bahasa indonesia

Ways to Say 'If'
There are various ways to say 'if in Indonesian. each differing in terms
of formality and the likelihood of the event happening. These are called
conditionals.
In this chapter we look at five common ways to say 'if'.
Kalou
Kalau is the common and most neutral way of saying 'if. That is, it is
neither too formal nor informal, so we can use it for any situation. It
can be placed at the beginning or in the middle of a sentence.
Kalau hujan, kita tidak akan pergi.
If it rains, we will not go.
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Says tidak mau ikut kalau kamu tidak menjemput saya.
I won't come along if you don't pick me up.
Jangan parkir mobil di situ kalau tidak mau didenda.
Don't park your car there if (you) don't want to be fined.
Jika and (apa)bila
Jika and (apa)bila are more formal or poetic than kalau. They mean the
same thing, but you probably would not want to use them with friends.
These words are more appropriate in writing, songs or public
announcements. As with kalau, we can place jika and (apa)bila at the
beginning or in the middle of a sentence. Apabila is often shortened
into bila, which is why apa is shown in parentheses.
146 A Student's Guide to hdonesian Grammar