Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Dia tersenyum, seolah-olah semua urusan keluarga sudah selesai. - He/She smiles, as if all the family matters are already finished.

seakan-akan: near-synonym; interchangeable in most contexts.
seolah / seakan: shortened forms; slightly less formal.
seperti: “like/as” for straightforward comparisons, not necessarily hypothetical.
sepertinya: “it seems/it looks like” (speaker’s impression), not a comparison.

Examples:

Dia tersenyum, seolah-olah… (as if…)
Dia tersenyum, seakan-akan… (as if…)
Dia tersenyum, sepertinya… (it seems that…)

Do I need the comma before seolah-olah?

It’s common and stylistically good to put a comma before seolah-olah when it introduces a following clause, because it marks a pause. You can also write it without a comma in shorter sentences: Dia tersenyum seolah-olah…. If the seolah-olah clause comes first, put a comma after it: Seolah-olah…, dia tersenyum.

Can I reverse the clause order?

Yes. Both are natural:

Dia tersenyum, seolah-olah semua urusan keluarga sudah selesai.
Seolah-olah semua urusan keluarga sudah selesai, dia tersenyum. Starting with the seolah-olah clause adds a slightly more literary/emphatic feel.

Is the hyphen in seolah-olah required?

Yes. The standard spelling is seolah-olah (and seakan-akan) with a hyphen. Writing it as two separate words or without the hyphen is nonstandard. The shortened seolah (one word) is also fine on its own.

What’s the nuance of dia vs ia vs beliau here?

dia: neutral third-person singular human pronoun (he/she/they), common in speech and writing.
ia: often used in formal writing as a subject pronoun; cannot be used after prepositions.
beliau: respectful/honorific “he/she” for elders or important figures. All are gender-neutral; Indonesian pronouns don’t mark gender.

Is tersenyum a verb? Can I just say dia senyum?

tersenyum is the standard intransitive verb “to smile.”
senyum is a noun (“a smile”), but in colloquial speech it’s used as a verb: Dia senyum. This is informal; in neutral/formal contexts prefer Dia tersenyum.
“Smile at someone”: tersenyum kepada/pada [orang] (e.g., Dia tersenyum kepada saya.)
Repeated/lingering smile: tersenyum-senyum.

What does urusan keluarga mean, and how does it differ from masalah keluarga?

urusan keluarga: family affairs/matters/dealings (neutral).
masalah keluarga: family problems/issues (specifically problematic).
urusan rumah tangga: domestic/household matters. Choose urusan if you don’t want to imply there’s a problem.

Why use semua here? How is it different from seluruh?

semua = all (countable items). semua urusan keluarga suggests every individual matter.
seluruh = the whole/entire. seluruh urusan keluarga views them as one whole set. Both are acceptable here; seluruh can sound a bit more formal/emphatic.

Is sudah necessary with selesai? What about telah, beres, kelar, tuntas?

sudah selesai: very natural; “already finished.”
telah selesai: like sudah but more formal/written.
sudah tuntas: finished thoroughly/fully; slightly formal.
sudah beres / (udah) kelar: informal/colloquial. You can say just selesai, but sudah highlights the “already” aspect.

Does the sentence indicate past tense?

Indonesian has no tense marking like English. sudah marks completion (“already”), which often implies a past result. For time, you add adverbs like tadi, kemarin, barusan, etc.

Can I omit semua?

Yes. …urusan keluarga sudah selesai = “the family matters are finished” (no explicit “all”). semua emphasizes that every single matter is included.

Should I say keluarga or keluarganya?

keluarga: “the family” in context (generic/unspecified whose).
keluarganya: “his/her/their family.” To be explicit about possession, use keluarganya, or colloquially keluarga dia (formal writing prefers the suffix -nya).

Do I need bahwa after seolah-olah?

No. Seolah-olah already introduces a clause. Seolah-olah bahwa… is unnatural; just use seolah-olah ….

How do I make it clear the appearance is false?

Add a contrastive marker like padahal (“whereas/though”) or kenyataannya (“in reality”):

Dia tersenyum, seolah-olah semua urusan keluarga sudah selesai, padahal kenyataannya belum.

Why use selesai instead of menyelesaikan/diselesaikan?

selesai: stative/resultative (“finished” as a state), no actor mentioned.
menyelesaikan: active (“to finish/complete [something]”).
diselesaikan: passive (“to be finished [by someone]”). If you want to mention who finished the matters: Ia sudah menyelesaikan semua urusan keluarga. If you want to emphasize the result without an agent: Semua urusan keluarga sudah selesai.

Any pronunciation tips for tricky words here?

seolah-olah: roughly “suh-O-lah O-lah” (light stress on the penultimate syllable of each word; pronounce the “e” in se- like a schwa).
urusan: “oo-ROO-san” (stress on ROO).
keluarga: “kə-lu-AR-ga” (four syllables; “lu-ar” is two syllables).
sudah: “SOO-dah.” Indonesian stress is light and usually on the penultimate syllable.

Can you show equivalent sentences across registers?

Formal: Ia tersenyum, seakan-akan seluruh urusan keluarga telah tuntas.
Neutral: Dia tersenyum, seolah semua urusan keluarga sudah selesai.
Informal: Dia senyum, kayak semua urusan keluarga udah kelar.