Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Adik laki-laki saya mencadangkan catatan kuliah setiap hari. - My younger brother backs up his lecture notes every day.

bold adik bold = younger sibling (gender not specified)
bold laki-laki bold = male Putting them together, bold adik laki-laki bold = younger brother. If gender is already clear from context, bold adik saya bold is enough. For “younger sister,” say bold adik perempuan bold.

Why is bold saya bold after the noun phrase instead of before it?

In Indonesian, possessors usually follow the noun: bold adik saya bold (my younger sibling), bold rumah saya bold (my house).
You can also use the clitic bold -ku bold:

bold adikku bold = my younger sibling
If you keep the gender word, write bold adik laki-lakiku bold = my younger brother

Can I say bold Adik saya laki-laki bold instead?

That forms a clause meaning “My younger sibling is male,” not a single noun phrase. To use it as the subject of this sentence, you want the noun phrase bold adik laki-laki saya bold.
If you’re distinguishing among siblings, you can also say bold Adik saya yang laki-laki … bold (“the brother among my younger siblings …”).

Is the hyphen in bold laki-laki bold required? Can I just say bold laki bold?

Yes, the hyphen is standard spelling. bold laki-laki bold is a fixed reduplicated form meaning “male/man.” Plain bold laki bold by itself tends to mean “husband” in informal speech and isn’t used here. A single-word synonym for “man” is bold lelaki bold, but for “younger brother” you typically say bold adik laki-laki bold.

Is bold mencadangkan bold really the right verb for “to back up” data?

Yes. In tech contexts, bold mencadangkan bold (and imperative bold cadangkan! bold) is the standard for “back up,” e.g., bold mencadangkan data/foto bold. Colloquially you’ll also hear bold membackup bold or bold di-backup bold, but bold mencadangkan bold is the most standard/neutral. Note: bold menyimpan bold means “to save/store,” which is not the same as “to back up.”

I’ve seen bold mencadangkan bold used to mean “to suggest.” Is that true?

That’s common in Malaysian Malay. In Indonesian, “to suggest” is usually bold menyarankan bold or bold mengusulkan bold. Using bold mencadangkan bold to mean “suggest” can sound foreign or formal-legal in Indonesia.

What’s the morphology of bold mencadangkan bold?

Root: bold cadang bold (reserve/backup/plan)
Prefix: bold meN- bold → bold men- bold before bold c bold (assimilation rule)
Suffix: bold -kan bold (makes it a transitive verb affecting an object)
Together: bold men + cadang + kan → mencadangkan bold, “to back up/reserve (something).”

Can I drop bold -kan bold and say bold mencadang bold?

No. bold mencadangkan [obj] bold is the natural transitive form. Without bold -kan bold it sounds odd. For commands, use bold cadangkan [obj]! bold. The noun “backup” is bold pencadangan bold (e.g., bold pencadangan data bold).

Where can bold setiap hari bold go? Is bold tiap hari bold or bold sehari-hari bold okay?

Position: It’s fine at the end (as given) or at the start: bold Setiap hari, adik laki-laki saya … bold
bold tiap hari bold = a bit more casual than bold setiap hari bold
bold sehari-hari bold = “in daily life/regularly,” not a simple “every day” count; e.g., bold kebiasaan sehari-hari bold (daily habits)

Is bold catatan kuliah bold the most natural way to say “lecture notes”?

Yes—very natural for your own notes from lectures. Alternatives:

bold catatan perkuliahan bold = more formal/literary
bold materi kuliah bold = lecture materials/handouts (not necessarily your notes) Avoid bold notulen bold (that’s “minutes” of a meeting).

How do I say “his lecture notes” explicitly?

bold catatan kuliahnya bold = his/the lecture notes (bold -nya bold can mean “his/her/its” or mark definiteness “the”)
Or spell it out: bold catatan kuliah adik saya bold (my younger brother’s lecture notes) Without a marker, context usually implies they’re his.

Could I use different pronouns like bold aku bold or bold gue bold?

Yes—just mind register:

Neutral/formal: bold saya bold → bold adik laki-laki saya bold
Informal: bold aku bold → bold adik laki-laki aku bold or attach bold -ku bold: bold adik laki-lakiku bold / bold adikku bold
Colloquial Jakarta: bold gue/gua bold → bold adik gue/gua bold
Choose one style and be consistent.

How do I say “my younger brothers back up …”?

Make the subject plural with reduplication:

bold Adik-adik laki-laki saya mencadangkan catatan kuliah setiap hari. bold
If plurality is obvious from context, you can sometimes skip the reduplication, but bold adik-adik bold is the clear plural form.

Can I use the passive voice here?

Yes:

bold Catatan kuliahnya dicadangkan setiap hari oleh adik laki-laki saya. bold
In everyday speech you might also hear the loan passive:
bold Catatan kuliahnya di-backup setiap hari oleh adik laki-laki saya. bold
Note that outside tech contexts, bold dicadangkan bold can also mean “reserved/proposed,” but with data/notes it’s understood as “backed up.”

Any quick pronunciation tips for this sentence?

bold c bold is “ch” as in “church”: bold catatan, mencadangkan bold
bold ng bold is the “ŋ” in “sing”: bold mencadangkan bold (men-cha-dang-kan)
bold r bold is tapped/flapped
Stress is light and even; don’t over-stress syllables
bold laki-laki bold: LA-ki LA-ki (hyphen shows reduplication, not a pause)

What’s the basic word order here?

It’s standard SVO:

Subject: bold Adik laki-laki saya bold
Verb: bold mencadangkan bold
Object: bold catatan kuliah bold
Adverbial: bold setiap hari bold
Time expressions like bold setiap hari bold commonly appear at the end or the beginning. Indonesian verbs don’t inflect for tense; bold setiap hari bold signals a habitual action.