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Bos adil selalu dihormati di pejabat.

Bos adil selalu dihormati di pejabat.
A fair boss is always respected at the office.
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Questions & Answers about Bos adil selalu dihormati di pejabat.

What does bos mean here, and is it a loanword from English?

Bos means boss and is indeed a loanword from English, widely used and completely normal in Malay.

Other near-synonyms:

  • majikan – employer (more formal, legal/HR context)
  • ketua – leader/head (of a department, team, etc.)
  • pengurus – manager

In everyday office talk, bos is very common and natural.

Is Bos adil talking about one boss or bosses in general?

Malay doesn’t mark singular/plural on nouns by default, so bos adil can mean:

  • a fair boss
  • the fair boss
  • fair bosses (in general)

Context decides. On its own, a neutral translation would often be a fair boss or fair bosses.

If you really want to show singular, you can say:

  • Seorang bos yang adil – a fair boss (clearly one person)

To emphasize plural:

  • Para bos yang adil – fair bosses (more formal)
  • Bos-bos yang adil – fair bosses (colloquial, repetition for plural)
Why is there no word like a or the before bos?

Malay normally has no articles like a / an / the. Nouns appear without them:

  • bos – a boss / the boss / bosses (depending on context)
  • pejabat – an office / the office

If you need to be explicit:

  • seorang bos – a (single) boss
  • bos itu – that boss / the boss
  • bos ini – this boss

In this sentence, Bos adil selalu dihormati di pejabat, the lack of an article is normal and not “missing” in Malay.

Why is the adjective adil placed after bos, not before it?

In Malay, adjectives usually come after the noun:

  • bos adil – fair boss
  • pejabat besar – big office
  • kereta baru – new car

So bos adil literally means boss fair, which in English becomes a fair boss.

You can also say:

  • bos yang adil – literally boss who is fair, but it still means a fair boss.
    This version adds a slight emphasis or clarity, but both are correct.
Does adil mean “fair” as in “just” or “fair-skinned / beautiful”?

Adil in Malay is fair in the sense of just, impartial, treating people equally.

It does not mean:

  • fair-skinned
  • pretty / beautiful

For appearance, Malay would use other adjectives, such as cantik (beautiful), cerah (light-skinned), etc.

In this sentence, bos adil clearly means a boss who is just and impartial.

What does selalu mean, and where can it go in the sentence?

Selalu means always or usually, depending on context. Here it’s naturally always.

Word order:

  • Bos adil selalu dihormati di pejabat.
    A fair boss is always respected in the office.
  • You can also say: Bos yang adil selalu dihormati di pejabat.

Placing selalu right before the verb (dihormati) is the most natural and common. Other positions (like at the very start) are possible but less typical here.

What is dihormati, and why is the di- attached to hormati?

Dihormati is the passive form of the verb from the root hormat (respect).

  • hormat – respect (noun / basic root)
  • menghormati – to respect (active: someone respects someone)
  • dihormati – is respected (passive)

The prefix di- marks a passive voice verb:

  • Mereka menghormati bos adil. – They respect the fair boss.
  • Bos adil dihormati (oleh mereka). – The fair boss is respected (by them).

So in Bos adil selalu dihormati di pejabat, dihormati = is respected.

Note: this di- is a verb prefix, different from di as a preposition for location.

Who is doing the respecting in Bos adil selalu dihormati di pejabat?

The agent (the person who respects) is not stated, which is common in Malay passives.

Possible implied meanings:

  • A fair boss is always respected by the staff.
  • A fair boss is always respected by people in the office.

If you want to mention the agent, you can add oleh:

  • Bos adil selalu dihormati oleh pekerja-pekerjanya di pejabat.
    A fair boss is always respected by his/her employees in the office.

Leaving the agent out keeps the sentence more general and proverbial.

What does di in di pejabat mean, and is it the same as di- in dihormati?

They are different:

  1. di (separate word) = preposition at / in / on (location)

    • di pejabat – at the office
    • di rumah – at home

  2. di- (attached prefix) = passive verb marker

    • dihormati – is respected
    • ditulis – is written

In the sentence:

  • di pejabat: di = at (preposition)
  • dihormati: di- = passive prefix

They look the same but play different grammatical roles.

Could I say di dalam pejabat instead of di pejabat? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say di dalam pejabat.

  • di pejabat – at the office (neutral, very common)
  • di dalam pejabat – inside the office (a bit more explicit about being inside)

In most contexts, di pejabat is enough and sounds more natural for a general statement like this sentence.

Is Bos capitalized because it is a title, like a name?

Here Bos is capitalized simply because it is the first word in the sentence. Normally, bos is not a proper name; it’s a common noun.

  • At the start of a sentence: Bos adil selalu dihormati…
  • In the middle of a sentence: Seorang bos adil selalu dihormati…

You would only capitalize Bos in the middle of a sentence if it were part of a specific title or nickname, which is not the case here.