Masalah rumit itu dibahas di rapat keluarga.

That complicated problem is discussed at the family meeting.

Breakdown of Masalah rumit itu dibahas di rapat keluarga.

• itu: that
• di: at
• rapat keluarga: the family meeting
• masalah: the problem
• dibahas: to be discussed
• rumit: complex

Questions & Answers about Masalah rumit itu dibahas di rapat keluarga.

Why does the sentence use dibahas instead of membahas?

Dibahas is the passive form, while membahas is active.

• membahas = to discuss (active)

  • Kami membahas masalah rumit itu.
    We discussed that complicated problem.

• dibahas = is/was discussed (passive)

  • Masalah rumit itu dibahas di rapat keluarga.
    That complicated problem was discussed at the family meeting.

In Indonesian, the passive often:

• Puts focus on the object (masalah rumit itu).
• Leaves the doer (subject) unstated or less important.

So the sentence highlights the problem itself, not who discussed it.

How do we know this sentence is past tense if there is no tense marker?

Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense. Dibahas itself is tenseless; it can mean:

• is being discussed
• was discussed
• will be discussed (in some contexts)

The time is understood from context or from extra words, e.g.:

• tadi (earlier), kemarin (yesterday) → past
• sekarang (now) → present
• nanti (later), besok (tomorrow) → future

So:

• Masalah rumit itu tadi dibahas di rapat keluarga.
  Clearly past: That complicated problem was discussed earlier at the family meeting.

Without a time word, an English speaker usually translates it as past if the wider context suggests a completed event.

What exactly does itu refer to, and why is it placed after masalah rumit?

Itu is a demonstrative meaning roughly that.

In masalah rumit itu:

• masalah = problem
• rumit = complicated
• itu = that

So the phrase is:

• masalah rumit itu = that complicated problem

In Indonesian, the order is usually:

noun + adjective + demonstrative
masalah + rumit + itu

In English we say that complicated problem (demonstrative + adjective + noun), but Indonesian keeps itu at the end of the noun phrase.

What is the difference between masalah rumit itu and masalah itu rumit?

They have different structures and meanings:

1. masalah rumit itu

   • Noun phrase: that complicated problem
   • rumit is an adjective modifying masalah.
   • You can put this whole phrase as a subject or object:
     Masalah rumit itu dibahas…

2. masalah itu rumit

   • Full sentence: that problem is complicated
   • masalah itu = that problem (subject)
   • rumit = complicated (predicate)

So:

• Masalah rumit itu dibahas di rapat keluarga.
  That complicated problem was discussed at the family meeting.

• Masalah itu rumit, jadi dibahas di rapat keluarga.
  That problem is complicated, so it was discussed at the family meeting.

Can masalah rumit itu be plural, like those complicated problems?

Yes, it can. Indonesian usually does not mark plural on nouns, so:

• masalah rumit itu can mean:
  • that complicated problem (singular), or
  • those complicated problems (plural),

depending on context.

If you really want to emphasize plurality, you could say:

• masalah-masalah rumit itu
• berbagai masalah rumit itu (those various complicated problems)

But in everyday speech, context is usually enough.

Is di in dibahas the same as di in di rapat keluarga?

No, they are different:

1. In dibahas:

   • di- is a verbal prefix marking the passive voice.
   • bahas = to discuss (root verb)
   • di + bahas → dibahas = is/was discussed

2. In di rapat keluarga:

   • di is a preposition meaning in/at/on.
   • rapat keluarga = family meeting
   • di rapat keluarga = at the family meeting

So:

• di- (attached to a verb) = passive prefix
• di (separate word before a place) = preposition

Why is there no subject like we or they in the sentence?

The subject (the doer) is omitted because the sentence is passive and the agent is not important, unknown, or obvious.

• English: We discussed that complicated problem at the family meeting.
• Indonesian (active): Kami membahas masalah rumit itu di rapat keluarga.
• Indonesian (passive, agent omitted):
  Masalah rumit itu dibahas di rapat keluarga.
  That complicated problem was discussed at the family meeting.

Indonesian often leaves out the agent with passive di-:

• Rumah itu dibangun tahun lalu.
  That house was built last year. (by someone, but not stated)

What exactly does rapat keluarga mean, and why are the words in that order?

Rapat keluarga is a noun phrase:

• rapat = meeting
• keluarga = family

Literally: meeting family, but the natural English translation is family meeting or family gathering.

The pattern is: > main noun + modifying noun
> rapat (meeting) + keluarga (family) → a meeting related to/for the family

This is a common pattern in Indonesian:

• rumah sakit = hospital (literally: sick house)
• rapat guru = teachers’ meeting
• rapat keluarga = family meeting

So di rapat keluarga means at the family meeting.

Could we say di dalam rapat keluarga instead of di rapat keluarga? Is there a difference?

You can, but there is a nuance difference:

• di rapat keluarga
  Very normal and common. Means at the family meeting, referring to the event as a whole.

• di dalam rapat keluarga
  Literally inside the family meeting.
  Sounds a bit more formal or slightly more literal, and is more often used for physical or concrete spaces (e.g., di dalam ruangan = inside the room).

In everyday speech and writing, di rapat keluarga is usually preferred.

What is the difference between rumit, sulit, and kompleks?

All three can relate to difficulty, but they have different typical uses:

• rumit
  Complicated, tangled, with many parts or layers.
  Often for situations, problems, procedures.
  e.g., masalah rumit, proses yang rumit

• sulit
  Difficult, hard to do.
  Focus is on how hard it is to handle, not on the complexity of structure.
  e.g., pekerjaan sulit, soal yang sulit

• kompleks
  Complex. Similar to rumit, but slightly more technical or formal (and a loanword from a European language).
  e.g., struktur yang kompleks, sistem yang kompleks

In this sentence, masalah rumit itu emphasizes that the problem has many complicated aspects, not just that it is hard.

Can we change the word order to Di rapat keluarga, masalah rumit itu dibahas? Is that still correct?

Yes, that is correct and natural.

• Masalah rumit itu dibahas di rapat keluarga.
  Neutral order; focus slightly more on the problem.

• Di rapat keluarga, masalah rumit itu dibahas.
  Starts with the setting (at the family meeting), then mentions what happened there.
  This can put a bit more emphasis on the location/event (the family meeting) as the frame.

Both are grammatical; Indonesian word order is quite flexible for information structure.

Can we say Masalah rumit itu kami bahas di rapat keluarga? How does that differ from dibahas?

Yes, this is also correct, and quite natural.

• Masalah rumit itu kami bahas di rapat keluarga.
  Literally: That complicated problem we discussed at the family meeting.

Notes:

• This is an active structure with pronoun in the middle.
• kami is the subject/doer, but it comes after the object (masalah rumit itu).
• This pattern (object + subject + verb) is common in Indonesian conversational style.

Compared to:

• Masalah rumit itu dibahas di rapat keluarga.
  Passive, agent omitted; more neutral/formal.

The version with kami bahas clearly says who discussed it and feels slightly more personal or conversational. The dibahas version is more impersonal and can sound a bit more formal or report-like.