Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Kalau saja lebih banyak orang membaca brosur itu, donasi untuk penampungan mungkin akan naik. - If only more people read that brochure, donations for the shelter might increase.

Kalau lebih banyak orang membaca brosur itu...
→ If more people read that brochure... (neutral condition)
Kalau saja lebih banyak orang membaca brosur itu...
→ If only more people had read that brochure... / If only more people read that brochure... (implies: but they didn’t)

So saja in this phrase doesn’t mean “only” in the counting sense; it’s part of a fixed pattern that makes the condition more hypothetical / regretful.

Why is it lebih banyak orang, and not something like lebih orang or banyak orang lebih?

In Indonesian, this is the usual structure for “more people”:

lebih banyak + noun = more [of that noun]
- lebih banyak orang = more people
- lebih banyak buku = more books

You can’t say lebih orang for “more people”; lebih needs a quantity word like banyak (“many/much”) before a noun.

banyak orang lebih is also not correct; quantifiers normally go before the noun, not after:

✅ banyak orang = many people
❌ orang banyak (different meaning: “the masses / common people”)
✅ lebih banyak orang = more people

So the pattern is: lebih + banyak + [noun].

Why don’t we use yang in lebih banyak orang membaca brosur itu? Can we say lebih banyak orang yang membaca brosur itu?

Both are possible, but the nuance is slightly different:

lebih banyak orang membaca brosur itu
- Literally: “more people read that brochure”
- orang is directly the subject of membaca.
- Smooth, neutral statement.
lebih banyak orang yang membaca brosur itu
- Literally: “more people who read that brochure”
- yang introduces a relative clause (“who read that brochure”).
- It sounds a bit more like you’re defining a specific group (“the people who read that brochure”), but in many real contexts it will still be understood similarly.

In your sentence, the simpler, more natural choice is without yang:

Kalau saja lebih banyak orang membaca brosur itu, ...

Because we just mean “if only more people read that brochure”, not “more people who are the ones that read that brochure” as a defined group.

What is the function of itu in brosur itu? Is it “that brochure” or “the brochure”?

Itu literally means “that”, but in Indonesian it also often works like “the” in English, referring to something specific and known in the context.

brosur itu can be translated as:
- “that brochure” (if you want to keep the demonstrative feel), or
- “the brochure” (if it’s already clear which brochure is meant).

The speaker is referring to a particular brochure they both know about, not just any brochure.

You could say just brosur (“a brochure”) if you meant it in a non‑specific way, but brosur itu here implies: that particular brochure we’ve been talking about / that’s being used.

How is tense expressed here? Why is it just membaca, not something like a past or perfect form like “had read”?

Indonesian doesn’t mark tense with verb endings like English does. The verb membaca is neutral with respect to time; it can mean read / is reading / will read, depending on context and time words.

The sentence:

Kalau saja lebih banyak orang membaca brosur itu, ...

is understood as a hypothetical or unreal past from context (especially because of kalau saja and mungkin akan naik). In natural English, you might render it as:

If only more people had read that brochure, the donations to the shelter might have increased.

Indonesian leaves that “had” part to be understood from context, not directly shown in the verb form.

What does penampungan mean in donasi untuk penampungan? Is it always a shelter?

Penampungan comes from the verb menampung (“to accommodate, to collect, to house”).

penampungan is a noun, commonly meaning:

a shelter (for animals, refugees, homeless people, etc.)
a collection / holding place (like a storage or collection center)

In your sentence, donasi untuk penampungan most naturally means:

“donations for the shelter” (e.g. an animal shelter or homeless shelter)

The exact kind of shelter depends on the broader context. If you wanted to be very clear, you might say:

penampungan hewan = animal shelter
penampungan tunawisma = homeless shelter

Why is it donasi untuk penampungan, and not something like donasi ke penampungan?

Both are possible, but they focus on slightly different ideas:

donasi untuk penampungan
- Literally: “donations for the shelter”
- Emphasizes the purpose/beneficiary of the donations.
- Very natural for “donations for (the benefit of) X”.
donasi ke penampungan
- Literally: “donations to the shelter”
- Emphasizes the direction/recipient (being sent to that place).
- Often used when talking about physically sending or bringing the donations.

In your sentence, untuk fits better because we’re talking in general about donations for the shelter, not the physical act of delivering them.

What’s the difference between mungkin akan naik, mungkin naik, and akan naik?

akan naik = will increase / will go up
- akan marks a future or predicted event.
mungkin naik = might increase / might go up
- mungkin adds possibility; it’s not certain.
mungkin akan naik = might increase / might go up (with slightly stronger “future” feeling)
- mungkin = maybe/perhaps
- akan = will (future)
- Together: something like “might / may well go up (in the future)”

So:

donasi untuk penampungan mungkin akan naik.
→ The donations to the shelter might go up / might increase.

You could drop akan and just say mungkin naik and it would still be grammatical and understandable; mungkin akan naik just makes the future aspect a bit clearer or more explicit.

Why do we use naik for donations? Doesn’t naik mean “to go up / to get on (a vehicle)”?

Yes, naik literally means “to go up / to rise / to get on,” but it’s very commonly used for increases in numbers or amounts, similar to English “go up”:

harga naik = prices go up / increase
suhu naik = the temperature rises
penjualan naik = sales go up

So:

donasi ... naik

means:

the donations increase / go up.

Other verbs you might also see with a similar meaning:

bertambah = to increase / to grow in number/amount
meningkat = to increase, to improve, often in a more formal tone

But naik is very natural and common in everyday speech.

Could we reverse the clauses and say Donasi untuk penampungan mungkin akan naik kalau saja lebih banyak orang membaca brosur itu?

Yes, that is grammatically correct. Indonesian word order for conditional sentences is quite flexible:

Kalau saja lebih banyak orang membaca brosur itu, donasi ... mungkin akan naik.
Donasi ... mungkin akan naik kalau saja lebih banyak orang membaca brosur itu.

Both mean the same thing.

Putting the “if” clause (kalau...) at the beginning is slightly more typical and sounds a bit more natural in this sort of sentence, but putting it at the end is also fine and commonly done in speech and writing.

What’s the difference between kalau saja and seandainya in a sentence like this?

Both kalau saja and seandainya can express a regretful or unreal condition, close to “if only”:

Kalau saja lebih banyak orang membaca brosur itu, ...
Seandainya lebih banyak orang membaca brosur itu, ...

They’re very close in meaning. Some nuances:

seandainya is a bit more explicitly hypothetical and can sound slightly more formal or literary, though it is also used in speech.
kalau saja may sound a bit more conversational, but still perfectly acceptable in writing.

In most everyday contexts, you can treat them as near-synonyms for “if only” and choose based on style preference.