Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Apa pun yang kamu pilih, sebaiknya kamu memberi tahu keluarga. - Whatever you choose, you should inform your family.

In standard Indonesian, pun is a particle and is written separately: apa pun. You’ll often see apapun in casual writing, but it’s nonstandard. A few fixed words fuse pun (e.g., walaupun, meskipun), but not with apa.

Do I need yang after apa pun? Could I say Apa pun kamu pilih?

You need yang. Say Apa pun yang kamu pilih. Without yang, it’s ungrammatical in standard Indonesian. You can avoid yang by turning it into a noun phrase: Apa pun pilihanmu.

Why is it yang kamu pilih and not yang kamu memilih?

Because the thing referred to by apa pun is the object of the verb. Indonesian forms object relative clauses with the pattern yang + pronoun + base verb (no meN- prefix): yang kamu pilih, buku yang saya baca, film yang mereka tonton. It corresponds to a passive paraphrase: yang dipilih (oleh) kamu. Using memilih here is ungrammatical.

What exactly does yang do here?

yang is a relativizer (“that/which/who”) introducing a clause that modifies a noun/pronoun. Here it links apa pun to kamu pilih: “whatever (it is) that you choose.” Don’t confuse yang with bahwa; bahwa introduces content clauses after verbs like tahu or bilang.

How strong is sebaiknya? How is it different from seharusnya, harus, and lebih baik?

sebaiknya: gentle advice/recommendation (“you should/it would be better if…”).
seharusnya: stronger expectation/obligation; can imply something isn’t as it ought to be (“should/ought to (have)”).
harus: necessity/obligation (“must/have to”).
lebih baik: “better”; often used to give advice too (e.g., Lebih baik kamu…), but also for straightforward comparisons.

Can I move sebaiknya or change the word order?

Yes:

Kamu sebaiknya memberi tahu keluarga.
Sebaiknya kamu memberi tahu keluarga.
With the fronted clause: Apa pun yang kamu pilih, kamu sebaiknya memberi tahu keluarga. All are natural. No comma is needed after sebaiknya.

Is the comma after pilih required?

When a subordinate clause comes first, a comma is standard. You’ll see it omitted in short sentences, but keeping it is good practice.

Why memberi tahu instead of memberitahu or memberitahukan? Are they different?

All are used:

memberi tahu [someone] (bahwa/tentang …) = inform someone. Preferred by many style guides.
memberitahu [someone] (bahwa/tentang …) = widely used and accepted; same meaning.
memberitahukan [something] kepada [someone] = focuses on the information as the direct object; the recipient takes kepada. Examples:
Dia memberi/memberitahu saya bahwa…
Dia memberitahukan rencana itu kepada saya. Noun: pemberitahuan (“notice/notification”). Colloquial: kasih tahu / ngasih tahu, and (meng)abari/kabari.

Is kamu memberi tahu kepada keluarga okay?

Better avoid kepada with memberi tahu. Use either:

memberi/memberitahu [recipient]: kamu memberi tahu keluarga
or the -kan pattern: kamu memberitahukan [thing] kepada keluarga To include content: kamu memberi tahu keluarga bahwa… / tentang…

Should it be keluargamu instead of just keluarga?

Both work:

keluargamu/keluarga kamu explicitly means “your family.”
Bare keluarga often implies “your family” from context (especially after kamu), but can be generic. Add -mu if you want to be explicit.

Can I drop the second kamu?

Yes. Indonesian often drops obvious subjects:

Apa pun yang kamu pilih, sebaiknya beri tahu keluarga. That’s a softer, general-sounding suggestion. Keeping kamu makes it more directly addressed.

Could I use beri tahu instead of memberi tahu after sebaiknya?

Yes. After advice words or in imperatives, beri tahu is very common:

Sebaiknya beri tahu keluarga.
Beri tahu keluarga kalau sudah siap. With an explicit subject, use memberi/memberitahu: Kamu memberi/memberitahu …

Is any tense implied? Does kamu pilih mean future?

Indonesian has no tense marking. yang kamu pilih is time-neutral; context supplies time. To make it future-oriented, add a time word:

Apa pun yang kamu pilih nanti, …
or (less commonly) Apa pun yang akan kamu pilih, …

What’s the difference between apa pun and apa saja here?

Both can mean “whatever/any (of the available options)”:

Apa pun yang kamu pilih, …
Apa saja yang kamu pilih, … Often interchangeable. A rough nuance: apa saja feels more like “any of the available choices,” while apa pun is a bit more open-ended/emphatic.

Would Anda be better than kamu?

Use:

Anda (capitalized) for polite/formal address (customers, strangers, formal writing).
kamu for neutral/informal peers/younger people.
Other options: kalian (plural “you”), kau/engkau (literary/intimate), regional lu/elo (Jakarta colloquial). Choose based on formality and relationship.

Is keluarga singular or plural? Do I need a plural marker?

Indonesian doesn’t mark plural by default. keluarga can refer to the family as a unit or its members, depending on context. To emphasize plurality, add a quantifier or use a specific noun: anggota keluarga, para anggota keluarga.