistis is used like any other adjective: you can say orang yang realistis = a realistic person.

Why is there no subject after ketika? Shouldn’t it be ketika kita membuat rencana lima tahun?

You can say ketika kita membuat rencana lima tahun and it is perfectly correct. But Indonesian often omits repeated subjects when it’s clear from context.

The full structure is:

kita perlu realistis ketika (kita) membuat rencana lima tahun
→ we need to be realistic when (we) make a five‑year plan

Because kita is already the subject of the main clause (kita perlu realistis), it is understood that the same kita is also the subject of membuat. So it’s natural to drop the second kita and just say ketika membuat ….

What is the difference between ketika, saat, and waktu in this context? Could I replace ketika?

In this sentence, you could say:

ketika membuat rencana lima tahun
saat membuat rencana lima tahun
waktu membuat rencana lima tahun

All would be understood as when making a five‑year plan.

Nuance (in modern standard Indonesian):

ketika – a bit more formal/neutral, very common in writing and speech.
saat – also common and quite neutral; very widely used in both spoken and written language.
waktu – originally “time”, but also used as “when”; slightly more informal or conversational in this function.

In most everyday contexts, they are interchangeable, and ketika works well in this somewhat formal, advice‑type sentence.

How should I understand rencana lima tahun? Is lima tahun plural?

Rencana lima tahun is:

rencana = plan
lima = five
tahun = year

So it’s literally plan (for) five years, i.e. a five‑year plan.

Key points:

Indonesian does not change tahun to mark plural. lima tahun already means five years.
The modifier comes after the noun:
- rencana lima tahun = five‑year plan
- program dua tahun = two‑year program
You don’t need a hyphen like “five-year” in English; Indonesian just uses rencana lima tahun.

Do I need a word like sebuah or suatu before rencana lima tahun?

You can add it, but you don’t have to.

membuat rencana lima tahun
→ to make a five‑year plan (general, unspecific)
membuat sebuah rencana lima tahun / membuat suatu rencana lima tahun
→ to make a (particular, single) five‑year plan

In many cases, Indonesian omits sebuah/suatu unless you want to stress one specific plan. In this sentence, the idea is general — “when making a five‑year plan (in general)” — so leaving it out is natural and idiomatic.

Why is membuat used here and not just buat? What’s the difference?

Buat is the root verb (“to make”), and membuat is its standard, formal active form with the prefix meN-.

membuat rencana = to make a plan (standard, neutral Indonesian)
buat rencana can appear in:
- imperative: buat rencana! = make a plan!
- colloquial speech where people drop the prefix: saya buat rencana (very informal)

In a neutral written or semi‑formal spoken sentence like this, membuat rencana lima tahun is the most natural choice.

Could di kampus move to another position, like at the beginning of the sentence?

Yes, Indonesian word order is somewhat flexible as long as meaning is clear. For example:

Menurut konsultan karier di kampus, kita perlu realistis …
Di kampus, menurut konsultan karier, kita perlu realistis …

Both are grammatically correct. Differences:

The original version puts more focus on whose opinion it is (the campus career consultant).
Putting di kampus at the start slightly emphasizes the location context (on campus) first.

The original order is more common and natural in neutral prose.

How formal or informal is this sentence overall? Would it sound natural in real life?

The sentence is neutral to slightly formal, and it sounds natural.

Words like menurut, konsultan karier, rencana lima tahun, and the structure kita perlu realistis ketika … are typical of:
- campus settings
- written advice (articles, brochures, presentations)
- semi‑formal spoken language (talks, counseling sessions)

It’s not stiff or extremely formal; you could easily hear a lecturer, counselor, or student leader say this in a real Indonesian university context.