Adik laki-laki saya mencadangkan catatan kuliah setiap hari.

In Indonesian, adik means younger sibling, not specifically brother or sister.

So:

• adik = younger sibling
• adik laki-laki = younger brother
• adik perempuan = younger sister

If you want to say brother in a more general way, Indonesian can also use saudara laki-laki, but that is more formal and does not specifically tell you whether he is older or younger.

So adik laki-laki saya very specifically means my younger brother.

In Indonesian, descriptive words often come after the noun they describe.

So:

• adik laki-laki = sibling male = younger brother
• adik perempuan = sibling female = younger sister

This is different from English, where we usually put the describing word first.

Indonesian usually puts possessors after the noun.

So:

• adik laki-laki saya = my younger brother
• literally: younger brother my

This pattern is very common:

• buku saya = my book
• rumah saya = my house
• teman saya = my friend

So the word order is normal Indonesian grammar.

Here, mencadangkan means to back up, to make a backup of, or to reserve/save a copy of, depending on context.

It comes from cadang, which has the idea of something spare, reserved, or kept as backup.

In this sentence, with catatan kuliah (lecture/class notes), the intended meaning is most likely:

• backs up his lecture notes
• or makes backup copies of his lecture notes

So this is probably talking about saving copies of notes, perhaps digitally.

It is understandable and correct, but in everyday speech many Indonesians might also use other expressions, especially in technology-related contexts.

For example, people may say:

• backup
• membackup
• mencadangkan data
• membuat cadangan

So mencadangkan catatan kuliah is grammatical, but depending on the situation, it may sound a little formal or technical. A native speaker might also say something like membackup catatan kuliah in casual conversation.

Indonesian often leaves out possessive words if the meaning is already clear from context.

So catatan kuliah just means lecture notes or class notes. In English, we might naturally say his lecture notes, but Indonesian does not always need to include that.

If you wanted to make it explicit, you could say:

• catatan kuliahnya = his/her lecture notes

So the original sentence is natural if the context already makes it obvious whose notes they are.

Catatan means notes, and kuliah here means lectures, classes, or college/university study.

So catatan kuliah means:

• lecture notes
• class notes
• notes from university classes

It is a noun phrase where the second noun specifies the type of notes.

In Indonesian, noun combinations often work as:

• main noun + specifying noun

So:

• catatan kuliah = notes of lectures/classes
• buku sejarah = history book
• ruang tamu = guest room / living room

The first word is the main thing, and the second word describes what kind of thing it is.

So catatan kuliah is the normal order.

Kuliah can have a few related meanings depending on context:

• lecture
• college/university class
• higher education / studying at university

In catatan kuliah, it usually refers to lecture or class notes, especially in a university context.

So it is broader than the English word lecture by itself.

Setiap hari means every day.

In Indonesian, time expressions are often placed near the end of the sentence, especially after the verb and object:

• Adik laki-laki saya mencadangkan catatan kuliah setiap hari.

This is very natural.

But Indonesian word order is somewhat flexible, so you could also say:

• Setiap hari, adik laki-laki saya mencadangkan catatan kuliah.

That version puts more emphasis on every day.

Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense the way English verbs do.

So mencadangkan by itself does not specifically mean:

• backs up
• backed up
• will back up

The time is usually understood from context or time expressions.

Here, setiap hari = every day, so the sentence is understood as a habitual present action:

• My younger brother backs up his lecture notes every day.

The sentence follows the common Indonesian pattern:

• Subject + Verb + Object + Time expression

So:

• Adik laki-laki saya = subject
• mencadangkan = verb
• catatan kuliah = object
• setiap hari = time expression

That makes the structure very straightforward for learners once you identify each part.

Yes. If you say:

• Adik saya mencadangkan catatan kuliah setiap hari.

that means:

• My younger sibling backs up lecture notes every day

Whether the sibling is male or female is not specified.

So adding laki-laki is only necessary if you want to make it clear that the sibling is male.

Yes. Adikku also means my younger sibling.

So you could say:

• Adik laki-lakiku mencadangkan catatan kuliah setiap hari.

That is also grammatical.

In general:

• saya sounds neutral and standard
• -ku can sound a bit more personal or literary, depending on style

Both are common and correct.