Kalau hujan deras, jalan tol itu sering banjir.

When it rains heavily, that toll road often floods.

Breakdown of Kalau hujan deras, jalan tol itu sering banjir.

• itu: that
• sering: often
• hujan: the rain
• deras: heavy

Questions & Answers about Kalau hujan deras, jalan tol itu sering banjir.

What does kalau mean here, and can I replace it with jika, ketika, or apabila?

In this sentence, kalau means if / when and introduces a condition.

• kalau – very common in speech and informal writing; can mean if or when(ever) depending on context.
• jika / apabila – more formal, often used in writing, instructions, official language.
• ketika – usually means when (at the time that), not if. It’s used for definite times in the past or future, not for general conditions.

You can usually replace kalau with jika or apabila here with almost no change in meaning:

• Jika hujan deras, jalan tol itu sering banjir.
• Apabila hujan deras, jalan tol itu sering banjir.

Using ketika would sound more like you’re talking about a specific time, not a general tendency, so it’s less natural in this generic statement.

In kalau hujan deras, where is the subject “it” like in “if it rains heavily”?