Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Setelah itu, saya setor tunai perlahan-lahan agar nomor rekening tidak salah. - After that, I deposit cash slowly so the account number is not wrong.

Setelah itu / Sesudah itu: “after that,” neutral/formal; they’re interchangeable.
Kemudian / Lalu: “then/after that,” stylistically a bit more narrative.
Habis itu: informal/colloquial (“after that”).

Using the comma after Setelah itu, is good style.

Is setor tunai correct without the me- prefix? Should it be menyetor?

Both are correct but differ in style and structure:

Setor tunai is a fixed, commonly used verb phrase meaning “to deposit cash,” especially in banking contexts. It’s natural in neutral speech: Saya setor tunai.
Menyetor is the standard meN- prefixed verb (from setor). With an explicit object, you’d say: Saya menyetor uang (tunai).

What’s the difference between menyetor, menyetorkan, setoran, and setor tunai?

Menyetor: to deposit/submit (transitive). Example: menyetor uang ke bank.
Menyetorkan: the -kan form often highlights delivering something to a recipient. Example: menyetorkan uang ke rekening X.
Setoran: the noun “deposit/remittance.” Example: setoran harian.
Setor tunai: set phrase “cash deposit” (verb phrase or facility name). Example: saya setor tunai; mesin setor tunai (cash deposit machine).

If I use menyetor, do I need an object? Is saya menyetor tunai okay?

With menyetor, it’s most natural to include the object:

Best: Saya menyetor uang tunai.
Saya menyetor tunai is understandable but sounds incomplete.
Using the set phrase avoids the issue: Saya setor tunai.

What does perlahan-lahan mean, and how does it compare to perlahan, pelan-pelan, and lambat?

Perlahan-lahan: “slowly/gradually,” reduplication adds emphasis or a gentle tone.
Perlahan: “slowly,” a bit more formal/neutral.
Pelan-pelan: very common colloquial equivalent of “slowly.”
Lambat: “slow” (often as an adjective), less common as an adverb in everyday speech.

Hyphenation (perlahan-lahan, pelan-pelan) is standard in writing.

Does perlahan-lahan mean “gradually” or just “slowly”?

Both are possible. Context decides:

Physical speed: “slowly.” Example: mengetik perlahan-lahan.
Process over time: “gradually.” Example: harga naik perlahan-lahan.

Can I move perlahan-lahan elsewhere in the sentence?

Yes. These are all acceptable, with end-position most common:

Saya setor tunai perlahan-lahan.
Saya perlahan-lahan setor tunai.
Perlahan-lahan, saya setor tunai. (more stylistic/emphatic)

Is perlahan-lahan related to lahan “land”?

No. Despite the spelling overlap, perlahan (perlahan-lahan) “slowly” is unrelated to lahan “land.”

Why use agar here, and how does it differ from supaya and biar?

All mean “so that/in order that.”

Agar: more formal/written.
Supaya: neutral, very common.
Biar: informal/colloquial.

So you could say: …perlahan-lahan supaya nomor rekening tidak salah or …biar nomor rekeningnya nggak salah (colloquial).

Why is it tidak salah and not bukan salah?

Use tidak to negate adjectives and verbs; salah here is an adjective (“wrong/incorrect”).

tidak salah = “not wrong.”
bukan negates nouns or equative phrases, not adjectives.

Could I say keliru instead of salah?

Yes. Keliru is a near-synonym meaning “mistaken/incorrect,” often a bit softer:

…agar nomor rekening tidak keliru.

Is agar nomor rekening tidak salah the most natural way to express the idea? What about actions like typing the number?

It’s fine and idiomatic, but many speakers make the action explicit:

…agar tidak salah memasukkan nomor rekening.
…agar nomor rekening yang dimasukkan tidak salah.

These highlight the act of inputting the number.

Should I use nomor or angka for “number” here?

Use nomor for identifiers like account numbers, phone numbers, ticket numbers.

Nomor rekening = account number.
Angka is a numeral/digit or a number in the abstract (e.g., statistics).

Colloquial spelling nomer appears in speech but nomor is standard.

What exactly does rekening mean? Is it the same as akun?

Rekening: bank account or a bill/invoice (context decides). Here it’s bank account.
Akun: “account” in digital/online contexts. You normally don’t say akun bank; say rekening bank.

Do I need -nya in nomor rekening(-nya)?

Not required. Adding -nya often marks “the known/that specific” account number:

…nomor rekening tidak salah (general).
…nomor rekeningnya tidak salah (that particular number we’re dealing with).

Both are fine here.

Could I use jangan instead of agar tidak?

Only if you switch to an imperative:

Purpose: …agar tidak salah = “so that it won’t be wrong.”
Prohibition: Jangan sampai salah (memasukkan nomor rekening). = “Don’t end up entering it wrong.”

They differ in mood.

Is the comma after Setelah itu necessary?

Yes. When a sentence begins with an introductory time phrase like Setelah itu, a comma is standard and improves readability.

What’s the meN- prefix behavior in menyetor?

The meN- prefix assimilates to the following consonant:

meN- + setor → menyetor (the s drops; N becomes ny). This is a regular phonological rule in Indonesian morphology.

How would a colloquial version of the whole sentence sound?

For casual speech:

Habis itu, aku setor tunai pelan-pelan biar nomor rekeningnya nggak salah. Features: habis itu (colloquial), aku (casual I), pelan-pelan, biar (so that), nggak (not), -nya for specificity.

Any tip to avoid ambiguity about what is “not wrong”?

Make the action explicit:

…agar tidak salah memasukkan nomor rekening.
…agar nomor rekening yang saya ketik tidak salah. These clearly tie “not wrong” to entering/typing the number.