Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Kakak perempuan saya menyusul bergabung ke rapat daring karena sinyal baru kembali. - My older sister joined later in the online meeting because the signal had just returned.

So kakak perempuan saya means “my older sister,” making both age (older) and gender (female) clear. Just kakak saya could mean “my older sibling” without specifying gender.

Is kakak perempuan saya the only natural way to say “my older sister”? What about kakak saya perempuan or kakakku?

kakak perempuan saya is the most standard, unambiguous way in neutral/formal writing.
kakak saya can mean “my older sister/brother” (gender ambiguous).
kakakku is colloquial/possessive (“my older sibling”); you can add gender: kakak perempuan-ku but the hyphenated form is less common than spacing: kakak perempuanku.
kakak saya perempuan is grammatical but sounds like “my older sibling is female” (a predicative statement), not a fixed noun phrase. Use kakak perempuan saya to name the role directly.

Why use saya instead of aku here? Does it change the tone?

Yes. saya is neutral to polite and fits narration or formal contexts. aku is more intimate/casual and is common in close relationships or informal speech. The rest of the sentence is also fairly neutral/formal, so saya matches well.

What does menyusul mean here? Isn’t it “to catch up/chase”?

menyusul means “to follow (after), come later, catch up.” In event/meeting contexts, it commonly means “to join later.” It doesn’t mean “to chase” (that would be mengejar). So here it conveys that she didn’t start with everyone else, but joined afterwards.

Is menyusul bergabung redundant? Why stack two verbs?

It’s acceptable and natural as a serial-verb-like sequence in Indonesian:

menyusul = came later (temporal sequence)
bergabung = joined (the action)

Together they emphasize both “later” and “join.” You could simplify depending on tone:

Formal/neutral: kemudian bergabung, akhirnya bergabung, menyusul ikut rapat
Colloquial: nyusul gabung, baru gabung belakangan

How is menyusul formed morphologically?

Root: susul. With the meN- prefix, initial s is dropped and the prefix becomes meny-, yielding menyusul. This is the regular assimilation pattern: meN- + s → meny- (s drops), e.g., sapu → menyapu.

Is bergabung ke rapat natural? Should it be bergabung di/dalam rapat?

All are heard, but preferences vary:

More formal/edited Indonesian often prefers: bergabung dalam rapat or ikut dalam rapat.
Everyday speech: gabung ke rapat, masuk ke rapat, ikut rapat are common.
bergabung ke is understandable and used, but some editors find dalam/di more idiomatic with bergabung.

What’s the difference between rapat, pertemuan, and “meeting”?

rapat = meeting (often work/organizational; agenda/decision-oriented)
pertemuan = meeting/gathering (broader, can be social or formal)
“meeting” (loanword) is widespread in speech and business contexts. So rapat is the best default for a work/business meeting.

What does daring mean? Why not just say online?

daring is a standard Indonesian term formed from dalam jaringan (“in-network = online”). It reads as slightly more formal/standard than English online. Alternatives:

Neutral: rapat daring, rapat online, rapat virtual
For “offline”: luring (luar jaringan)

Why is there no -nya in sinyal? Should it be sinyalnya?

Both work:

sinyal = “signal” (generic/unspecified)
sinyalnya = “the signal” (definite/known, often “her/our connection” in context) In everyday narration, sinyalnya baru kembali often sounds more natural because we refer to a specific connection. The given sentence without -nya is still grammatical.

What does baru kembali mean? Is it “new” or “just”?

baru can mean:

“new” (adjective): baju baru = new clothes
“just/recently/only just” (temporal adverb): baru kembali = just came back

Here it’s temporal: sinyal baru kembali = “the signal had only just come back.” You can also say baru saja kembali (a bit more explicit).

How is baru different from sudah in this context?

baru (saja) kembali = just now came back (emphasizes recency)
sudah kembali = has (already) come back (emphasizes completion, not necessarily very recent)

Could I use lagi or balik instead of kembali?

Yes, with tone differences:

lagi (colloquial): sinyalnya baru nyala lagi / muncul lagi = the signal just came back again
kembali (neutral/formal): sinyalnya baru kembali
balik is colloquial “return”; for signals you’d more naturally use kembali/lagi/pulih.

Does Indonesian mark past tense in menyusul bergabung?

No dedicated tense marking. Pastness is inferred from context and adverbs like baru, tadi (earlier), kemarin (yesterday), etc. To be explicit:

Past: tadi kakak perempuan saya menyusul bergabung...
Future: kakak perempuan saya akan menyusul bergabung...
Ongoing/planned: nanti kakak perempuan saya menyusul bergabung...

Is the word order with karena natural? Can I front the reason clause?

Both orders are natural:

Main clause first (no comma needed): ... bergabung ... karena sinyal baru kembali.
Reason first (use a comma): Karena sinyal baru kembali, kakak perempuan saya menyusul bergabung ...

Could I drop ke and just say bergabung rapat?

With bergabung, most would add a preposition:

Formal: bergabung dalam/di rapat Colloquially, with the base verb gabung, you can omit a preposition: gabung rapat or add ke: gabung ke rapat. Using ikut also works well: ikut rapat (“attend the meeting”).

Are there other natural rephrasings of the whole sentence?

Neutral/formal: Kakak perempuan saya akhirnya bergabung dalam rapat daring karena sinyalnya baru kembali.
Neutral: Kakak perempuan saya menyusul ikut rapat daring karena sinyalnya baru kembali.
Colloquial: Kakak perempuanku nyusul gabung ke rapat online soalnya sinyalnya baru balik. (note the informal choices: nyusul, gabung, online, soalnya, balik)